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“You,” Drew says.
“Me,” I confirm. “Then she found out that it was Sarah who freed me from the cuffs. She thought it was John.”
“Why’d she think that?”
I shrug, having some water, looking across to Ava and Kate, who are close, talking. “Assumed, I guess.” I pull my eyes away from my girl, back to the boys. “Excuse me a minute.” I slide the drinks along the bar, pick Kate up, move her to the side, and put a glass of water in Ava’s hand. “Drink,” I order, jolting when Kate gives me a slap on my shoulder. To my utter surprise—and appreciation—Ava does as she’s told and downs the water before holding out the empty, looking at me with high brows, aware of my surprise. I swap it for the fake cocktail. “See how easier things are when you do as you’re told?” I don’t give her a moment to refute that, turning back toward the boys, unable and unwilling to detach my hand from her knee.
“Sam’s right,” Drew says.
I frown. What did I miss? “Right about what?”
“Sarah,” Drew goes on. “You’ve got to cut those ties, mate.”
“How did we get onto Sarah?”
“She’s in love with you,” he goes on. “Ava must see it. Women know that kind of stuff. And God help you if she finds out you’ve slept with her.”
“She knows,” I sigh, making both men recoil.Women know that kind of stuff.Isn’t that right?
I leave the boys, turning back toward Ava. Kate’s had her long enough. I’m sure she’s got all the gory details of our row in my office and why we were rowing.
I kiss Ava, remove her from the stool, and take her place, putting her between my legs, her arms over my shoulders. She regards me, slightly curious, as the rest of the room regardsme, slightly surprised. Couldn’t give a fuck. Ava needs this.
I ask her if she’s okay, and she tells me she’s perfect. I’ll be perfect too once I get her home. Kate aims a camera at us, and it occurs to me that there are no photographs of us together. Not one. Hundreds of Ava on her own, but none of us together. It’s not an opportunity I’m prepared to pass up, so I fling Ava back in my arms and ravish her. This picture is going to be one of my favorites. I know it. “Smile for me, baby,” I mumble against her throat, but she doesn’t smile. She does something even more beautiful than smile. She pulls back and looks at me like I’m the only thing in this world that matters. And then she kisses me, and I get my fill for a few moments before freeing her of my lips, taking a second to appreciate her drowsy eyes and dazed face, before putting her back on her stool, filling her hand with the fake cocktail, and turning toward the boys. “You two still here?” I ask, looking between them.
“Not for long. She wants to dance,” Sam says, his eyebrows high. “Before wedance.” He surrenders his drink and grabs Kate.
“Ava, dance,” she shrieks, and I deflate, quite sure I don’t want to put myself in the middle of the prelude to Sam, Drew, and Kate’s night, and pretty fucking certain Ava doesn’t either.
I take one step toward Ava, set on convincing her we should leave, when I spot Chris, the prick of an estate agent, approaching.
Drew groans. “I’m going before I put a stool over his head.”
I laugh and hold out my hand. “Evening,” I say, watching Drew leave hastily.
“I’ve gotta tell ya,” Chris says, shaking. “It’s been a great night.” He leans in. “And it’s about to get better.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“So,” he says, definitely swaying. I look past him to Sarah, who nods, catching my drift. Watch him. “Who’s the beauty on your arm this evening, Ward?”
“That’s Ava O’Shea.”Soon to be Ava Ward.“She’s the interior designer of Lusso.” He didn’t meet her?
“Of course,” he muses. “I never had the privilege. I saw her at the launch but didn’t get an opportunity to introduce myself. She was there one minute, not the next. I suppose she was busy.”
I nod mildly, smiling to myself. “Yes, busy.” Being fucked in the bathroom. By me.
“Are you going to introduce me?” he asks as I observe him observing Ava.
“Yeah, I’ll introduce you.” I see Ava looking this way. “Ava, this is Chris.” Let’s keep it brief. “He was the acting estate agent ofLusso.”
I see realization ping into her eyes a moment before she slowly leans back on her stool.No, baby, I don’t like him either.“Hi,” she says politely, offering a hand. I wish she wouldn’t. We don’t know where Chris has been, and when he accepts, he takes one step closer to her. He’s getting this all so very wrong, and as I look at their hands again, I roll my shoulders. “It’s nice to meet you.” Ava smiles, and as a result, I smile too.Liar.
“It’s an absolute pleasure.” Chris takes another step closer. My smile falls. “I love this dress.”
Yeah, that’s enough.I grab Chris’s shoulder and haul him away, moving in and taking Ava’s stool, putting her on my lap. “Chris, you’ll do well to keep your hands and your eyes to yourself,” I say, seeing John in my peripheral talking to someone but his attention is split, half on me, making sure I’m not about to make a bloodbath of the bar. “Do that and I might not break your fucking legs, understand?”
He looks between Ava and me, his drunk eyes clearing, sobering as he spits an apology. “I assumed she was fair game.”
