Free Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand

too!” Jennifer says, and Ava laughs. She has noticed a huge change in Jennifer since Paddy’s been back. She is joyous; she is loose.
    After the first martini, which goes down way too easily, Ava and Jennifer excuse themselves and head to the ladies’ room.
    Immediately, Jennifer grabs Ava’s arm. “I love him!” she says.
    â€œWho?” Ava says.
    â€œPotter!” Jennifer says. “He’s the best! He’s so smart! He’s an academic, but he’s not stuffy. He’s funny. And he’s worldly! He’s been everywhere on that sailboat. And he has emotional depth. That story about losing his parents and being raised by his grandparents had me in tears. He loves his grandfather.”
    â€œGibby,” Ava says. Potter has mentioned Gibby twice that evening. Apparently, Gibby isn’t doing well, and Potter is worried about him. It does give him soul, Ava thinks, the way he is so attached to his grandparents, sailing around in a sloop named after his grandmother. And he is smart, intellectual even—but without making Ava feel stupid. “I don’t know. When I met him, I thought he was too good-looking.”
    â€œSo you’re not going to date him because he’s too good-looking?” Jennifer says. “He is so into you! You should have seen the way he watched you when you walked down the aisle.”
    Ava blushes. She did catch his eye for an instant, almost by accident.
    â€œYou should marry Potter,” Jennifer declares.
    They’ve just come from a wedding, so obviously marriage is on everyone’s mind, but for some reason, Jennifer’s comment hits Ava the wrong way. It might be the vodka, or it might be the fact that, right after he delivered Margaret to the altar, Kelley sat down next to Ava and whispered, “I can’t wait to walk you down the aisle.”
    Honestly!
Ava thinks. It’s as if Ava won’t count as a person until she has settled down with a husband!
    â€œI’m not marrying Potter Lyons,” Ava says to her sister-in-law. “I’m not marrying anybody.”
    From the Summer House, they take a taxi to the Bar, where Maxxtone is playing. It’s Scott’s favorite band, but Ava tries not to dwell on this as they walk in. They are able to sidle in through the back door, avoiding the long line, because Kevin managed the Bar for almost a decade.
    â€œWow,” Potter says. “In all the years I’ve been coming here, I’ve never been able to pull this off.”
    Patrick slaps Potter on the back. While Ava and Jennifer were in the bathroom at the Summer House, Patrick and Potter found they had half a million friends and acquaintances in common, the most amazing discovery being that Potter was a fraternity brother of Patrick’s boss, Great Guy Gary Grimstead. And Potter has sailed with guys who went to Columbia Business School with Patrick. Ava begins to see Potter as just another version of her older brother, but then Potter takes her hand as he leads her through the crowd at the Bar. It’s the first time he’s touched her all evening, and although the circumstances couldn’t be more different, Ava has an instant sense memory of walking along the sand in Anguilla and the three kisses on the beached Sunfish. Potter must be having the exact same memories because he stops and pulls Ava close to him. He takes her face in his hands and he bends down to kiss her. It’s wonderful. They are surrounded on all sides by people drinking and laughing. The Bar is pulsing with live music, and Ava feels young and wild for a second. It’s late, she’s drunk, and she’s kissing a near-perfect stranger. It’s been a while since she has experienced this particular trifecta.
    Potter stops kissing her as Patrick approaches with their beers.
    â€œDon’t let me interrupt,” he says.
    Ava accepts her beer. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a guy sitting at