Accidentally Checked By My Brother’s Best Friend (Accidentally In Sports #3)

13. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Duncan

Ava is doing an impressive job hiding her disappointment, exhibiting once again why she’s the award-winning movie star she is. But as always, I can see through it. There’s an ache in my chest, and my stomach is queasy. The desire to say yes and help her is powerful, but my need for self-preservation is stalwart.

“I really—”

“Duncan, please. You don’t need to explain.” She forces a smile and shakes her head, holding her hands up and laughing awkwardly. “I told Caroline this was a silly idea. But she insisted I ask.”

My eyes are glued to her face, and I can see every nuance of emotion rolling over it. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Ava feel so uncomfortable around me. Well, except…

“She’s working on a Plan B,” she interrupts my thoughts, returning my focus to her. I watch her smile shake as she tries to make light of the situation. “I’m a bit worried about what ideas she may come up with, to be honest. She can be a bit…um…creative.”

Taking a slow breath, I push the longing that’s surfacing. I’m a fixer. It’s not something many people know, but it’s true. I clench my jaw to stop the words lingering on the tip of my tongue from falling out.

“I didn’t expect you to say yes, not after…” her voice fades before she finishes, but I know exactly what she’s talking about.

Moving toward the island, I reach for the bowl of treat dough and pull it toward me. Sprinkling some flour on the counter, I pick up one of the dough balls and roll it out with the rolling pin. “It was a long time ago,” I say softly, not looking up. It may have been years ago, but sometimes it feels like yesterday.

This past week especially.

I can feel her eyes on me, slowly moving over my face. Leaving a trail of heat everywhere they touch. It’s all I can do to focus on the dough under my hand.

At the sound of Jessie’s Girl , I stop working the dough and look up to find Ava answering her phone.

The corner of my lip lifts slightly as I remember the talent show where Fiona and Ava sang this song. Ava was obsessed with Rick Springfield.

“Hi, Scarlett,” Ava’s voice rings out. Her eyes snap to mine. “I’m at Uncle Duncan’s.”

I hear Scarlett ask something just before Ava puts the phone on speaker.

“Uncle Dunky!” Ava’s lips quirk, and I narrow my eyes, which only causes the corners of her lips to lift higher. “Are you making the donuts?”

At this, Ava covers her mouth, and I’m pretty sure I heard a snort.

“I’m trying. I burned the first batch.” Scarlett groans loudly. “I know. I know. I forgot to set the timer.”

“Uncle Dunky,” Scarlet cries, and Ava giggles. “We talked about how important the timer is. Nana always says it’s the first thing you do right after putting them in the oven.”

I roll my eyes and look over to see Ava pressing a hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud. It’s bad enough to have Scarlett lecture me when it’s just the two of us, but with Ava here listening in, I’m looking for the nearest rock to crawl under.

“I know.” I rub my head against my palm, feeling heat creep up my face. “I was distracted.”

Ava wags her finger at me, backing Scarlett up, and my lip curls.

“The cookie cutters you picked out work great, though. The dogs are going to love them.”

“I forgot about those,” Scarlett says excitedly. “Will I be able to help you before we go to Mile High Mutts again?”

“We should be able to make that work. I’ll talk with your Dad to see what he says.”

“Okay. You’re coming to dinner tonight, right?” My eyes glance at Ava before falling back to the phone.

“Probably not, Red.” I pick up the rolling pin and go back to flattening the dough in front of me. “I want to try and get a couple of batches of treats done tonight.”

“Bring them here,” Scarlett suggests. “I can help.”

“Not tonight.” I peek at Ava and see her eyes dim a bit.

My heart clenches because I know she knows why I’m staying home. Or rather, because of whom.

“Okay,” Scarlett says, disappointment dripping off every syllable.

I blow out a deep breath and try to rein in the guilt I’m feeling at both Scarlett’s and Ava’s reaction to me not going to dinner.

I roll the dough a little too hard, causing it to thin out more than I want. Putting the rolling pin down, I pull the dough from the countertop and mold it into a ball. Starting over.

“What time will dinner be ready, Scarlett?” Ava pulls the phone to her ear, taking it off speaker. From the corner of my eye, I see her nodding her head. Then her gaze rises to mine again. “I’ll ask him for you; I took the phone off speaker.”

I go back to working the dough, focusing on the feel of it between my hands.

“Hold on, I’ll have you tell him that.” I look up, raising an eyebrow, to see Ava again put the phone on speaker. “Okay, he can hear you.”

“I’ll miss you at dinner,” Scarlett whines, laying the guilt on thick. “I love you.”

The corner of my lips lift and my heart is left melting. “I love you too, Red. I’ll make sure to visit soon.”

My eyes fall on Ava’s face, and my breath catches at the softness I see staring back at me before she turns her focus back to the phone and takes it off speaker again.

I go back to rolling the dough out in a hopeless attempt to take the focus off the woman across from me, which is obviously not working with how poor of a job I’m doing with a simple roll out.

“I’ll see you in a little bit. Bye, sweetie.” I hear Ava slide the phone in her purse. And though she doesn’t say anything, I can feel tiny tingles on my skin. Fully aware that she’s watching me.

The air in the room is so thick that each breath I take feels strained.

“Duncan, I know that before I came, you were constantly at David’s for dinner, and I hate knowing that you’re not seeing Scarlett as often as you normally do. Because of me.”

I shake my head at her, but she continues anyway.

“When I left LA, I didn’t think about where I was going; I just went.” She goes silent, and I look up to find her chewing on her bottom lip. “I forgot that you were traded to the Wolverines. And I forgot how close the arena is to Maple Ridge. I never would’ve—”

“Ava, it’s fine.” I stop pushing the roller and pin her with my gaze. “Really.”

“You’re being nice, and I’m not sure you should be.” She’s running her thumb under her fingers, a sure sign she’s uncomfortable. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile as much as you do when you’re around Scarlett. It’s obvious how much she means to you and how much you mean to her.”

“Ava—”

“Can you do me a favor?” Her head tilts slightly, looking just like Scarlett whenever she’s about to say something sassy.

I press my lips together to keep them from curving up and nod, “Anything.” In that moment, I mean exactly that…anything. If she brought up fake dating again, I would say yes.

“Let me know when you want to see Scarlett, and I’ll make myself scarce. Okay?”

Ava MIA, when I’m around, is exactly what I’ve wanted since she came to town. It’s what I still want, I remind myself. So why am I hesitating to answer?

“Duncan?”

“Sure,” I say through a tight throat. “I appreciate that.”

Jessie’s Girl plays through the room again, and Ava pulls her phone out of her purse. Her face immediately goes white. With shaking hands, I watch her decline the call and immediately power it off.

“Ava?” The fear in her eyes has me wanting to wipe whoever put it there off the face of the earth. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. Fine.” Her smile is shaky, and she’s not meeting my eyes. “It’s just Nathan. Again.”

“How many times has he called you?” I ask. It looks like Finn and Caroline were right to be worried about her if the expression on her face is anything to judge by.

“Duncan, please don’t concern—”

“How many?” I ask in a tone that sends most of my teammates scurrying.

“He never stops,” she whispers, rubbing her hands together. “I keep my phone off most of the day and check it every so often to make sure I’m not missing any important texts or calls.”

My fists clench, and heat crawls up my neck. I can feel a muscle in my jaw tick.

She glances up, and I can see the worry in her eyes, but it’s for me this time. “Duncan, it will be fine. He can’t keep this up.”

Even as she says the words, I know she doesn’t believe them. We both know how determined Nathan can be when he’s fixated on something. And he is fixated on Ava.

“I’m gonna head back to David’s. Dinner is most likely ready, and Scarlett will yell at me if I’m late.”

She forces a smile that I know she’s hoping will have me believing she’s okay, but I know she isn’t. The color drained from her face, and her eyes were filled with panic.

Watching her walk out the front door, I groan.

“Ava!” I call after her, but she doesn’t answer.

I know exactly what I said about pretending to be Ava’s boyfriend, but after what I just witnessed, there is no way I can let her go through this alone.