by Debbie Mason
Thankfully, Lex had a better read on his mood. She threw a fistful of popcorn at Ava. “Get your ass out of here, mouse. It’s past my bedtime.”
“It’s only eight…”
Lexi lifted her chin at Griffin, and Ava winced. She gave his hand a light squeeze before walking to the bed. Leaning over, she pulled out a bag of chips and chocolates from underneath the mountain of pillows behind Lexi’s back.
Lex made a grab for the snacks. “Hey, give those back.”
“You’ve had your allotted junk food for the week. Think how excited you’ll be for the St. Paddy’s Day party.” Ava grinned as she picked up her coat and headed for the door. “Night, hard-ass.”
They could hear Lexi grumbling from out in the hall. Ava turned to him and stretched up on the toes of her black, high-heeled boots. She kissed the underside of his jaw. “I’m sorry. I stopped to check on her when I came back from visiting with my dad, and she seemed a little down.”
His frustration vanished at the soft press of her lips and the smell of her warm, sultry scent. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You can make it up to me,” he murmured into her palm. Taking the bag of chips and chocolate from her while she shrugged into her black leather jacket, he curved his free hand at her nape, lifting the long, silky curls from under the coat’s collar. “How did your visit go with your dad?” he asked, drawing her toward the elevator instead of the stairs.
She didn’t look at him as they stepped inside. “Really good.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Adam moved him into a bungalow on the grounds last week. My dad does everything by himself, Griffin. He cooks, showers, and gets himself dressed. The bungalow was spotless, and they don’t provide maid service. He does it all.” She lifted a shoulder, a shimmer of tears in her gorgeous eyes.
Griffin put down the bags of chips and chocolates, then straightened to take her in his arms. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Your dad got the wake-up call he needed.”
“But if I wouldn’t have babied him, done everything for him…He would have been better off without me. He would have taken his life back years before now.”
“Same could be said about you, honey.” He tipped her face up and kissed her, drawing back when the elevator doors slid open. “And not that the situation’s the same, but in a way, you’ve replaced caring for your father with caring for Lex,” he said, picking up Lex’s junk food to set it on the table outside the elevator doors.
“Lexi needs…” She searched his face. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
“More like frustrated and a little jealous.” He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to take care of Lex and the baby. But between our jobs and this stuff with Lex, I’m not getting as much time with you as I want.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. “I’m glad you told me how you’re feeling instead of letting it build up until you were really mad at me.”
He laughed, knowing what she was alluding to. “We were young when we were married, babe. I like to think I’ve matured since then.”
“You’ve aged beautifully, Griffin Gallagher. And tonight when we cross Starlight Bridge, we’re leaving everything and everyone behind but you and me.”
“You read my mind, sweet face.” He took a flashlight out of his pocket as they left the manor, careful not to disturb the small box beside it. “Let’s make a promise to each other that the moment we cross the bridge, we leave the day’s troubles and stresses behind. It’s our special place, just like it used to be.”
She stopped to look up at him. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Did Mr. Wilcox agree to sever Starlight Pointe from the estate?”
“He did. It’s one of the things I wanted to celebrate tonight.” He lightly pressed his finger to her mouth. “No, I’m not saying anything else until we reach the bridge. So let’s just enjoy our walk together.”
“You’ve become romantic in your old age,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“And you’ve become even more impossibly beautiful, Ava,” he said, scooping her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Getting to the good stuff faster. I’ve become an impatient man in my old age.”
She opened her mouth, then caught sight of the tree arching over the bridge. He’d hung lanterns in the lower branches and placed LED lights up and down the handrails. “Oh, Griffin, it’s beautiful. You went to all this work, and I ruined it. You should have—”
“There’s only one way it’ll be ruined.” He set her on the bridge, drew the small box from his pocket, and then went down on one knee. “I wanna write a new ending to our story. One that has you growing old by my side. Will you marry me, Ava?”
She was smiling and crying at the same time, nodding her head. Her voice husky when she finally said the words he’d hoped to hear. “Yes, yes, a thousand times over.” She’d gone down on her knees in front of him before he’d made it to his feet. “Hold me, kiss me. I need to know this isn’t a dream.”
The next morning, lying in Griffin’s arms, Ava still needed reassurance that she hadn’t imagined the night before. She lifted her hand. The ring was still there, sparkling in the sunlight seeping in through the bedroom window.
“Seriously? You’re naked and in my arms and you need to look at the ring on your finger to know this is for real?” he asked, his sleep-laden voice husky with laughter.
“Oh, I can feel how real you are,” she said, bringing her hand to his chest to teasingly trail her fingers over the hard slabs of muscle. “It’s just the ring I was wondering about.”
He brought her hand to his mouth, nipping at her fingers. “Keep that up, and we’ll both be late for work.” He gave her a slow and thorough kiss before getting out of bed. “Don’t move. I’ll get your coffee and make breakfast.”
“You don’t have to pamper me.”
“I want to, so get used to it. It’s about time someone took care of you for a change.”
She smiled as he reached for his boxers. “You took very good care of me last night.”
“Forget breakfast. We’ll grab some at the manor.”
“No,” she laughed, “I was just teasing. We don’t have time. I have to have a shower.”
“Me too. I’ll join you.” He winked at her as he walked out of what had once been the porch on the main floor off the kitchen. Griffin had converted it to a bedroom until the second story was renovated.
She heard the water come on in the kitchen while she admired her ring. “Are you sure your dad and Liam didn’t mind you giving me your mom’s engagement ring?” she called out, nervous about showing up at work with Mary’s ring on her finger if they hadn’t agreed.
Ava had been surprised to learn Griffin hadn’t thrown away or sold her wedding and engagement rings. He still had them, but given how their first marriage ended…
Griffin appeared at the door with a coffeepot in his hand. “I’m the oldest. My mom would have wanted me to have her rings. And like my dad said, there’s no one she’d rather have wear her ring than you. She loved you, sweet face. Dad knew that too. She wasn’t fooling him when she’d visit you. Riley outed her when she got old enough to talk. She loved you too. And, yes, my dad’s happy we’re together again. They all will be, babe. So stop worrying about it.”
“Finn and Aidan won’t be. You should probably warn them before they come—”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll tell them. But seriously, all they’ll care about is that I’m happy. It won’t be hard for them to see that I am.”
“I’m happy too, amore mio.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve called me your love. Didn’t know till now how much I missed it.” His smile was soft, his eyes tender. He looked at the coffeepot in his hands. “We should have taken today off.”
Ava glanced at the clock on the nightstand, shocked to see it was already eight o’clock. “You should have told me how late it was,” she said, throwing back the covers.
“If I would have known you were going to jump out of bed like that, I would have.” He winked and walked to the kitchen.
Ava had just turned on the water in the shower when Griffin called from the kitchen, “Babe, is your phone off or something? Soph’s been trying to reach you.”
“I must have left it in the lantern room. Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, good news actually. Damien Gray is a host on some morning show in Boston, and the Marquis’s marketing team got him to agree to televise the final cook-off. I’ll have to let Sully know. Maybe get the old gang back together for a drink.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ava sat across from the desk in the study with her arms wrapped around her waist, the sleeves of her sweater clenched in her fists, trying to keep the stomach-turning emotions from showing on her face at the mention of Damien’s name. The same as she had six days ago.
“Ava, is everything okay? I asked if you were—”
“Sí, everything is fine. We’re serving spicy BLT bloody Marys, green velvet soup, chicken ravioli with a lemon basil pesto, and a green apple sorbet with homemade chocolate squares to finish.”
Sophie glanced at Dana and Lexi before saying, “Ava, you told us the menu a few minutes ago. I asked if you were going to be okay with the crew filming and Damien asking you a few questions while you guys were cooking?”
She’d been working out the scenarios in her head all week—how she’d avoid Damien, how she’d keep him from being alone with Griffin. Until now, she’d thought that would be the most difficult. “I don’t know how Helga and Theo will feel. It’s already stressful enough as it is.”
“Is that what’s wrong, Ava? You’re stressed?” Dana asked. Like her cousin, she was watching Ava with concern. Lexi wasn’t. Her arms were crossed, her jaw tight, blotches of pink on her cheeks.
Ava had to get out of there before she confronted her about what’s going on. As the day of Damien’s arrival drew closer, she’d done her best to avoid Lexi. “No, I’ve just had a lot on my plate with settling my father in at home and preparing for the competition,” Ava said, telling another lie. Her newly self-sufficient father had come home two days ago. He didn’t need or want her help anymore. She went to stand up. “I should get back to the kitchen. We have to—”
“Sit your ass in the chair now. Dana and Sophie, can you give us a minute alone, please?” Lexi said. She didn’t give them a chance to argue. Going to the door, she held it open.
“I don’t have time for this, Lexi. We have prep work to do before the competition,” Ava said. She wasn’t up for this, not now.
Dana and Sophie had barely made it out the door when Lexi slammed it shut behind them. “If I have to, I’ll tie you to the goddamn chair. So if you really have stuff to do, you better come clean now.”
She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry I haven’t had much time for you. I’ve been busy.”
“You think this is about me? This is about Griffin. The man who you agreed to marry a week ago. The man who is worrying himself sick about you. He says you’re acting the same as you did right before you asked him for a divorce, and just like then, he can’t get you to open up.” Lexi sat down heavily in the chair beside Ava, looking at her as though she wanted to wring her neck. “How can you put him through this again? He’s gutted, Ava.”
She closed her eyes, a tear sliding down her cheek. She’d been avoiding Griffin too, using her father as an excuse. Brushing the tear away, she said, “I’ll talk to him. I’m just overwhelmed right now. I’m sorry.”
“You can’t keep doing this to him. He deserves better.”
“I know he does.” As the minutes ticked by, she glanced at Lexi, following the other woman’s gaze to Ava’s hands. Unconsciously she’d been plucking at a loose button. She tucked her hands in the sleeves of her gray sweater. “I should really—”
“Looks like hell. Nails bitten to the quick. Hasn’t eaten or slept in a week from the looks of it. Dressing like shit,” Lexi murmured as if talking to herself, then straightened in the chair. “Let me see your arms.”
“No. I’m not doing drugs if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Concern had replaced the anger on Lexi’s face. “Is your father hurting you again?”
“No, no, he never hurt me intentionally.” She pushed up her sleeves. “See? No bruises, no nothing.”
“Then I don’t understand. You’re not the woman I’ve come to care about. That woman would never, ever, knowingly hurt anyone, especially the man she loves. And I know you love him, Ava. I see it every time you look at him. Please, please tell me what’s going on. Tell me so I can help you like you’ve helped me.” She looked away and sniffed, wiping an arm across her eyes before turning back to her. “I need you to be that woman, Ava. Because that woman is the only one I trust to be the mother of my child when I’m gone.”
The emotions from the past—the fear, guilt, and shame that had caused Ava to withdraw into herself the last few days—were replaced with anger. “Don’t talk foolish. You’re not dying. You’ll get the treatment, and you’ll be fine.”
“You don’t—”
“I know. I was almost a nurse. I would have been a good one, a great one if I…” Her shoulders sagged under the weight of the memories. “It’s Damien. It’s because of Damien I haven’t been myself.”
“Damien Gray, Griff’s best friend?”
Ava nodded, looking down at her hands twisting the loose button as though they were someone else’s. “I’d been stressing over term papers, over Griffin being deployed. I went to a party and cut loose and had too much to drink. Damien was there and offered to take me home. When we got to my room, he backed me against the door and started kissing me. I pushed him away and told him to leave. I thought he had, but when I came out of the bathroom and crawled into bed, he was still there. He held me down and ripped off my pajama bottoms, and then…and then he raped me.”
“Oh, Ava, no. All this time…That’s why you left school and divorced Griffin, isn’t it?”
“I couldn’t tell him, Lexi. Damien threatened to tell him I’d come on to him. That I’d been fooling around on Griffin the entire time I was at school. His friends…He said his friends would back him up.” She lifted a shoulder. “I liked to wear pretty clothes. I was friendly. Some people might say I was flirty. I was young, I liked to have fun. But I never looked at or wanted another man. Griffin was my first. He was my everything. I couldn’t stand the thought of him wondering if I was telling the truth about that night. Couldn’t stand the thought of him even picturing it in his head. I was disgusted with myself, ashamed, and guilt-ridden that I hadn’t been able to stop Damien.”
Lexi had moved out of the chair to crouch in front of Ava, taking her hands in hers. “It wasn’t your fault. Griffin adored you. He never would have doubted your side of the story. He would have stood by you.”
“I know that now. And maybe if my father hadn’t been in an accident six months later, I would have gotten to that place sooner. But that’s not what happened. I was depressed. I think I knew that even then. Sometimes knowing isn’t enough though. I didn’t think I’d be able to get past the fear and disgust when Griffin touched me. It got to the point where I felt like I was hurting him more by staying with him. And apart from worrying that his feelings for me would change if he ever found out, I was terrified he’d either seriously hurt Damien or kill him. Which would have jeopardized everything Griffin had worked so hard for.”
Lexi squeezed her hands. “You have to tell Griffin. I know it’ll be hard. But—”
She shook her head. “No good will come of dredging up the past. It happened more than a decade ago. There’s nothing we can do about it. I’ve dealt with it. All I have to do is get through tomorrow.”
“It’s your decision, and
I’ll support you a hundred percent. Just like you’ve supported me. But, Ava, I think Griffin has spent years trying to figure out what he did wrong. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. I hope you know, really know, deep down in your soul, that none of this was your fault.”
“I do. There was only one person at fault for the rape and that’s Damien. But I allowed what he did to ruin my marriage and hurt the man I love. I was the one who left school because I couldn’t face running into him on campus anymore.”
“Again, not your fault. You went into a depression because of what he did to you. He shouldn’t get off scot-free, not after all you’ve lost because of him.”
“I’ve got Griffin back. That’s all that really matters.” She smiled. “And I’ve got you too.”
“Yeah, you do. So what do you need me to do tomorrow to make this easier for you?”
“Don’t let him be alone with Griffin.”
“Done, and you’ve got yourself another sous chef. I’m not letting Damien anywhere near you without me by your side. So we better go to the kitchen and you can teach me to chop things.” She pulled Ava from the chair, and then, the woman who’d never initiated a hug before, hugged her.
The next day Ava didn’t know why she’d bothered to show Lexi how to chop vegetables. The only thing her friend had wielded the knife at was Damien when he came within three feet of Ava.
He hadn’t changed. He was as handsome and charming as he’d always been. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. Before that long-ago night, she’d never seen that other side of him.
Ava hadn’t been left alone with him for a second. She’d barely responded to his questions, lapsing into Italian the one time that she did. At first Helga and Theo had seemed confused, and then, as though they’d picked up that something was wrong, they jumped in to fill the breach every time Damien asked another question.
When she forgot to add the dried split peas to the soup, Theo had covered for her, adding them himself. Same as when she forgot to add the lemon to the pesto. That time Helga had come to her rescue. As they mopped her sweaty brow, they complained about the heat. It was actually freezing. When the bell rang, signaling that their time was up, Ava’s legs went weak with relief.