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)
Blinking, looking surprised, Ava takes a brief few moments to breathe. “You shouldn’t have taken it upon yourself to decide my future.” She walks on, back to wobbling again. John’s already schooled me on this. I denied a woman her choice. What I did was wrong. But, she’s not pregnant, and it’s a relief given how fucking drunk she is right now.
“For fuck’s sake,” I whisper, looking at the heavens. How did we get here? “You’re a fucking pain in the arse.” I catch up and pick her up, and this time she doesn’t fight me. “And I was thinking about our future.”
“Put me down.”
“I’m not putting you down, lady.” I stride to the car, feeling her becoming heavy and limp in my arms. Out of fight.
I get her in the passenger seat and secure her belt. “This fucking dress is fucking ridiculous.” And it’s going to meet my scissors as soon as we’re home.
Starting the engine, I pull out and turn onto the main street, seeing Kate still outside the bar with Dan, a good few meters between them. The atmosphere between them looks as thick as it feels in my car. Kate’s arms are folded over her chest, her body language not looking good for Dan. But Sam’s nowhere to be seen.
I check Ava, tapping the steering wheel, wondering what to say. I’m not sure anything will benefit the situation. She’s not thinking straight. There’s a man back there nursing a bruised body and a bruised ego to prove it. I grimace at the state of my shirt.
One for the bin.
I drive calmly, wondering if she’ll speak. Condemn me. Yell at me some more, hit me. The bright lights of a billboard shine into the car when I come to a stop at some lights, and I press my palms into the wheel, bracing my arms, taking in a long breath. “I love you, Ava,” I say to the world outside my car. “With my fucking heart and soul, I love you so much.” I press my lips together, facing her. She’s staring out of the window. “Will you ever understand how much?”
She doesn’t answer, so I gingerly reach for her face, turning her toward me.
Her eyes are closed. Too much drink. Too much drama.
“No,” I answer for her, sighing. “You couldn’t possibly.” A horn sounds behind me, prompting me to pull off, the lights now green. “I don’t know what tonight was all about,” I go on, talking to myself. “But it was below the belt.”
Worse than you stealing her pills?
“Oh.” I laugh. “You chose now to join the party?” I ask. “Where have you and your shitty sense of humor been the last week while I’ve been alone?”
Observing from afar.
“How good of you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ava slurs.
I flinch and look across the car, finding drunken eyes squinting at me. “Never mind,” I mutter. “Go to sleep.”
“I’m not tired.”
I roll my eyes, silently asking my dear brother how to deal with this.
Are you kidding? I died before I had the pleasure of a dramatic female to contend with. Thank God.
I laugh but quickly stop, checking Ava. She’s closed her eyes again. “Not tired?” I ask. “No, but totally shitfaced.” Returning my attention to the road, I frown. Thank God. “Are you saying I should walk away?”
Did you hear me say that?
I hum, smiling a little. “She’s a handful, isn’t she?”
Yeah, bro. And you’re two handfuls.
“She kissed another man.”
You fucked her like she was just another lady of The Manor.
I wince.
Stole her pills.
Another wince.
Felt another woman’s arse.
“Okay, enough.”
“No, actually, I’ve had enough,” Ava mumbles, coming alive again.
I sigh. “Go to sleep.”
“I’m not fucking tired.”
“Okay.” She’s fighting to keep her heavy eyes open. “You’re a case, Mrs. Ward.”
“Well, you’re a nutcase.”
I hear Jake rolling around on heaven’s floor, laughing his tits off. She’s got spirit, bro.
I laugh with him and relax back in my seat.
You’ve not been out on your bike recently. Are you forgetting about me?
“Never.”
Wish I could ride with you, Jesse.
I smile sadly. He never got to experience the thrill. “Me too, Jake.”
I don’t hear from my brother for the rest of the journey. But I hear him.
Don’t waste a moment.
I’m glad to see Clive back at his spot behind his desk. Not so glad that I’m once again carrying Ava into Lusso because she’s in no fit state to walk. His shock is clear, and I definitely sense disappointment. Yes, she’s in a shocking state. Yes, I’m disappointed too. Clive and I share the same values.
He grabs something off the counter and comes at me, holding whatever he’s picked up out. It takes a moment for the penny to drop. Keys. Keys for Ava’s nice, new, sparkly car. Not that she deserves it.
“It was delivered earlier,” he says. “Very nice indeed.”
“Thanks, Clive.” I hold my hand out under Ava’s legs, accepting them. He offers to help, but I politely decline. I get Ava inside the elevator and look down her body as the doors slide closed. “Fucking dress is ridiculous.”