20. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Duncan
It’s a beautiful crisp morning when I pull into David’s driveway, and park next to his truck. It’s not quite seven-thirty yet so I have a chance to visit with Scarlett before I travel to North Carolina. I haven’t been able to stop by over the past two days and I miss that pipsqueak when I don’t see her.
Reaching out I grab the rearview mirror and turn it in my direction, giving myself a quick once over. Running my fingers through my hair I work to flatten it a bit from the drive over with an open window.
“Uncle Dunky!” Scarlett yells from the door, and I quickly put the mirror back in place. “Are you fixing your hair?”
“So much for being subtle,” I mumble, rolling my eyes. Pushing open the door, I climb out of the car. “Hey, Red!”
A blur of auburn hair and bright colors runs down the stairs before the sixty pounds of my eight-year-old niece lands in my arms.
“Are you straightening up for Aunt Ava?” Scarlett stage whispers in my ear, as I walk toward the house. Heat creeps up my neck. “She was fixing herself for you, too. Make sure you tell her how pretty she looks, okay?”
A soft chuckle escapes, and she turns and places a hand on each cheek and pins me with her I-mean-business-stare.
“I’m serious!” She chastises. I just can’t with her! Her following words, however, nearly have me tripping. “If you want the two of you to be real, you need to be extra nice to her. Show her you appreciate her.”
“Red, me and Aunt Ava are pretending—” A small hand covers my mouth and squeezes my lips together. I can’t stop my eyebrows from shooting to my hairline.
“Why do you insist on lying to me?” She says, her nose pushed up against mine. God help the man who falls in love with this girl; they’re going to have their hands full. “Just. Be. Nice.”
“Yes, ma-am,” I mumble through my squished-together lips and give a two-finger salute.
A massive grin splits her face, and I chuckle. Kissing her on the cheek, I put her down in front of the steps. The four-foot tyrant looks up at me and points a finger. “Tell her she looks pretty.”
I dutifully nod and follow her up the steps into the house.
“Uncle Dunky is here for you, Aunt Ava!” I catch David’s grin as he picks up his coffee and takes a sip.
“Your daughter is a slave driver,” I whisper to my brother, who shakes his head and snickers.
“To be honest, I’m a bit terrified of what she’s going to be like as a teenager,” he whispers behind his hand, keeping an eye on the third grader attempting to micromanage our lives. “Scarlett, come back to the table and finish your breakfast. We need to leave for school soon!”
Feet scramble across the floor as Scarlett runs to the table and plops back into her seat, quickly scooping up her eggs and chewing. The glint in her eyes and the smirk on her face actually has my stomach swirling.
Swallowing hard, I sit down and pour myself a cup of coffee. Lifting the cup to my lips, Ava walks into the room. My hand stops mid-air, and my open mouth freezes.
My eyes land on brown boots that stop at the knee and travel up the fitted jeans covered by a loose button-down in powder blue. They continue their way up to wavy blonde hair flowing around her shoulders. A tiny smile lines glossy lips. When my gaze finally meets hers, I find them sparkling at me, causing my heart to race.
Ava doesn’t look pretty as my niece told me; she’s breathtaking .
I feel the corner of my lip lift just as Scarlett clears her throat and says not so subtly. “Tell her she looks pretty.”
Ava’s giggle carries across the room just as David blows out his coffee, and I feel my face heating.
“You’re looking pretty this morning.” I glance over in Scarlett’s direction to see her beaming at me.
I lift my coffee cup to my mouth and take a sip only to nearly spit it out when Scarlett stage whispers, “Tell him he looks handsome.”
“Scarlett Ava James!” David scolds his daughter.
“What?” she asks innocently, rapidly blinking her eyes at him. Ava and I laugh. “Doesn’t Aunt Ava look pretty? And Uncle Duncan handsome?”
“Are you done with your breakfast?” David asks, trying to be firm but his eyes are dancing. She nods, and he points to her backpack. “Then let's get you off to school. Say goodbye to your Aunt and Uncle.”
I watch as Scarlett obediently follows her dad’s orders and heads over to Ava, giving her a hug and a kiss. When she makes her way over to me, a grin spreads wide across her face, she kisses my cheek and lets me know she’ll be watching the game later.
David holds the door open and right before Scarlett scoots out, she turns around and looks back and forth between Ava and me. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Red.”
“I love you too, Scarlett,” Ava echoes. “See you when you get home from school.”
The door closes, and we hear David lecturing his daughter on meddling as they get into the car. Laughter fills the house at how our niece just played the room and a bit of pity at the handful David has to deal with.
“She reminds me of Fiona more and more every day,” Ava’s eyes have a wistful look, and a reflective smile crosses her lips. “She was always meddling.”
“She reminds me of you.” Ava’s blue eyes widen and slide over to mine, a question in them. “You were always larger than life.”
Her eyes soften and she takes a slow breath, glancing over my shoulder. “I never felt like it. I always second-guessed myself.”
“I know you did, but that’s not what everyone saw,” I say, looking down at the cup in my hand. The openness on her face and the flicker of hesitation in her eyes has me wanting to scoop her up in my arms and hold her close. Needing to get my mind off her warm body close to mine, I change the subject and sweep my hand over the table. “Do you want anything to eat before we head out?”
I watch her gaze skate across the table. “I’m good. I finished eating before you got here. Scarlett was the one who was a flurry of movement and couldn’t focus on breakfast.”
I nod then push out of my chair and reach into my pocket for the car keys. Holding them out to Ava, she looks at me with a question. “You’re driving.”
“We can take my car,” she responds, with narrowed eyes and a head tilt. But takes the keys when I place them in her hand.
“No, we can’t,” I shake my head and head out of the house. “First, your car is way too small. And second, my luggage is in my car.”
“Okay, but you can drive,” she says from behind me as she tries to give me the keys back.
“Ava, you’re going to need to drive home, and I want to make sure you feel comfortable doing it when I’m not with you.”
“Who’s going to pick you up when you get back?” Standing in front of the passenger side, I wait for her to unlock the door. Instead, she just stands by the front of the SUV, staring at me with confusion written all over her face.
“One of my teammates will bring me here, or David will come and get me.” Glancing in her direction, I see her still standing with her hand out. Moving back to her, I place my hands on her shoulders and say gruffly. “My girlfriend would drive my car, Ava. It’s not that big of a deal.”
As if those words snap her out of her trance, she giggles. “You’re right. Sorry. I know I’m acting weird.”
I give her a gentle squeeze and watch her walk toward the driver’s side. When she puts her hand on the handle, nothing happens.
“You have to unlock it first,” I tease; the corner of my lips lifts as a tinge of pink covers her cheeks. She hits the button and then opens the door. Sliding in next to her, I watch her and a grin crosses my lips. “Now do you see why I wanted you to drive?”
“Because you wanted to laugh at me?” At this response, my shoulders relax, and a laugh pushes past my lips. “I like my old stick-the-key-in-the-ignition-and-turn-to-start-the-engine car.”
“Not surprised; it usually takes the older folks longer to get on board with technology.” She gasps and smacks my arm, causing my grin to spread. “Step on the brakes and then push the start button.”
Her glare has me chuckling, but then she does as I say, and the engine roars to life.
“Welcome to the twenty-first century,” I say, adjusting the station from a sports talk show to one of the 80’s stations.
“Well, aren’t you just the comedian this morning?” She glares at me but her eyes are dancing. “Anything else you want to tell me before we head to the arena?”
Pressing my lips together, I turn my face forward. “Adjust the seat and mirrors before putting the car in reverse.”
“Duncan!” She yells, just as she pushes her arm out to shove me. My reflexes kick in, and I gently catch her hand to stop the forward movement.
Her breath catches at the contact and my eyes drop to her lips. My heart starts hammering against my ribcage, and I swallow hard.
“We should start heading over to the arena.” My voice comes out huskier than I intended, and I begrudgingly let go of her wrist. “We don’t want to be late for the press conference.”
“Right,” she says softly, dragging her eyes from mine and looking behind her as she shifts into reverse. Keeping my eyes on her profile, I watch her as she backs out of the driveway. “Are you going to be staring at me the entire trip?”
“Sorry.” I let my eyes linger for a second longer before turning and facing the street, my lips lifting at the corner. “Just making sure you know what you’re doing.”
“I’ve been driving a lot longer than you, if I recall,” she scoffs, and I snort. She whips her head at me. “What? I have.”
“I was in the car with you when you were learning how to drive, remember? I’m still traumatized.” Her laughter fills the car as we both recall the first time Ava was behind the wheel. She ran over the curb when learning to parallel park, and instead of stepping on the brake, she hit the gas. “I thought we were going to die.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer driving?” She points to the steering wheel as we stop at a red light before hopping onto the highway. I shake my head but dramatically double-check my seatbelt.
We laugh together before falling into a comfortable ride filled with easy conversation.
A lazy grin sits on my lips as the feeling of sliding into an old t-shirt comes over me. For the first time in a long time, I let myself enjoy being around Ava.
My heart has always belonged to the woman next to me. There's no point in trying to pretend differently when I’m supposed to be acting like we’re in love. Maybe Scarlett has a point, and the key to winning Ava over is letting her know I appreciate all of her.