He Said I Was Slow to Commit While He Was Slow to Tell Me About Her Chapter 11

He Said I Was Slow to Commit While He Was Slow to Tell Me About Her Chapter 11

After I blocked Garrett, he tried texting from a new number.

I glanced at the message once and blocked that too.

He called my parents instead.

Every time my mother got off the phone with him, she looked irritated, but she never repeated what

he said.

She probably did not want to add to my stress.

A week later, she finally lost patience.

“Avery, Garrett called again.”

Her voice was tight.

“He said if you’re getting married, you’ll need engagement photos, and he doesn’t have time for a photo session. He says you need to stop making a point.”

I listened quietly.

My pencil paused over the blueprint for half a second.

“Mom, stop answering his calls.”

That weekend, the weather was perfect.

Weston stood outside the photography studio in a charcoal suit, holding two cups of hot chocolate.

When he saw me, he smiled and held one out.

“I didn’t know what you order, so I went with the classic.”

I wrapped both hands around the cup.

“How did you know I like the classic?”

He thought for a moment.

“In college, you always drank your coffee plain. No sugar. I figured you wouldn’t want anything too

sweet.”

I paused.

The warmth of the cup slowly reached my fingers.

Inside, the studio lights were bright.

I wore a simple ivory dress rather than a wedding gown. The photographer had planned a few formal engagement portraits, some together and some separately.

I had imagined taking photos like these with Garrett.

In the end, the man beside me had changed.

The warmth in my hands, though, was real.

Weston waited while the stylist finished my hair.

Every now and then, our eyes met in the mirror, and he smiled.

The photographer asked us to move closer.

Weston rested one hand lightly at my waist.

The shutter clicked again and again.

Near the end, the photographer said, “Avery, give me a real smile.”

I looked toward the camera and smiled.

Weston said quietly beside me, “She’s beautiful when she does that.”

My mother posted one of my solo portraits on Instagram.

The caption read:

[My beautiful girl.]

Less than five minutes later, Garrett called her.

She was showing me the photos when the screen changed to an incoming call.

She hit speaker by accident.

Garrett’s voice filled the room, fast and frantic.

“Mrs. Lane, Avery booked the engagement shoot without me? I told her I didn’t have time. How

could she…”

My mother hung up before he finished.

Right after that, Stella sent me a message.

She wanted to meet.

I suggested the hot chocolate shop near her building.

When I sat down across from her, she looked at me for a long moment.

“Avery, Garrett and I are going to try being together.”