“What are you grinning about?
“I’m just thinking about the things I’ll be doing to you in the limo on the drive home.”
I rolled my eyes, “You and your fetish.”
CHAPTER 17
Things were crazy busy when we returned to L.A. Marie was scheduled for her C-section the week after our return from New York, which meant Tom would be at home with her for at least four weeks if not longer. He had left me and Joce in charge of all the projects. He even let us do some of the designs, emailing them for his final approval, of course.
He managed to come into the office once or twice to give us some comments and feedback on things we were working on, but for the most part, his communication with us was through phone or email. Between Tom being away and construction starting on the Malibu home, things were hectic for me to say the least.
I hadn’t heard anything about Chris since our conversation that night at Nouveau, other than Rhett’s security team had a lead they were following up on. Knowing that Chris was the prime suspect, I didn’t rush to tell Rhett about talking to Owen at the bar, but I planned to tell him after this weekend. Eric had negotiated to pay the owner of the bar a ridiculous amount of money to release the security footage and would be giving them to Rhett soon. I was out of time, but a few more days wouldn’t make a difference.
Valerie would be here this evening and staying for the weekend. We planned to help her find a place to live for when she moved here at the end of the month. They both tried to convince me to go out to dinner, but I refused. I wanted to make a meal for them.
I had decided to cook my mom’s chicken parmesan recipe, one of my favorite dishes to make. It also happened to be one of Rhett’s favorites that I cooked.
After work, I had Jim take me to the store to pick up a few items I needed to make dinner. Rhett was actually going to be home in what I referred to as “early.” It was a special occasion, so I made him promise to be home no later than seven.
The evening weather was beautiful, so Jim helped me rearrange the balcony, so I could set up a table and chairs outside for us to eat at. I set the table with some candles and a nice white tablecloth. It wasn’t as refined looking as what the Blackwoods were used to, but I was still proud of my arrangement.
I pulled the boiling spaghetti off the burner, draining it, when I heard my phone vibrating with a new text. I tossed the spaghetti with some butter and then reached for my phone. It was Valerie, letting me know she was on her way up to my apartment.
I heard a knock at my door.
“One minute!” I yelled as I rushed to make sure all the burners were off.
I scurried to the door, stopping to look through the peephole before opening it. I had promised Rhett I would be more cautious opening the door with Chris’s whereabouts still unknown.
“Ava! Hurry. I have to pee!” I heard Valerie yell through the door. I laughed as I opened it.
“Hi!” she said hurriedly, brushing past me, bee-lining it to my bathroom. I shook my head at her greeting, or lack thereof, closing and locking the door behind me.
I went back to the kitchen oven, pulling out the French bread I was warming up. A few minutes later, she graced me with her presence, giving me a proper hug.
“Sorry. I’d been holding it since we left the airport. The traffic here is ridiculous.”
“Tell me about it,” I snorted. “You won’t ever get used to it either. How was your flight?”
“Ugh…flying first class sucks,” she whined.
I rolled my eyes at her.
“You know, Val, most people would love to be able to fly first class.”
Rhett’s parents had been enjoying their retirement by globe-trotting around the world the last few weeks, leaving poor Valerie to have to fly commercial like a normal person. At least, a wealthier normal person.
“Whatever. I guess I should get used to it. I plan to make some changes in my life when I move here.”
“Oh?” I asked, curious.
“Yes….,”she looked down at her hands. Her usually fun-spirited mood saddened by her thoughts, “I need a fresh start when I move to California. Like you did.”
“What do you mean?” My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and concern.
“Just that…. I want to make a name for myself.”
Before I could inquire any further, I heard the front door opening. Rhett walked through the door with wine and a bouquet of white roses.
“Rhett!” Valerie squealed, charging at her older brother –her mood instantly lifted. She leaped into his arms, clinging to him like a spider monkey. He laughed his deep, masculine laugh, making my insides swoon.
She jumped down from his body, and he kissed her forehead. “Hey, Val. I see you managed to survive first class,” he teased her.
“Barely,” she huffed. “Nice flowers.”
“These are for Ava,” he smiled, looking up to search me out. I moved from the opening of the kitchen to greet him.
“Does that mean the wine is for me?” she asked hopefully, smiling as she exaggerated batting her eyelashes.
“Nice try,” he narrowed his eyes at her, unaffected by her charm.
Her face straightened with frustration, “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like you weren’t drinking at my age.”
He glared at her, giving her a warning look. “Whatever,” she rolled her eyes walking away, “Ava, where’s your water?”
“There’s some bottles in the fridge,” I threw over my shoulder, turning my focus back on Rhett. He set the flowers and wine aside.
“Hey, beautiful,” he smiled as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I missed you today,” I looked up into his heated blue eyes. And for a moment, I wished we were alone.
“I missed you, too. Smells amazing,” he said, nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck. I tilted my head to the side allowing him better access.
“Chicken Parmesan.”
“I meant you,” he whispered, kissing my neck, “tastes good, too,” he pulled back, grinning his naughty smile.
“Hello. Little sister. Still here,” Valerie called from behind me.
“Don’t remind me,” he groaned under his breath. “Yes, Val. How could we ever forget,” he flung at her sarcastically.
I laughed, “Let me just get these in some water and then we can eat.” I grabbed the flowers and wine Rhett had brought me.
We spent the rest of the evening out on the balcony, enjoying each other’s company, eating and drinking wine. I even convinced Rhett to let Val have a few sips of my wine. She was under supervision, after all.
“We’ll have to swing by the Malibu property, after we house hunt tomorrow,” I told Valerie, “They broke ground the other day!”
“Broke ground? What does that mean?”
“You know, they started clearing the land, moving the dirt around to get it pad ready.”
She stared at me blankly.
“They’re getting it ready so they can start building the actual house,” I tried explaining further.
“I prefer to see it, when there is an actual house.”
I rolled my eyes, “This is the fun part, though. Watching it get built and come to fruition.”
She looked at Rhett, “Does she always get this excited about dirt?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s cute. Sexy actually,” he winked at me with a grin.
“Eww. Gross,” she said, covering her ears and closing her eyes, “Can you two keep your clothes on at least until I leave?”
I rolled my eyes at both of them, standing to clear the plates, “You two are impossible.”
Rhett and Valerie remained out on the balcony, laughing and catching up while I cleaned up the kitchen. I had just finished loading the dishwasher when I heard them walk back inside. I dried the counter and hung the towel before moving into the living room.
“Are you leaving?” I asked Valerie.
“Yes, I should get to the hotel.”
> “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? I can make up the couch. It turns into a bed.”
Her nose wrinkled, “I think I will take my chances at the Wilshire.”
“Jim is waiting downstairs. He’ll take you to the hotel,” Rhett directed Valerie. “We’ll pick you up in the morning.”
“See you guys tomorrow,” she gave us both a hug.
“I still don’t understand why you’re insisting on living in an apartment,” Rhett said to his sister as we drove down the road, “when you can have a private residence in Beverly Hills.”
“Because, Rhett, I want to fit in with my classmates,” she muttered, frustrated by his insistence on her living in a big fancy house, “What’s so wrong with an apartment? You’re living in an apartment.”
“Yeah,” I agreed with Valerie, “What’s so wrong with an apartment?”
“That’s temporary,” he said pointedly, “Ava and I will both be moving to the Malibu home as soon as it’s ready.”
Wait, what? “We are?” We hadn’t exactly discussed this. I loved my apartment.
He ignored my question, turning his unreasonable demands back onto his sister, “Apartments make it more difficult for security. Too many people are able to come and go.”
She shook her head in frustration, “Can’t you just hold your judgement until we see the places first? You haven’t even given it a chance.”
Rhett contemplated this for a minute, “Okay. But if I don’t like it, we’re going to look at houses.”
When we pulled up to the first stop, Rhett barely slowed the car after seeing the neighborhood and the homeless people milling about.
“Absolutely not,” he said as he drove off towards the next apartment option.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Valerie mumbled, barely able to convince herself, much less Rhett. I shook my head at the two of them.
The whole morning went about as expected. The two of them were both hard headed and determined individuals. It was quite entertaining for me to watch, seeing Valerie challenge her unreasonable brother. He couldn’t charm his sister or seduce her to get his way like he always did me.
The few apartments we did make inside to tour, Rhett immediately found reasons to dismiss them as suitable residences for his little sister. After the fifth one, he told her we were done looking at apartments. She begged and pleaded with him to look at one more.
Hearing the defeat in her voice and seeing the sadness in her eyes, had me intervening and negotiating a compromise between them. We would look at one more apartment of Rhett’s choosing. Of course, the apartment of his choosing was a high-end, modern complex with a concierge and security staff in place.
The place was like a luxury resort with its clubhouse, fitness center and Olympic sized pool surrounded by comfy outdoor seating and fireplaces. It would be like being on vacation year round.
It was impressive and fitting for the Blackwood family. For some reason, though, as much as I could tell Valerie loved the place, she was wavering on committing to living there.
“Fine,” she finally conceded as we finished walking through a floor plan, “But I’ll need at least two bedrooms, so I can have a roommate.”
“Roommate? You don’t need a roommate, Val,” Rhett stated firmly.
“I know I don’t need one. I want one.”
He studied her carefully, “Why?”
Because, I want one!” she said exasperated with her overbearing brother, not explaining her reasoning any further.
I could tell by his furrowed brow he wasn’t too keen on his little sister having a roommate, but he let up on his demands, “They’ll have to undergo a background check.”
“You’re absurd, Rhett. I’m not forcing people to do background checks.”
“Background checks or no roommate.”
She looked at me for help. I shrugged not wanting to jump on this grenade for her.
“Fine, but it won’t be the determining factor on whether the person is allowed to live with me. That decision is mine to make,” she stated firmly.
“We’ll see,” he smirked confidently.
We drove out to Malibu after finalizing the lease for Valerie’s two bedroom, two bath apartment and grabbing some lunch. I hadn’t been out to the site, since the contractor broke ground and I was anxious to see the progress.
As we walked the site inside the stakes that had been placed to outline the exterior edges of the foundation, I tried giving Valerie a tour of the floor plan.
“And here is where the kitchen will be!”
“All I see is dirt,” she said unimpressed.
“Use your imagination, Val,” I rolled my eyes.
She closed her eyes, pretending to imagine and then flicked them back open, “Yep, still just dirt,” she teased me.
“I give up,” I sighed frustrated.
She laughed, “I’m sure it’s going to be awesome when it’s all done, Ava. I mean this view alone and the beach cove will be the perfect spot for some college parties when I house sit,” she grinned.
“There will be no college parties in our home,” Rhett eyed her warningly as he draped his body around me from behind.
“You’re seriously no fun, Rhett,” she said, walking off to check out the secluded beach cove. We watched her as she disappeared out of view.
“So…I’m moving, huh?
“Of course.”
“You didn’t think this would need to be a conversation we should have? A decision we should make together?”
“No,” he said unwavering.
“Rhett –“
“Ava,” he challenged, smiling at me. “You can’t pretend you didn’t know. I have been upfront from the beginning. This is our home. For it to be our home, you have to be living in it with me.”
I tried to hold back the cheesy smile that was slicing through my face, but I couldn’t, “Is this your way of asking me to move in with you Mr. Blackwood?”
He laughed, “I think it’s clear, I’m not asking. It’s not even a question. I love you, Ava Conner. And I don’t plan to ever not be sleeping in the same bed as you again,” he skated the back of his fingers across my jaw, bringing his lips to mine.
Sunday, Rhett left me and Valerie up to our own devices to have a girl’s day. We were on a shopping spree to purchase furniture and necessities for her apartment.
Half-way through the day, we had most of the main furniture items bought for her apartment and decided to grab some lunch.
Near the end of our lunch, Valerie’s phone started blowing up with texts and alerts. She retrieved her phone from her purse as I paid for our meal. I watched her as she scrolled through her phone. Her earlier light-hearted mood slowly draining as she read. Her face sagged, and she slammed her phone harshly to the table. She didn’t look at me, but I could see the hurt in her expression.
“Val,” I soothed, “Is everything okay?”
I rarely saw anything get Valerie this upset. I was suddenly feeling very protective.
She shook her head, not answering me immediately. “I’m fine,” she forced a smile, pretending to be unaffected by whatever was on her phone.
“Are you sure? Do you want to -”
“I’m fine, Ava,” she said forcefully. I sat quiet for a moment.
“Okay,” I surrendered.
She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Ava….I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” I reached for her hand, “You don’t have to say anything….but if you need someone to talk to…I’m here.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Ava,” she smiled weakly.
It pained me to see her hurting, and I started to wonder if this had anything to do with why she wanted a fresh start in California. The ride back to my apartment was silent and had me more worried about what had upset her, but I didn’t push her for answers. It was obviously something that she didn’t want to talk about.
By dinner time, Valerie was back to her old self – at odds with her brother.
“Y
ou don’t need a car, Val. You don’t even have a license,” Rhett said firmly. Valerie was in the middle of begging him to take her car shopping.
“I’m getting my license. And I do need a car,” she demanded. “Especially now that you made me live in an apartment so far from campus,” she huffed as she sat back crossing her arms.
“You’ll have a driver. Just like you have in New York.”
“What part of ‘I want to fit in’ are you not grasping? I want to be like every other person on campus,” she complained.
“Val, you aren’t like every other person. You’re a Blackwood.”
“Yes, I don’t need the reminder,” she sighed. “Ava gets it. Don’t you, Ava?”
“Nope….you two aren’t dragging me into this one,” I grinned, taking a sip of my wine. Enjoying that Rhett’s infuriating demands were for once not directed at me.
“So much for sisterhood,” she whined.
I shrugged sympathetically.
“Are Dad and Mom aware of all this?”
“Do you tell them about every move you make in your life?”
Rhett rubbed his hand down his face in frustration, “Fine.”
“Really?”
“Get your license, Val. Then we can talk.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she squealed with excitement.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth, getting ready for bed. Valerie had left my apartment earlier after we had dinner. She was on the way back to the hotel in better spirits, but I still couldn’t get the thoughts of our earlier conversations from the weekend out of my head.
Rhett snaked his arms around me, laying his chin on my shoulder as I applied my nightly moisturizer to my face.
“Rhett…” I looked at him through the mirror.
“Yes, babe?” he asked, dropping kisses down my neck to my shoulder leaving tingling sensations in his wake.
“Did Valerie seem….I don’t know…seem different to you this weekend?”
“Besides being more aggravating than normal?”
I let out a small laugh, “Yes.”
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