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She wanted to be able to show Bryce and Cole that she loved them without having to look over her shoulder to see who was watching. It wasn’t like they regularly got it on in public, but having a safe space where they could just be had become essential.
The media had hounded Bryce for months after he’d been forced to come out. The questions surrounding their relationship were relentless. She and Cole hadn’t had it any easier while they were in Sydney, but at least they’d had each other. Aside from being with family and friends, Bryce had been largely alone for those first few months.
She was so grateful to Bryce’s parents. While she had a decent relationship with hers, they were busy, and so was she. They’d never really been that close either. Bryce’s family, on the other hand, was always there with open arms for a hug and to lend an ear when they needed it. They all went home to Bryce’s parents for a dose of mum and dad love.
But it was their friends’ unending support that had made the biggest difference.
Adelaide and Katy had quickly become her besties, while Cassie, Robyn, and Emma were like older sisters to her now. Their guys were great too. Each one brought something different to their friendship—they were all loyal to a fault and would take the shirt off their own back to help. Bryce’s friendship with Liam had blossomed, especially since becoming teammates, and they often did crazy adventure stuff together with Levi, Connor, and Mike, the other fitness junkies in the group. The more serious ones—Cole, Ezio, King, Jake, and Phoenix—took the chance to catch up in a more low-key way doing poker nights or, more recently, smoking meat.
King was competing with Cole’s smoker fit out, but everyone knew Cole had won that competition, hands down. The giant wood-fired barbecue on their new property was what had sold Liam, Adelaide, and King on moving to a few acres on the mountain. In truth, it was their need for privacy too, but no one liked to dwell on the persistent invasions of space.
Living in the rental hadn’t been ideal for them either, and once Cole had seen their friends’ rural retreat, there was no question they’d be following suit. Moving out of the city to the hinterland had been a big step for them, especially all having come from apartment-living in Sydney. It was a bit of a drive out and a pain if they ran out of milk or couldn’t be bothered cooking—restaurant delivery options were non-existent—but it was quiet, theirs, and their closest neighbours were a mob of kangaroos.
Their property was everything they hadn’t known they’d wanted until they laid eyes on it for the first time.
Driving along winding roads, dappled light shining down on them through the towering trees had them wide-eyed. Ava had shifted excitedly in her seat as they’d ascended the mountain—she still did it every time she took the road. They’d fallen in love the moment they’d crossed through the gated entrance to lush landscaping and a view like no other. Spectacular didn’t come close to describing it. The crescent-shaped hill undulated before them, covered in tropical native forests. Ferns and palm trees were mixed with giant eucalypts along the drive, and a picturesque white house was perched halfway down the hill. Rich-green lawns gently sloped away from it and at the base of the hill, the land flattened out, culminating in a sparkling lake that the nearby creek fed. Rows of fruit trees and grapevines grew along one side of the property, while sheds and stables lined the other.
The lake was partly theirs and partly their neighbours’, none of whom had built on their land. Finding out that it would be partly theirs had sealed the deal. They’d decided to buy the property before they’d even seen a close-up of the house. The cottage was small, but charming, and more than enough for their needs. One day they’d have to add a few more bedrooms for the football team of kids that Bryce wanted around, but for the moment, it was perfect.
They hadn’t lived there long, but Cole had already put his stamp on the old Queenslander. He’d restored the original fireplace, crafted new decorative pieces to sit underneath the bullnose wraparound veranda, and extended the veranda out to one side of the house, creating a gorgeous screened-in outdoor area.
It was where they were currently sitting. Boxing Day lunch was the next step in Cole’s and King’s cooking competition—the giant smoker, pizza oven, and barbecue were getting a workout for a crowd. But unlike the Cole she’d met two years earlier who’d hated peopling, this Cole had spent the last year thriving among friends.
Everyone was there, but unlike those enjoying the warm days, poor Cassie was suffering. Ava turned the fans up from their lazy circling to a quicker spin, and set the mister on Cassie’s side of the table to automatic. She was only a week from her due date, and Ava could see her shifting in her seat every few minutes. The discomfort was definitely getting to her.
“Thanks, babe,” she said as Ava placed the last remaining salad on the table. “Next baby is coming in winter.” She pointed to Jake and Phoenix, narrowing her eyes at them. “Katy, Con, and Levi are doing it right.”
Katy’s baby bump was still tiny, but she was starting to show more and more every day. Soon there would be no mistaking she was pregnant.
“We’ll get pointers from them,” Jake teased from his spot at her feet as he rubbed her calves.
“Hey, at least we didn’t saddle you with twins during summer,” Phoenix argued, pointing to Nick.
Cassie winced and shifted again while Nick held his hands up in surrender. “No argument from me that the timing sucked. Em decided she wanted to try again, and I’d barely kissed her before we were announcing she was preggers with twins and due smack bang in the middle of summer.”
“You’re doing it wrong if you don’t remember it, mate,” Con announced, slapping him on the back.
“Not all of us have orgies every night,” Nick retorted with a grin.
Ava laughed. That was pretty much their sex life, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.
“You’re the one who’s missing out,” Addy teased.
King dropped a plate of snags on the table and high-fived her as he walked past.
“Let me guess, I should try adding a spectator or two,” Nick asked, looking at Ezio with an innocence that didn’t deceive anyone.
“Hey, don’t knock having spectators until you’ve tried it,” King pointed out, waving a set of tongs at him that he placed on top of the sausages.
Ezio choked on his drink, his face going scarlet, and Nick let out a gleeful cackle. “You right, mate?” he asked, biting back another laugh. “You have issues with spectators?”
“Arse,” Ezio shot back.
“According to Jax, that was you. Well, actually, it was Mike’s arse and your ‘huge doodle.’” He uttered the last two words adding air quotes with his fingers and a lewd wink.
“Oh my fucking god,” Ezio muttered, hiding behind his hands. “I need a stronger drink.”
Ava loved these guys. She loved all of them. They were so much damn fun. No one took themselves too seriously, and they were happy to dish out and receive as much shit as they could pile on one another.
