14. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Ava
Heading from the kitchen to the door feels like the longest walk of my entire life. The front door shuts behind me, and I scurry down the stairs, all but running to my car. My heart is pounding so hard it’s like a drum banging in my ear.
“I told Caroline this was a horrible idea. Why did I even listen to her?” I mumble, focused on getting into my car and driving away as quickly as possible.
The back of my eyes burn, and my throat is tight. Duncan saying no is exactly what I expected. But this feeling? This feeling of disappointment that is clenching my chest has come out of nowhere.
Reaching the sidewalk, a black car whips in front of me, nearly hopping the curb. My heart rams against my ribcage. Terror grips me at the realization that I could’ve been killed. My eyes widen as I watch the man get out of the car, slam the door, and move in my direction. My body goes cold.
“Nathan!” My voice squeaks. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes are hard as he angrily strides toward me.
“If you would’ve just answered your phone, I wouldn’t have had to come.” His voice is deceptively quiet, but I know that tone. Backing away from him, I stumble my way toward Duncan’s house. “I just wanted to talk to you.”
“No, Nathan,” I say firmly, my mouth dry. I square my shoulders, trying to move faster. “You wanted me to change my mind.”
“Ava, you need to be there for next week’s premiere.”
Is he serious? I study the look in his eyes. He’s serious!
My brows shoot up, and my mouth drops open. Does he not understand that everyone knows our engagement is off? It’s been everywhere! Not to mention that I’ve been connected to two different men since it happened.
Everyone, except him, understands we’re over.
“Baking, big guy?” Nathan’s eyes shift to something behind me, and a condescending smirk covers his lips just as I slam into something hard. “Really?! Pink? It’s not your color.”
Big hands gently wrap around my upper arms, steadying me.
“You’ll have to tell my niece that. She seems to think pink looks good,” Duncan’s voice is deceivingly calm, but there’s an edge to it. I feel him shrug. “I, on the other hand, think gray suits me better.”
“Are you okay?” He whispers softly in my ear, never taking his eyes off Nathan.
I blow out a shaky breath and stiffly nod. Rather than let me go, he pulls me closer to him. Securing my back against his chest. My heart skips at what he’s silently conveying. The warmth radiating from him grounds me and alleviates the coldness swimming through my veins with Nathan’s arrival.
“So it’s true,” Nathan grinds out, sneering at Duncan and glaring at me. “You are dating him.”
A chill runs through me at the rage shining in his eyes. Duncan, feeling it, moves me to his side and places his body between Nathan and me. Putting his arm around my shoulder, he tucks me into his side. Before I can deny it, Duncan responds.
“Yes. We’re dating.” Nathan’s nostrils flare, and Duncan places his lips gently but firmly on my temple before pinning me with a stare, warning me not to contradict him.
If this were under different circumstances, I might tease him about how fickle he is. But right now, I’m grateful to have him agree to be my boyfriend.
A flicker of emotion runs through his eyes that I don’t have time to read before he glances back at Nathan. “Is there any last thing you’d like to say to Ava before you leave her alone…for good?”
A desperate look fills Nathan’s eyes, and I feel sorry for him for a brief second. I know what purpose Nathan served in my life—the place he was holding. But for him, ‘we’ were about the appearance of having it all: The perfect career. The perfect wife. The perfect family.
Without that, he’s lost.
He’s always cared more about the image people perceive than about me. For the first time, I realize how devastated he is, and a feeling of deep empathy fills me.
“Nathan,” I say as calmly as possible. “This could potentially work in your favor.”
His brows pull together, his lips thin, and his eyes whip back and forth between me and Duncan. I can see the muscle in his jaw tick. “How?” He growls.
“Play the broken man. The injured party,” I answer. “I did injure you, right?”
A real emotion shoots through his eyes, and for a single moment, his facade falls. For the first time since knowing him, I understand his struggle with me ending things. He is a broken man. I was the shield keeping everyone from seeing it.
It doesn’t excuse how he’s been acting, but it explains the absolutely insane behavior.
“You can blame me,” my voice breaks, and I feel Duncan’s eyes roaming my face. His hand moves slowly up and down my arm, giving me strength. Then I softly say, “I can handle it.”
Nathan’s face pulls together, and he steps forward, but he abruptly stops when Duncan moves toward him.
His eyes snap to Duncan, and a snarl distorts his handsome face. “It’s going to be fun letting everyone know that the burly hockey player is a complete softy.”
“Do what you need to do, man.” Duncan’s shoulders tense, but from the evenness of his voice, you’d never know just how much he hates this part of his life becoming public. People knowing he wears a pink apron that says ‘Time To Make The Donuts’ is one of his biggest nightmares. “I’m pretty secure in my masculinity. Not to mention my skill on the ice.”
Looking between these two broad and powerful men, having a silent battle of wills is fascinating and terrifying.
Nathan breaks eye contact with Duncan and switches his gaze to mine. The turmoil there leaves me sympathetic for the man I was in a relationship with for almost seven years. When his eyes harden, and hate replaces the turmoil, a tinge of fear at what his next move will be makes my stomach turn over.
“This isn’t the end,” he grinds through clenched teeth, pointing at me and Duncan before getting into his car and peeling away.
Watching his car drive down the street, my stomach fills with dread.
When Nathan is out of sight, Duncan turns toward me, his hands resting on my arms and his eyes searching my face. I give him a wobbly grin.
“Have you ever seen that side of him before?” Duncan gently asks, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
Warmth spreads through me at the gentle touch. Slowly shaking my head, I try to process everything that just happened.
Nathan knows where I am. He had a complete meltdown. Duncan just told him we were dating.
Wait. Duncan just told Nathan we were dating.
“Duncan, why did you tell Nathan we were together?” My brows pull together, and confusion fills me. “I know you don’t want to pretend we’re a couple. You don’t have to do this.”
“Ava,” he says gently. His green eyes hold mine, and my stomach swoops. “I was on my way to tell you I’d do it, but then I found you with Nathan.”
“But why?” I question, none of this is processing through my mind. It’s happening too fast, and I’m still shocked by Nathan’s rage.
“Your face when Nathan called you.” I stare at him, my eyes wide and my head shaking back and forth, feeling like I trapped him. “I saw how afraid you were. At that moment, I knew I couldn’t let you go through this alone.”
“Duncan—” I whisper, overwhelmed by this man’s ability to forgive. He’s standing so close that his scent surrounds me, and his hands still rest gently on my arms. His nearness and touch are causing my heart to hopscotch.
I take a deep breath and try to regain my composure.
“I called out to you before you left, but I don’t think you heard me. That’s why I came out.” He takes his hands off my arms as if he just realized he was still touching me. My arms wrap themselves around my shoulders to replace his warmth. “It’s a good thing I did. Nathan was insane.”
Running my hand through my hair, I slowly exhale. His apron catches my eye, and a smirk crosses my lips. “Looks like Tea Time , and the entire world will know that it’s “Time To Make The Donuts.”
Heat crawls up Duncan’s face, and a sheepish grin crosses his lips as he shrugs. “At least it will be minor compared to the news that we’re ‘dating.’”
“You’re welcome?” I scrunch up my face and shrug. To my delight, Duncan’s eyes dance.
“Come on,” he says as he slips the apron over his head. “We need to tell David and Scarlett that we’re a ‘couple.’ ” He puts air quotes around the word couple. Then points to my car, “Is this yours?”
Nodding, I unlock the car and watch him slide his massive body into the passenger seat of my white BMW sedan. He looks like a sardine squished in there.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” There’s a glint in his green eyes, and for a moment, I can’t move, completely smitten. “Ava, come on! In case you didn’t notice, this car is a bit small for me.”
“Oh yeah, sorry,.” I say, shaking myself out of my stupor, and begin walking around the front of my car. After getting in, I fire up the ignition. “Let’s go tell our family the news…Dunky.”
Putting the car in drive, I feel Duncan’s eyes on me. To my surprise, he laughs, and a wry grin splits my lips.
Rubbing his hand up and down his face, he groans. “If you ever call me that in public, I can’t be held responsible for what I do.”
Tension from my encounter with Nathan drains from my body, and I feel relaxed. But a new tension rises, one that takes me by surprise.
What would Duncan do if I called him that in public? A smirk replaces the grin.
I may need to test it out.