by Debbie Mason
Lexi lay down on the bed and tapped the pencil against the pad of paper. Colleen stretched out beside her.
“The biggest strike against all three of them is that they’re friends with the mouse. In my book, that speaks to a lack of judgment.” Lexi gave a short laugh. “Surprisingly, she did show some spine tonight.” She made a face and ripped the page from the pad. Crumpling the paper, she tossed it on the nightstand and then rubbed her rounded belly. “Don’t worry, we have a couple months, baby. I’ll find someone who’s perfect for you and your daddy.” Looking up at the canopy, she blinked her eyes. “I just wish I knew what kind of hold she has on him.”
“Love, Lexi, my girl. A love that’s rare and true. My wish for you is that one day you’ll find the same. Never doubt that Griffin loved you though. He still does. He’ll be there for both you and the wee one.” Colleen turned her head at Lexi’s sniff. “Oh now, you’re not one to cry.”
The last time Colleen had tried to reach Lexi, she hadn’t been able to. No doubt she’d used up her energy messing with Jasper. But she had to try again. The girl was working herself into a state over this, and it wasn’t good for either her or the baby.
Colleen centered her energy, then brought her mouth near Lexi’s ear. “Ava’s his match,” she yelled.
Lexi’s hand froze by her cheek. She slowly sat up, her eyes darting around the room. “Relax,” she told herself and lay back down, “it’s just your imagination.”
Colleen smiled and did it again. This time Lexi jumped off the bed. She put her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room. “You can’t mess with me, DiRossi. I know you’re behind this, and when I find out how you pulled it off, I’ll bring you down.”
Bejaysus, Colleen had gone and made everything worse. Again.
Griffin had fond memories of the whitewashed wooden footbridge that arched over the tide pools. It was where he’d first kissed Ava. He’d brought her to see his favorite place on the estate—Starlight Pointe. The windswept spit of land that jutted out to sea was home to the white brick lighthouse with its red roof. It had become Ava’s favorite place too. Whenever they wanted to escape the prying eyes of family and friends, especially his brothers, they’d come here.
It was their secret place. A place where they’d shared their hopes and dreams. She’d told him she was pregnant here. He’d asked her to marry him here. It’s where he’d said goodbye to her when he’d left for his military training. But he hadn’t been back since their divorce.
Starlight Pointe was part of the estate, an easy ten-minute walk from the manor, but the family hadn’t maintained the lighthouse. Money had been tight for a while now, and they’d put whatever they had into the manor and the cottages. It was going to take a crapload of work to refurbish the lighthouse and make it livable.
After his first night out here, Griffin had decided he was up for the challenge. He already felt more at home here than any place he’d ever lived. He just had to get the family attorney on board. George was giving him some legal mumbo jumbo about being unable to sever it from the estate.
Griffin figured he’d eventually wear him down. If he didn’t, he planned on getting in touch with his cousins. They could sell out everything else, but no way was he letting this place go. Starlight Pointe had played a big role in his past with Ava, and he was hoping it would play a bigger role in their future.
The winds off the Atlantic rustled through the tall grasses on either side of the path. To his left, the waves crashed against the rocks, dampening his face with sea spray. His gaze traveled the crooked white steps down to the small sandy beach at the base of the bluff. He had a feeling Lexi wouldn’t be all that comfortable with his choice of homes and added baby proofing to his long to-do list.
The door to the house opened, and Liam stuck his head out. “I’ve been searching all over for you. I was beginning to think the house ate you. Weren’t you supposed to stay here last night?”
“Change of plans, wiseass.” Given the state of the floors in the house, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that he could have fallen through the rotted boards. “I got a text from Ava after their book club meeting. She wasn’t in a great place, so I stayed with her last night.”
Understatement. He’d arrived after midnight to find her sitting at the kitchen table eating cupcakes. As soon as he’d walked in the door, she’d informed him that she was drawing a line in the sand. If Lexi crossed it, Ava’s promise to him was off. She wasn’t walking away or turning the other cheek anymore.
Griffin understood where she was coming from after she’d explained that Lexi was apparently on the hunt for his future bride-to-be. Something Griffin had a hard time believing. But Ava did, so he’d promised to talk to Lex about it today. Not exactly a conversation he was looking forward to.
Liam pulled out a chair at the table. “Grams and Soph weren’t in a great place after the book club meeting either. I don’t want Soph upset right now, Griff. It’s getting out of hand.”
“Something going on with her?” Griffin asked as he hung his leather jacket on the hook by the door.
“She’s got a lot on her plate right now. Negative publicity from the first round of the competition means she’s been fielding calls from nervous brides.”
His baby brother had one of those faces that gave everything away. It’d been Liam’s downfall when they played poker. “And?”
“Okay, all right, but this is under the dome.”
Griffin cocked his head. “Under the dome?”
“Wait till your kid’s seven. You’ll be saying shit like that too.”
“Doubtful.” He eyed his brother, thinking about the last time he’d seen Sophie. “So, when’s the baby due?”
Liam grinned. “Always could count on you to figure it out. Now, I won’t be lying when I say I never told anyone. But don’t say anything. It’s early days.”
Griffin shook his brother’s hand, bending to give him a one-arm hug. “Congrats, baby bro. I don’t have to ask if you’re happy about it.” He straightened and walked to the kitchen with its crooked floors and crooked cabinets. Ava was right; it had to be gutted. “You have time for a coffee?”
“Sure. Thanks. Soph and I are over the moon about the baby. Which kinda got me thinking about you and Lex. Don’t tear my head off, okay? I’m not taking sides. But this thing between Ava and Lex can’t be good for either her or the baby. Any chance you and Ava could cool it for a bit?”
Griffin filled the coffeepot with water, working to keep his temper in check. The idea of staying away from Ava…He couldn’t do it. More to the point, he wouldn’t do it. And he didn’t think it was fair that his brother even brought it up as an option.
“What you all seem to be forgetting is that Lex and I aren’t together anymore, and neither of us want to be. If you think that’s just me, you might want to ask Lex why she was trying to set me up with half the single women in Harmony Harbor last night. In case you’re wondering, Ava wasn’t one of them.”
Liam groaned. “It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?”
“I’d say the probability of that is high,” Griffin admitted as he scooped coffee into the filter. And that worried him, because Liam had a point. The stress wasn’t good for Lex and the baby. Which Griffin had known all along and the reason he’d tried to keep his distance from Ava in the beginning. Since that was off the table, it was up to him to figure this out. He’d spent twenty years as a SEAL, how hard…He smiled. He knew exactly what to do. He dug his phone from his pocket and texted Ava and then Lex.
“I don’t know what you’re smiling about. This has shit show written all over it.”
“Leave it to me. I’ve got it under control.”
“Care to enlighten me?”
“I’m going to deal with them the same way I would members of my team who didn’t get along. They need a common goal to work toward.”
“You seriously think you can get Ava and Lexi to work together?” Liam looked around and
lifted a shoulder. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You actually think you can make this place habitable.”
“Yeah, I—” Griffin began as he walked to the counter to get the sugar…and fell through the floor. “Shut up.”
Lexi stared at him from across the table in the manor’s dining room, looking a lot like his brother had earlier today, only without the thigh-slapping laughter. Griffin had picked a public location for the meeting of his two exes in hopes it would keep the drama—i.e., yelling—to a minimum.
“Ten minutes is all I’m asking for, Lex. I promise, once I tell you and Ava what I have in mind, you’ll be glad that you stayed to hear me out.” He’d decided to put talking to Lex about her matchmaking scheme on the back burner. If this played out the way he hoped, it wouldn’t be necessary. The last thing he needed was for her to get defensive, and she was already in a mood.
“You’re lucky I’ve been craving a burger all day. Just don’t expect me to talk to her.” She picked up her burger just as Ava walked into the dining room, still wearing her uniform.
Ava spotted him and gave him a wide smile, which faded as soon as she saw his dinner companion. From the way her eyes narrowed as she strode toward the table, he had an uneasy feeling she was going to be worse than Lexi.
“Are you crazy?” She pried the burger from Lexi’s hands.
“Jesus, God,” he groaned. “Babe, give Lex her burg—”
Lexi stared from her empty hands poised at her mouth to Ava.
Ava put the burger on the plate, picked up a napkin, and held it to Lexi’s mouth. “Spit.”
Lexi looked at him. “I told you she’s nuts.”
At least that’s what he thought she said but couldn’t be sure because she’d yet to swallow the burger in her mouth.
“You want to get sick, fine. But you’re not making Griffin’s baby sick, so you spit that burger out of your mouth right now. Or I’ll stick my finger in there and get it myself.”
Lexi spat out the burger. “What are you talking about? It’s a hamburger.”
Ava folded the napkin and picked up the plate. “An undercooked burger. You want a burger? I’ll make you one that won’t possibly be contaminated with Listeria or E. coli.” Ava lifted the bun and shook her head. “You can’t have blue cheese. Did your doctor not talk to you about what you can and can’t eat?” Apparently Lexi wasn’t the only one on her shit list. Ava pointed at him. “You know better. You should have told her.”
“I didn’t know she couldn’t eat it. You—”
She waved her hand and walked off, muttering in Italian.
“How does she know what I should and shouldn’t eat, and why are you supposed to know better?”
He winced at the shouting coming from behind the closed kitchen door. Two seconds later, St. John stormed out with his chef’s hat in his hand. No doubt off to tell on Ava.
Griffin drew his gaze back to Lex. “She did her clinical practicum in women’s health.” He didn’t really want to get into why he should know better and hoped that would suffice. Lexi was already worried about carrying the baby to term. She didn’t need to have her fears validated by their loss.
“You’re telling me she’s a nurse?” Lexi couldn’t look more stunned if he told her Ava was Mother Theresa.
“She dropped out two months before she graduated.” She’d planned to go on and get her MSN. He couldn’t let himself think about all the dreams that had died in those few short months. He’d been doing his best to keep his promise to Ava and stay focused on their future.
“So why am I supposed to listen to her if she wasn’t good enough to get her degree?”
“It had nothing to do with her abilities. She was on the dean’s list. Several of her profs suggested she go on and get her medical degree.”
Lexi looked confused. “I don’t get it then. Why did she drop out?”
And that was the million-dollar question. “I don’t know.”
Lexi put her elbow on the table, cupping her face with her hand, a look in her eyes he was familiar with. Nothing the woman liked more than solving a puzzle. “When did she ask you for a divorce?”
“A month before.”
“And the plot thickens,” she murmured.
“Do me a favor and leave it alone, Lex. It upsets her to talk about it.”
“But don’t you want to know…” She straightened when Ava approached the table with two platters.
She placed one in front of Lexi, the other in front of him. “Mangia,” she said, pulling out a chair to take a seat.
Lexi looked from her platter to his. “Why do I get a salad and he gets fries?”
“Because you’re carrying his son, he isn’t.” She plucked three fries off his plate and put them on Lexi’s. “Happy now?”
Lexi pursed her lips, then lifted the burger to her mouth, taking a bite. She slowly chewed, her eyes went to half-mast, and she moaned. Obviously unintended because she glanced at Ava after she swallowed and said, “It’s pretty good.”
“Uh-huh, I moan when my food is pretty good too.” Ava picked up a fry and took a bite. Griffin grinned around his burger. Ava had never lacked confidence, and when it came to her cooking, she was downright cocky. She had reason to be; the burger was amazing. “Best burger I’ve eaten in a long time, babe.”
“Let me taste.” She leaned in and took a bite, closing her eyes to savor the taste. She swallowed and nodded with a smile that lit up her gorgeous eyes. “I’ve got it back. I found my missing ingredient.”
He didn’t understand what she meant, but the way she was looking at him made it seem like it had something to do with him. She looked so happy he wanted to kiss her but he wouldn’t rub their relationship in Lexi’s face.
Lexi looked completely horrified. She never did like to share her food. “That’s gross.”
Ava shrugged, picking up another fry from his plate. “You wanted to talk about something?” she asked him.
He nodded, feeling more confident about his idea than he had earlier. Probably because Lexi and Ava had managed to sit within a foot of each other without drawing blood. “I’ve come to a decision I thought you’d both want to know about. The two of you have been after me to sign on to keep the estate in the family, and I’m willing to do that if…”
“If what?” They asked at almost the same time, glancing at each other when they did.
“If the manor wins the food war competition.” He raised his hand when Ava sputtered a protest and Lexi opened her mouth to no doubt do the same. “It’s nonnegotiable, ladies. If the manor doesn’t win, it’s going to take at least a year to recover from the negative publicity. There’s already been two wedding cancellations for this summer. I’m not willing to back a lost cause. If the manor wins, it stands a chance of eventually operating in the black.”
He took a bite of his burger, feeling pretty pleased with himself. His chances of getting George to back him in buying Starlight Pointe were higher if he was on Team Greystone. And knowing his two ex-wives as well as he did, they would do everything in their power to win the food wars.
Lexi looked at her burger and sighed. “All right, we have to convince Gaston to let you help with the next competition.”
“When are you going to start listening to me? Gaston won’t let me in the kitchen because he doesn’t want the manor to win,” Ava said.
Griffin happily ate his burger and fries while the two of them hashed it out, confident they’d get on the same page eventually. Ten minutes later, as he popped the last fry in his mouth, it sounded like they had.
“I still say you’re wrong about him. But if you can prove he isn’t who he says he is, I’ll keep an eye on him until we have enough to make a case to get rid of him. We need actual proof though,” Lexi said.
Griffin’s cell phone rang, and he glanced at the screen. “I’ve gotta take this. It’s about Finn.” Griffin picked up, and his contact turned him over to the doctor looking after Finn. Problem was, the guy spoke French and Griffin
didn’t. “Une minute. Babe, can you talk to Finn’s doctor for me? I can only make out one or two words every few sentences.”
“No, but I know who can.” Ava’s smile said she was up to something. She pushed back her chair and went to stand up. “Perfect timing.” She waved over the chef, who was heading for the kitchen, looking about as unhappy as when he left. “Gaston, Griffin needs you for a minute.”
The man approached the table warily. “Oui, vous wish to have speaks with me, monsieur?”
Griffin handed him the phone. “My brother’s doctor speaks French. I need someone to translate.”
“Tres bien.” Lexi gave Ava an I-told-you-so look when he put the phone to his ear. “Bonjour. Non. Oui. Une minute. Zee dialect is one I’m unfamiliar with. Apologies,” the chef said.
Ava raised her eyebrows at Lexi with a smug smile curving her kissable lips and then took the phone from Griffin, looking at St. John while she conversed with the doctor in perfect French.
Lexi’s eyes followed Gaston as he hurried off; then she looked at Griffin. “I know what you’re doing, and if you think we’re going to become friends because you’ve got us working for a common cause, you’ll be disappointed.”
Ava, who’d pulled a pen from her pocket and was writing on a napkin, glanced at Lexi. “Eat your salad.”
Lexi scowled at Ava and picked up her burger. “You’re going to be a pain in my ass, aren’t you?”
Chapter Twenty
Lexi was a pain in Ava’s culo.
“Just stand guard at the door and be quiet,” Ava said from where she crouched behind her cousin’s desk in the study. She took the small screwdriver from her uniform pocket and fit it in the tiny hole beneath the filing cabinet drawer.
“You don’t have to get pissy. All I said was you could give lessons to petty criminals. It was a compliment,” Lexi said, her eye pressed to the crack in the door.
Ava snorted as she reached for a book on Sophie’s desk. “Yes, after you asked me how long I’d served for breaking and entering.” Ava smacked the end of the screwdriver with the book. It popped open on the second try.