Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 227851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1139(@200wpm)___ 911(@250wpm)___ 760(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 227851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1139(@200wpm)___ 911(@250wpm)___ 760(@300wpm)
Damn right you’re not.
“Now, fuck off,” I breathe to myself, moving in and collecting Ava.
“Take care,” she says.
“Can I?” Dan points to my arms around Ava’s belly, locking her to my body.
No. “Sure.” I hand her over with great reluctance and let them have their moment.
“Look after her,” Dan says, his eyes on me as he presses his lips to Ava’s forehead. And he still plays the fucking game.
I take my wife back, confirm I’ll send the payment, and warn him not to kick off when he leaves.
And he goes, his walk as cocky as I know him to be, even now. I hold on to Ava for a few more minutes, let her have a moment, before coaxing her around in my arms. “Ready to go home?” I ask, brushing her hair back from her face with both hands and holding her cheeks as I kiss her nose.
“Yeah,” she says quietly, deflated. I hope I can improve her mood when I show her my surprise. It’s been a bad day for both of us, and there’s only one cure.
The bubble.
Or Ava Cloud Nine.
“Come.” I take her hand, collect her bag, and walk us out. John gives me the nod as I pass, and Sarah looks up from her gin at the bar. “I need a word with Sarah,” I say to Ava.
“I’ll wait in the car.”
“No, you don’t have to wait in the car,” I explain, seeing her throw a contemptuous scowl Sarah’s way.
“Yes, I really do,” Ava replies, taking her bag from my hand and leaving. I watch her go, contemplative. I don’t want to say all of our problems will disappear with the absence of The Manor from our lives, but a good chunk of them would. I breathe out, backing up to the bar.
“How did it go with Ava’s brother?” Sarah asks.
“There’s some bank details and instructions on the pad in my top right drawer,” I say, keeping it business only. “Let me know when the funds are transferred. And email the paperwork I’ve requested ASAP.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.” I leave Sarah, everything heavy as I walk out of the bar.
“Jesse?” she calls, prompting me to look back. The moment I see her expression, I know I won’t like what she’s going to say. So I don’t give her a chance to say it, carrying on my way, following Ava.
Sarah is my past.
Ava is my forever.
I’ll always follow Ava.
41
“You won’t be able to carry me soon.” She sounds sullen. Tired. I’ll soon wake her up.
“Don’t worry, lady.” She’s stuck to my front like glue as I walk us into my office. My stomach’s doing flips. Will she like it? Think it’s totally fucking weird. Because, I mean, it’s a lot of Ava. “I’ve already increased the weights I’m lifting in preparation.”
“Hey,” she grumbles as I lower her, hanging on to my hair, ensuring I can’t straighten back up. At her mercy. Always.
“You’re a savage.” I chuckle. “Are you going to let go?”
“Say sorry,” she demands.
“Sorry. I’m sorry. Let go.” My hair is freed, and she kicks her shoes off, breathing out her tiredness.
“Why are we in your office?”
“I wanted to show you something.”
“What?” Eyeing me, she tilts her head, my fidgeting obvious. I look at the wall again. A lot of Ava. “What’s up with you?”
“Turn around,” I order before I bottle it, stepping back and bracing myself for my wife’s reaction to my homage to her. Christ, it really is a lot.
She turns away from me, I start chewing my lip, and the moment her shoulders lift and she steps back, I step forward so she meets my chest.
Surprise, I think, releasing my lip when I bite down a little too hard. What does she think?
I watch her, pensive, as her head slowly turns from one side to the other, taking in the entire expanse of wallpaper. It looks incredible. Just as I imagined. If she doesn’t like it, then she shouldn’t have left the wall blank when she did the designs on this place. It was so obviously meant to be full of her. And besides, it’s my office, so my rules.
She walks toward one of my favorite pictures. And, if I’m realistic, probably one of the weirdest. “That was the first one I took,” I say, biting back down on my lip. “It became a bit of an obsession after that.” Just like she did. She faces me briefly, her face a picture of . . . what is that? Shock? Amazement? Horror?
Shit, I don’t know. I back up to my desk and pluck a marker out of a pot as Ava walks the length of the wall, taking it all in. I’m sure she agrees. A lot. “Here,” I say, winning her attention. “I want you to sign it.”
She frowns down at the pen in my hand, tentatively reaching to take it. “Sign it with my name?” she asks, curiously amused.