by J. L. Beck
I watch as her hand goes to her belly and she looks down at it like she doesn’t quite believe it’s there, then her eyes meet mine again, and I can see the tears filling them. She blinks quickly to keep them from falling, but one still does. Fallon wipes it away with one knuckle, then continues on.
“I’ve loved Reed since the moment we met, even though I didn’t really know what love was then. Not romantic love anyway. We’ve always been close, but so scared to take that chance. Then, Clark got sick, and wanting to see us together, he came up with this plan where Reed would have to have a baby if he wanted to run the company. The last thing I wanted was for him to lose the company his great-grandfather started, so I volunteered to be the one who gave him that baby, even though I was sure my heart would be broken.” She shrugs, sniffling just a little as she remembers how their story began. “It worked out better than anything I could have ever imagined. Now, I have Reed, and he loves me. We’re having a baby, and we’re going to get married.” More tears fall, and her voice is barely a whisper when she finishes, “I just wish Clark was here to see everything he worked so hard to make happen.”
My mouth is wide open and I can do nothing but stare at her in shock. Holy shit! That’s a crazy story. I’m not even sure I believe it’s true, but it has to be, right? Reed and Ryker’s dad sounds like he was insane, but it also leaves me envious, because I don’t know many times I wished I had a dad that cared as much as his obviously did.
“I can’t … I don’t … Wow. I don’t know what to say to that.” I’m flabbergasted, completely shocked. Through it all, they got their happily ever after? How?
Fallon laughs, her smile growing wider as she doubles over while holding her belly, and the waitress chooses that moment to bring our food. The smell of the burger and cheesy fries makes my mouth water. I didn’t think I was that hungry when we came in, but man, now I’m starving. We both dig right in, eating in silence—well, almost silence, minus the sounds of slurping and food being swallowed.
After devouring more than half her burger and a good portion of the fries, Fallon finally wipes her mouth with a napkin and stares me down. “So.” She looks like she’s trying to figure out what to say, so I give her time. I feel giddy as I wait to discover what it is that she’s going to ask me. After a few seconds she continues, “Now that you know all about me and my nutty life. tell me about yours.”
She says it like it’s a demand, but I can tell she really is just curious, and after all, she did just tell me her entire life. So before I know it, I’m spilling everything about myself—not including that night with Ryker or the consequences it might have brought on. I can’t share those deets yet, but everything else, well, it’s fair game.
“Well, I live here in Chicago with my two best friends. Gabby and I have been friends for pretty much forever. We met in kindergarten and she was determined we would be BFFs, so we are. Then, when we went to college, we met Marie. She was my roommate freshman year, and she just fit in so seamlessly with the two of us.”
Fallon’s nodding like she understands completely. “I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, not girls at least. I was always worried Reed would fall in love with one of them and my heart would be broken.” She smiles. “I do have this one friend though, Mel. Her antics make my life look sane and calm.” I bug my eyes out at her and she laughs, holding up one hand. “I know! Trust me. Some of the things she’s told me have to be fake, but even if they are, they’re beyond entertaining. I met her and Reed the same year, and it’s been the two of them for me ever since. I can’t even imagine my life without them.”
“That’s how I feel about Gabby and Marie.” My voice trails off as I think about the distance between Marie and me right now, and of course, Fallon picks up on it.
“Everything okay?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Like I said, Marie fit seamlessly into my friendship with Gabby. We were the female Three Musketeers, but lately, something has been off.”
“What do you mean?”
Fallon sounds genuinely interested, so I explain. “Ever since I started at Winston Industries, she’s been weird. Like…” I stop to think about how I want to explain it, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. “She keeps warning me about Ryker and his brothers, telling me I need to be careful and that they aren’t what they seem. I dunno, it’s like she’s terrified of them, and I don’t know why.”
A shadow crosses her face, and I regret saying what I did. Now she’s probably going to run to Reed and tell him about my crazy friend and how she knows something about them she shouldn’t. Fallon must read my express well because before I get the chance to say another word, she’s covering my hand with hers and squeezes gently.
“Hey. Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe she went out with one of them? They used to be pretty big manwhores. Well, Reed did anyway. Ryker and Remy I’m not sure about. They’re not as brazen about their conquests as Reed was.”
I nod, trying to relax and possibly change the subject.
“You said your parents died when you were young?”
Oh. My. God. Immediately, I want to take back the question because why the hell did I just ask that? She’s not going to want to talk about that. Talk about a mood killer. I want to slap myself for being such a shit co-worker.
She shrugs. “Yeah, it’s been a long time now. I don’t really talk about it much, other than with Reed, but they were in a car accident. I was out with Reed when it happened, and when we came home, his parents were waiting to tell us. I’m not going to lie, it was hard, especially when Reed’s mom passed away a year and a half later. Poor Clark didn’t know what to do with the four of us, but he managed.”
“I’m glad you all had him.” My voice is sad, and I know she can hear it. Since she confided in me about her parents, I feel the compelling need to tell her a little bit about mine.
“My parents were never married.” She straightens when I start talking, and when I look up at her, she’s staring at me intently. “It sucked for my mom, because I know she loves him with everything she has, but she had so many plans before they met. She wanted to finish college and travel the world…but then she got pregnant with me. I’m not saying she wasn’t happy, because she was, but she expected he would be happy too, and they would live this big huge happily ever after.” I drop my head to look down at my hands, blinking away my own tears this time.
Fallon’s quiet voice asks, “That’s not what happened?”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Not even close. My dad was married, but he and his wife couldn’t have kids. I’m not sure he even wanted them. When my mom told him she was pregnant, he asked her what she wanted him to do about it, and that’s when she found out about his wife. She was heartbroken, and suddenly all those plans she had were gone before they could ever become anything solid.” I stop to take a shaky breath. “I know she never regretted having me, but I wish she hadn’t let my dad come back whenever he wanted. He used her so much, and when he was done, she was left sad and depressed and pretty much unable to function. I hate him for that.”
My words make her gasp, and when I look back up, she’s covering her mouth with one hand while tears trail down her cheeks. Before I can reassure her, she jumps up and squeezes into my side of the table. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “I’m so sorry, Ava. That’s an awful way to treat someone.”
I nod. “It is. That’s why I don’t want a relationship with anyone. I want to finish college and travel, the way she wasn’t able to, before I settle down with someone.”
Fallon pulls back to look at me. “You know that just because your dad was a dick that not every guy is. You can have all your dreams and have someone that loves you too.”
I’m shaking my head before she even finishes talking. “I don’t want to take that chance.” I don’t add that I may not have a choice, because while I like her a lot, we are not that close.
She looks sad but doesn’t argue with me. Instead, I
watch as she signals for the waitress and pays for our lunch. Having someone to talk to that isn’t Gabby or Marie is a good thing, and I’m glad I came out with her. Knowing I have a friend at work is comforting, and I hope that maybe she can help me when it comes to Ryker and telling him who I really am someday.
It’s been three days since Fallon took Ava to lunch at my request, and I think things between us have only deteriorated more. She’s come into my office three times this morning, but each time it’s been conveniently when I’m on the phone or someone else is in here so I can’t talk to her the way I want to. I decide that, that ends now.
Pushing the intercom button on my phone, I say her name and watch her jump at her desk. I smile even, loving the reaction she gives me.
“Yes?” she asks cautiously.
“Can you come to my office please?”
I have to work hard to keep my growing temper calm when she says, “I’m a little busy right now. Can it wait?” Like I didn’t just see her sitting at her desk surfing the internet while resting her chin in her palm. I roll my eyes. That shit ain’t working today, sweetheart.
“Ava,” I growl her name, and she turns to face me with wide, frightened eyes. Knowing I scare her makes me want to throw shit, and I almost sigh in relief when she nods.
My eyes don’t leave her as she stands, brushing her hands down her skirt and straightening her already perfect shirt. I swear, I think she wears these outfits solely to torture me. Today’s skirt is tight, coming almost all the way down to her knees, which means it’s showing nothing, but highlighting everything.
I love it and hate it equally. Her white button-down shirt is almost sheer, and I can see the outline of her bra when she walks toward me, her hips swaying in her entirely too-high heels. She enters the office much like she did the day I met her: on wobbly legs. Her face is masked of nearly all emotion, and I wonder what made her have such an emotional change the other day.
“Are you feeling better?” I ask, genuinely concerned for her well-being. She looks less pale today, and her eyes seems darker, more brown than gold.
She nods her head. “Yes. I think I just had a twenty-four-hour bug. Is that all you called me in here for?”
The tone of her voice ignites something inside me. I don’t want to hurt her or startle her, but I have to stop the maddening worrying that rages to the surface every time she is around.
“I wanted to know if everything is still okay between us.” I hate even having to ask, but she’s giving me so many mixed signals, I have no choice. The person she was just a few days ago is gone, and now she’s acting like we’re strangers.
Ava crosses her arms over her chest protectively before answering. “We’re fine.” Her tone brooks no argument, and I’m left wondering what to say to her next. The fact that she’s so standoffish, so immune to me now, just makes me want to ruffle her feathers more. I want her to have some type of reaction to me, even if it’s her smacking me again.
Like she knows the thoughts going through my head, she backs away from my desk. “If that’s all, I have work I should be doing.”
I want to call her out on her bullshit so bad, but at the same time I’m worried I’m going to push her further away if I keep antagonizing her, so I let her leave without complaint.
I sigh, sinking into my chair and running my hands through my hair. Dinner at Reed’s is going to be interesting tonight. Fallon needs to tell me what they talked about at lunch, instead of telling me to “give her time” and “let her see she can trust me.” Giving her time clearly isn’t working, and with the way she’s avoiding me, there’s no way I can show her it’s safe to trust me.
When I walk into the house Reed and Fallon just recently moved into, I can see Fallon in the kitchen making dinner and dancing around as she does. Seeing her be so happy makes me smile, because it wasn’t that long ago that she and my brother were both miserable. I’m glad they got their shit together before everything between them had the chance to be ruined.
Reed’s sitting on the couch in the living room when I walk in, not even hearing the door shut when I come in. I walk in to join him and see he’s watching some sports shit I don’t care about. I don’t care which football team is favored to win this weekend, nor do I care what player is doing who. I get enough gossip and drama being on the same floor as Andi every damn day.
He finally looks over when I sit down beside him. “Hey, bro,” he greets me. “How are things in the finance department?” He asks the question as if he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on in every department and on every floor.
I shrug. “You probably know better than I do.”
Laughing, he agrees. “That’s probably true, but then again, some of us actually come to work to do our jobs…not chase pussy that doesn’t want us.”
“Reed Alan Winston!” We both turn to see Fallon standing at the edge of the room with her hands on her hips, glaring down at us.
Trying to placate her, he immediately stands and goes over to her, holding out his arms like he’s going to wrap them around her, but she sidesteps him. “I don’t think so. Please tell me I did not just hear you refer to women as ‘pussy.’”
“Baby,” he starts, his voice cajoling, but she’s having none of it. He tries once again to embrace her, but she pushes him away with a huff. “I wasn’t saying I see women that way. You know I don’t see any woman but you.” Fallon rolls her eyes at his obvious lie but doesn’t say anything. “I was just speaking to Ryker in a language he would understand.”
What the fuck? My own brother is throwing me under the bus so his fiancée won’t be pissed at him. The worst part? It fucking works! As soon as he says that, all the anger drains out of Fallon’s body and she relaxes into him. I know I’m staring at them with my mouth open in shock, but I have no idea what to say.
“You’re both jerks,” she finally says, pulling out of his arms and looking between us. “I shouldn’t feed you, but I know you’ll both pout if I don’t, so come sit down.”
Reed hurries to help her into her seat before taking his own. She’s been trying all sorts of recipes since they moved in three weeks ago, and according to Reed, everything she touches is delicious, so I’m looking forward to trying whatever it is she’s made. When I asked him what we were having, he just told me I’d have to wait and see.
Once our plates are full with the mouth-watering smelling meatloaf and creamy mashed potatoes, I pin Fallon with my stare. “What the hell happened between you and Ava at lunch? I thought you said things went well.”
She looks taken aback, but answers, her voice clear and honest. “It did go well. What are you talking about? You act like I did something wrong.”
I set down my silverware with a sigh and explain. “She won’t talk to me. I swear, it’s like she’s still pissed about the stupid things I said, even though I apologized and she said she forgave me. I don’t know how to make her talk to me or how to make things less frigid at work. I’m hesitant to even call her into my office because she acts like she’s about to be a human sacrifice every time I do.”
Snickers from Reed’s seat make me want to stab him in the eye with my fork.
“What are you over there laughing about?” I growl.
He grins. “I’m just glad you’re getting a taste of what I went through with Fallon.”
“Reed…” Fallon starts to chastise him, but he waves her off.
“No, you know good and well he enjoyed watching me suffer when we were trying to figure out what was going on between us. It’s only fair he gets it ten times worse now that he’s found someone he’s interested in.” His attention turns back to me, and he asks, “Not so funny now, huh?” There’s a cocky grin on his face, and the idea of stabbing him in the eye with that fork starts to look a lot better.
Fallon scoffs at his stupidity. “You’re both idiots,” she tells him before turning to me. “Look, Ava has some issues with trust and with men. The idiot move you pulled that day? That made it so much harde
r for her to trust you now.”
“What happened to her?” I’m instantly concerned, wanting to beat the shit out of whoever hurt her. No man should lay hands on a woman, no matter how angry they are.
Shaking her head, Fallon tries to diffuse my sudden anger. “That’s not my story to tell. When she trusts you, and she will, she’ll tell you herself. She deserves to be the one to tell you her story. It shouldn’t come from me. Just…” She pauses to collect her thoughts. “Just show her that you are trustworthy, despite your idiot actions before. She needs you to be her friend right now, not the guy trying to get into her panties.”
Reed is nodding along like he agrees, and when he opens his mouth, my need to punch someone turns to wanting to punch him instead. “Fallon’s right.” I start to protest, but he cuts me off. “No, seriously. I get it, truly I do. You want to fix whatever has hurt her and you want everything to be worked out immediately. That’s not real life though. You did a shitty thing, and now you’re having to face the consequences. I know exactly how you feel, because I was there with Fallon not that long ago.”
I roll my eyes at his logic. His situation with Fallon was nothing like what I’m going through with Ava. Fallon has known him forever, so forgiving his stupidity was a lot easier for her. The only thing Ava has to go on about me are the things I’ve said and done around her, which make me look like the world's biggest ass. I just hope I haven’t complete screwed everything up with her.