Page 86 of What About Us

I frown because I have no recollection of that at all.

“I didn’t do that. It must have been Ava.”

“No way, I’m an angel,” Ava says with a sassy wink. “It was you. I remember it.”

I shake my head and feel the frustration that always comes when the memories are lost kick in and it makes my chest burn.

“If you say so,” I reply and try to laugh it off, but I know it sounds forced.

“I brought caramel fudge brownies for dessert,” Darby says, rescuing me from more questions about why I don’t remember Easton riding his bike into the lake.

“I have vanilla ice cream in my car,” Indie offers.

“Wait, it’s not melting?” Ivy asks. “You should have brought it in.”

“I have a freezer in my car,” Indie clarifies. “Ice cream is my business, remember?”

“Fancy,” Darby says. “And yes, please. That’s perfect.”

Ava sits next to me and sighs. “Your memory is bad, X.”

“Yeah, well.” What else am I supposed to say to that? No shit, it’s bad.

“Do I need to be more worried than usual?” she asks casually.

“No. I’m okay. I need a favor.”

“Changing the subject, I see.”

I laugh and she rolls her eyes.

“Fine. What do you want?”

I glance over at Ivy. She’s holding Belle again, and fuck. My heart. I don’t want kids. At least, I never have before. Not once in my life did I ever consider wanting a family of my own. Because women don’t hang around, and I don’t want to be a single dad like my father. It’s hard as fuck.

And then I had to go fall in love and see my girl holding an infant, and now my stupid, jumbled brain is coming up with all kinds of ideas.

“Xander, I’m not a mind reader.”

“I need the east-facing bedroom with all the windows converted into an art studio. I want the best supplies in there, and I want it to be fancy.”

My sister blinks up at me, and I can see the sarcasm coming from a mile away. “You’re taking on a new hobby? Are you that bored?”

“No, jerkface, Ivy paints. And her piece-of-shit mother destroyed every piece of work she’s done. They’re all gone, and she’s sad. I want her to have a space for it here so she can do it whenever she wants.”

She narrows her eyes and nibbles on her bottom lip. “That’s a lot of work and expense for a temporary studio. Just let her set up an easel and her stuff in the dining room. There’s a ton of light in there, and you never use it.”

“It’s not temporary.”

Now she turns in her seat, fully facing me. “It’s not.”

“Nope. She’s mine. So she needs a studio. And I want it to be a surprise. We’re going out of town later this week for the charity gala in Denver. Is five days enough time, or should I extend the trip?”

She’s still blinking at me like she doesn’t understand the words coming out of my mouth.

“I think that’s enough time. I can start ordering stuff tonight. But Xander, are you telling me that you’ve already decided that she’s the endgame for you? It’s been, what, less than a few weeks?”

“I’m telling you that the thought of being without her makes me want to tear the world apart. I don’t need five years with her to know that she’s amazing. I’m also not in a rush to do anything but spend time with her, learn more about her, and get her naked as often as possible.”