Burn: Book 3 (The Heat Series)

by MJ Masucci

  She unzipped her suitcase and removed a long champagne colored satin nightgown. She usually slept in t-shirts and panties, but when she was packing, she felt it inappropriate to do that here. She removed her clothing and slipped the garment over her, feeling the smooth fabric glide down her skin. It made her tingle. She slipped under the sheets and quickly drifted to sleep.

  The next morning, she woke up to the sun’s rays reflecting off the mirror over the dresser. She squinted and turned her face into her pillow. She fumbled for her phone on the bedside table, 10:44 AM. She had slept for hours and missed several texts and calls from Xander. She pressed his contact and heard her phone dial.

  “Sweetheart, I was worried about you.”

  She yawned into the phone, “I’m sorry; I just woke up. I was so tired.”

  “How is your father?”

  “He was in recovery when I left. They were going to move him to the ICU. The doctor said he has a good prognosis. I should go to the hospital to see him. I think everyone here already left.”

  “Are you sleeping in your old bedroom?”

  Ava became irritated, “Yes, I am.”

  Xander detected the irritation and questioned her no further. He didn’t want to seem like he was making sure she wasn’t in the pool house.

  “Why?”

  “I just was wondering if you were taking care of Felice.”

  “I don’t know about that. She seems to be taking care of everyone else. She is good for my father. I’m glad she married him. I have to get ready to go. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Please be careful.”

  She hung up the phone and went to take a quick shower. When she was finished, she entered the kitchen looking for Natalia. Then she remembered it was Sunday and she was off. She opened the stainless steel refrigerator and looked for something to eat. She chose an apple and began munching on it. The house was quiet, and she assumed that her stepmother had left for the hospital already.

  The drive to the hospital was uneventful, and traffic was light. The humidity still hung in the air, causing her to sweat. She turned the air conditioning up and turned on the radio. As she pulled into the parking lot, her phone began to ring, picking it up she noticed the number that Liam used yesterday.

  “What?”

  “Hey, bitch. Just want you to know I sent you the newspaper article about Jayne. Don’t give it to the police; I made sure not to leave any traces of myself. I’ll be calling you in a few days.”

  He abruptly hung up the phone. This time she would not tell Xander that he had called. She didn’t want him to worry. Maybe she could convince Liam to leave Xander alone. Liam wanted her, not him. There were things he said to her that she had not revealed to Xander when he lay unconscious on the cold asphalt during their attack. There would be no way for him to know since the garage’s security cameras did not record audio.

  She got out of the cool car and instantly started to sweat in the Georgia heat. She was happy to walk into the cool medicinal confines of the hospital. Her father was in the ICU, and she was directed there by a white-haired woman at the front desk. When she arrived, her stepmother and brother were sitting with her father. He was awake and smiled at her when she approached. He had several wires and tubes attached to him, but he was alive.

  She grasped his hand, and he gently squeezed it. It was cool to the touch and more wrinkled than she remembered. Brooke rose from her chair, offering it to Ava. Ava sat down, still maintaining contact with her father’s hand.

  “Daddy, I was so worried about you.”

  “I’m fine. A little worse for wear but fine,” he croaked. “How is Xander?”

  “He is well. He gives his regards, and he’s sorry he couldn’t be here. He has to be in court tomorrow, and I told him to stay home.”

  She smiled at Felice and told her father about what was going on at the firm. Though she had passed the bar exam, she still had a few months before she was admitted to the New York Bar Association and would continue to work with Xander as his assistant. She spent a few more minutes with him before the nursing staff asked them to step out in order to take vitals. She walked with Felice to the waiting room.

  “How are you doing, Felice?”

  “Worried. I’ve never seen Jason so fragile.”

  “He’s a strong man. I’ve never seen Daddy back down from a challenge.”

  Felice gave her a slight smile, but Ava could see it was masking concern. This was the first time she had seen her stepmother truly show her age of forty-nine. Her skin was pale and blotchy, eyes bloodshot and her usually perfect raven colored hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Ava instantly felt sympathetic towards her. Felice had lost David’s father in a boating accident when he was just a teenager. Now she was probably worrying that she would lose Jason, too.

  Ava squeezed her stepmother’s arm and hugged her. She heard familiar voices coming down the white hallway, their footstep echoing off the walls. She turned to see Uncle Daniel, Aunt Mavis, and Jacob entering the ICU waiting room. She hugged them each as they exchanged information about Jason’s condition. They waited for the nursing staff to finish and were told that Jason should only have two visitors at a time. Ava decided to let her stepmother sit with him and said her goodbyes.

  Chapter 7

  The drive back to Sandy Hill took longer than usual since the traffic had picked up. She searched the radio for a song that she liked and came upon “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. It made her think of Xander, and the first time he had told her he liked it. They were younger then, and it was before Liam had attacked them. She longed for those days when there were few issues between them. She glanced at her engagement ring as it glinted in the midday sun.

  The drive gave her time to think. They had much to discuss. Two months into their engagement and not a plan had been made, a stitch sewn or a venue booked. She was the antithesis of all those young women who dreamed of planning their weddings. At this point, she wanted to do away with all the pomp and circumstance. She didn’t want to call attention to them with Liam lurking around. He was stealing all the happiness that this time should bring.

  When she pulled into the long brick driveway, she noticed David’s car. Fuck, I don’t want to be alone with him. This was another sore spot for her because, based on his reaction last night, she was sure that he was still upset with her. She trudged into the house and was welcomed to the voice of her nephew. Thank God, Brooke was here with her children. She called to William, and he ran into the foyer dressed in his bathing suit. She kneeled to hug and kiss him.

  Brooke came down the stairs with Savannah in her arms. The baby was cooing and trying to pull at Brooke’s long blonde hair. After two children, Brooke still had a gorgeous figure and lush, firm breasts. She wore a bright green bikini that accentuated her tan. Ava stood and held out her arms gesturing for the baby. She was beautiful, with big sapphire blue eyes and had little blond tufts of hair poking out from her sun bonnet.

  “You’re taking him swimming?”

  “Yes, Daddy said we shouldn’t sit around the hospital on such a nice day. I protested, but you know how he gets. Felice said she would call if anything changes.”

  “How did you get here? I didn’t see your car?”

  “Walter dropped us off. He will be back in a little while.”

  Ava noticed tears in her sister’s eyes. “Brooke, what’s the matter?”

  “Let’s get William in the pool; I’ll tell you later.”

  “Okay, let me change into my suit.”

  Ava helped Brooke bring the children to the pool area, and after they had applied sunscreen, William went swimming. They sat in the shadow of the pool house out of the sun while the William frolicked in the water. Savannah fell asleep in Brooke’s arms. Ava took the opportunity to ask why Brooke was so upset.

  She leaned in towards Ava. “I think Walter is cheating on me.” Tears spilled over her cheeks, and she swiped at them before the children saw.

  Ava looke
d at her shocked, “I doubt it.”

  “Why would you say that? He hasn’t touched me since Savannah was born. We used to do it all the time right up until I went into labor.”

  “There must be some explanation. He loves you, Brooke; I know he does. I see the way he looks at you. It’s the same way Xander looks at me.”

  “He has been spending time away from home, and he barely pecks me on the cheek when he leaves or comes home. That makes me think he is fucking around behind my back.”

  Ava could hear the anger in Brooke’s voice, but also she could hear the fear. Brooke had never been rejected by any man, well any man besides Xander. The feeling must be foreign to her. Ava decided she would have a talk with Walter. She wouldn’t come right out and ask him, but she would figure out what he was doing for her sister’s sake.

  A while later, she went into the house to her room to change into a polo shirt and cut off jean shorts. On her way back downstairs, she saw Walter enter the marble foyer. He looked up when he heard her flip flops on the carpeted stairs.

  “Just the person I want to talk to,” he said as he smiled at her.

  “I was just going to say the same thing to you.”

  “Where is Brooke?”

  “Watching the kids at the pool.”

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. He took out his phone and started scrolling through pictures than handed it to her.

  “What do you think of this place?” His ice-blue eyes were twinkling.

  She looked at the picture of the front of a large beige brick house with a double covered porch. He scrolled to the next picture, a huge deck looking out onto the lake with a long dock. The next showed a beautifully renovated kitchen with white cabinets, seafoam colored subway tile and gray granite countertops. He kept scrolling to show her all the rooms of the house - twelve in all - and the yellow sand beach.

  “Do you like it?”

  “It’s gorgeous, but what is this place?”

  “It’s our new vacation house on Lake Lanier. Brooke saw it last summer and commented that she would love to have a house like this for weekend trips. It was in horrible condition. I bought it without her knowing and questioned her so much on renovations she would get annoyed. She had no idea she was telling me what she loved. I incorporated all of it into this house. I was going to present it to her on William’s birthday, but now with Jason being sick, I’m not sure when to do it.”

  Ava flung her arms around Walter and hugged him tightly.

  “What a sweet lovely man you are.”

  He looked at her puzzled.

  “Brooke thought you were cheating on her because you spent so much time away from home. She thought you didn’t love her anymore.”

  He looked at her shocked, “Oh no. Never. I was just trying to give her space. She has been suffering from a little postpartum since Savannah was born. Nothing I said or did helped, so I wanted to give her some room to breathe. She has been getting better, but she cries a lot and yells at me when I try to comfort her. I would never cheat on her. I love her very much. When we broke up in high school, I never forgot her and was so happy when she agreed to go out with me again. How could she…” Then Ava saw his face cloud.

  “What?”

  “The designer that helped me is a woman, Leigh Danforth. She is a business acquaintance and quite capable. Brooke does not like her very much. I wonder if Brooke saw us together? I’ve had several lunches with her.”

  “I think you need to show Brooke the house and soon. If not in person, then show her the pictures. She was very upset a little while ago.”

  Walter rubbed the back of his neck.

  “I feel like a jerk. We’re all worried about Jason, and she is dragging this around with her. Why didn’t she say something?”

  “Walter, you’ve been with her for five years, and you don’t know that is how she is? She clams up. Now, tell your wife that you love her and show her the pictures. Maybe when Daddy comes home, you can take her to the house and show her a good time. If I’m still here, I’ll watch the kids, or maybe Michael will take them for the night.”

  He kissed Ava on the cheek and squeezed her hand, then walked to the back door to see his wife and children. She smiled as she watched him go and then turned her attention to the front door opening. David stopped short when he saw her. His eyes traveled hungrily up her legs, and she subconsciously tugged at the barely there legs of her cut-offs. Her polo shirt was low cut and revealed a more than a little cleavage; his eyes finally settled there.

  “What are you doing up here? Aren’t you sleeping in the pool house?” She didn’t try to hide her annoyance.

  “Not for the past few days. The water heater is not working, and it was easier to stay up here than keep going back and forth for a hot shower or to wash my dishes.”

  FUCK! She was going to have to tell Xander that David was staying in the same house as her. She didn’t want a repeat of last time which kept them apart for weeks.

  “Whose room are you staying in?”

  “Brooke’s. It’s the most comfortable.”

  “Okay.”

  Double Fuck! Right across the hall from her. She excused herself and went into the library to call Xander.

  “Hello, sweetheart, I was just thinking about you?”

  “Just?”

  “Okay, I always think about you.”

  “I have something to tell you.”

  His voice lost its playfulness, “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “David is staying in the main house in Brooke’s room. He told me that the water heater in the pool house is not working.”

  She heard him sigh deeply before he replied with a curt, “Oh.”

  “Please don’t be angry at me. I had no idea he was up here.”

  “I’m not angry at you. You told me the truth this time. Has he spoken to you?”

  “Not really, but he waved to me yesterday when I came to the hospital. I don’t like him upset with me.”

  “Well, the only way you are going to make him not upset with you is to sleep with him.”

  “He knows that’s not possible. He can see my engagement ring.”

  “Men have a way of overlooking those things when sex is involved. Just be careful of him. I don’t trust him. You’re mine, and I’m not sharing you with anyone.”

  “You don’t have to worry. I don’t want to be shared.”

  “I love you. I want you for always.”

  “I love you. My love always endures.”

  “Goodbye, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye.”

  Ava hung up the phone and laid her head back on the couch. She was happy that Xander wasn’t angry that David was so near to her. She would have to avoid him as much as possible. Luckily they wouldn’t need to share a bathroom.

  She went into the kitchen to find something to eat having only eaten an apple this morning. The last time she ate a full meal was Saturday afternoon. Natalia had several things wrapped in tin foil, and she opened several before she found meatloaf. Ava had a hankering for a sandwich with ketchup. She put the sandwich together and went to go to the pool area to see Brooke and Walter.

  They were kissing like teenagers, and she blushed at their display of affection.

  “Ava, come see the house Walter bought for me on the lake.”

  She played it off like she had no idea and viewed pictures that Brooke showed her. She was excited for her sister and thrilled that she had found a man that truly loved her. Brooke’s melancholy mood had lifted, and she was once again a bubbly, happy woman.

  Ava munched on the sandwich while avoiding the splashing from her nephew. Walter and Brooke decided to leave with the children and Ava was left alone with David. She called Felice for an update on her father. He was doing fine and was already grumbling about being confined to his hospital bed.

  She decided to stay in the pool area hoping that David would leave or Felice wou
ld come home soon. She felt uneasy about being around him when no one was in the house. The sun was starting to set, and she wanted to take a nap. She rose to go into the house and saw David heading down the lawn towards her. What was she going to do now? She didn’t want to run and hide, so she decided to stand her ground.

  “Ava, can I have a word with you?”

  “We have nothing to say. You made it clear that if you can’t have me your way that you don’t want anything to do with me.”

  “I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to say that. I know you don’t love me the way you love him and you never will.”

  “You know ‘him’ has a name. It’s Xander. Why do you find it so hard to say his name?”

  “Because I don’t like him. There I said it. I saw how upset you were when you saw him at Sam’s engagement party. You were devastated. He knew what he was doing to you, and yet he didn’t care.”

  “That’s not fair. You knew the circumstances behind what happened. He would never have been parted from me if he didn’t believe that email that Tim spoofed. Don’t you understand? We are soul mates. I don’t want to be apart from him.”

  “I wish things were different.”

  “I’m sorry, but they can’t be. I pledged my love to him when I accepted his marriage proposal. Please, I miss talking to you. We’re family.”

  He smiled at her and extended his hand. When she placed hers in his, he kissed the back of it making her immediately withdraw.

  “I shouldn’t have done that, forgive me. I’m going to get something to eat. I’ll talk to you in a little while.”

  Ava smiled at him, which quickly faded as she watched him walk to the house. She had a feeling that he wasn’t going to keep his promise. She went up to her room and stretched out on her bed. She was very tired from the past few days and dozed off quickly. When she woke, her room was dark except for the moonlight streaming in through the window. She looked up and saw that the clock read 9:32 PM.