CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ava
D ressed to Griffin’s satisfaction, I race down the stairs to see my aunt. She’s standing outside the kitchen staring into the backyard.
“Aunt Lena!” I call out from the stairs.
She spins around and cries out, “Ava!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I say so she doesn’t cry, but it’s more to convince me.
“Your tea, Ma’am.” Bridget puts down a cup on the dining table against the railing that overlooks the living room.
“Thank you, Bridget.” I guess she calls everyone ma’am.
“Let me look at you.” My aunt studies me. “You’re so thin.”
“Being locked in a cage will do that.”
“ A cage? ”
“Griffin got me out of there,” I say without thinking, even if it’s misleading.
I must want her to like him for some reason. I’m still convincing myself it’s okay to trust him. I’m not sure I can trust myself, or my judgment at the moment. But I’ve only been free for less than twenty-four hours.
Griffin and I almost had sex twice already.
“And where is this fiancé of yours?” Aunt Helena folds her arms, showing a glint of disapproval.
“In the shower,” I say and realize I just came from the bedroom levels.
“Getting acquainted with him in the biblical way already?”
“No.” I lift her tea and say, “Let’s go talk in the sunroom.”
“A tea for you, too, Ma’am?” Bridget asks, seeing me breathe in the warm ginger and lemon aroma.
“I would love some, and please call me Ava.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” she says and returns to the kitchen.
Rolling my eyes, and holding the tea, I steer Aunt Helena down a set of floating steps and through the grand living room. I stop short at the glass doors to the backyard seeing a guard standing atop the retaining wall, wearing a suit. He’s facing outward checking out the yards we’re wedged between.
Aunt Helena follows me into the sunroom where I hand her the tea and close the door.
With the warm cup in her palms, she looks around. “You could have done a lot worse, Ava.”
I reach for a wicker chair with a seat cushion to sit on. “I can’t wrap my head around having to marry a stranger.”
Even if he’s not a stranger. Something I’m not sure I’m allowed to reveal to anyone in my family. Griffin’s brothers had to drag it out of him yesterday.
Aunt Helena sits on the chair facing me. “I didn’t know your uncle until he showed up for dinner one night and my father announced our engagement.”
“What did that feel like?” I’d heard the story, but at the time it felt so far removed that I couldn’t identify with what she must have gone through.
“I had no choice.” She shrugs.
“If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it between us?” I pull my legs together and lean forward.
“I’ll try, but if one of your psycho brothers puts a knife to my throat, I’m spilling the tea.” She raises her cup metaphorically.
“Yeah, I know how they can be.” I wave her off and above a whisper, I add, “Griffin said the marriage doesn’t have to be...forever. He’ll...he’ll let me go.”
“After how long?” She puts down the tea on a side table next to her chair. “The whole point was to create a lasting peace.”
“He said in a year our marriage won’t be needed. But I asked for six months. And he agreed.”
The worried look on my aunt’s face tells a story my brothers never bothered to elaborate. “Alexander used to have dinner with me every Thursday night. The fighting was worse on the weekends, and he often didn’t have time to eat. The stories he told terrified me. Each time when he left me, I worried I’d never see him again. And then one day, my worst fears came true,” she sniffs. “The things your brothers have gone through, Ava. They come off as brutal and cold. They’ve been fighting a difficult war with those Irish.”
“You know Griffin wasn’t part of that, right? He worked for another family.”
“Ares told me. But still...”
“No but still .” I shake my head. “He’s different. His brothers are...nice. They have a sister, too.”
“Does this six-month marriage mean there won’t be children?”
As much as I blame Ares for using me, I see now Alexander wanted to use me, too. Each with no care for my personal life or if I’d find love.
“He said I don’t have to...sleep with him.”
“You came from his bedroom.”
“In the biblical sense.” Did I just say that? “He wants everyone to think the marriage is real.”
“And then what? Rip the rug out from everyone by casting you aside?” She stands up. “I’ll speak to him.”
“You want to speak to me?” Griffin stands in the doorway, showered, his wet hair slicked back. It outlines his face more and accentuates his wide strong jaw covered in golden scruff.
He looks...savage.
And my panty is wet. It’s like that night I saw him in the bar and knew instantly I wanted him.
After taking in Griffin’s rugged appearance, I notice in one hand is...my tea.
Aunt Helena shrinks back into her chair. I think she never saw Griffin in the flesh. Never knew how...how big he was. How powerful he looks.
“Griffin, this is my Aunt Helena, my father’s sister.” I close my eyes, fearing I’ll get in trouble for telling her about the divorce option.
My aunt tightens her jaw. “Mr. Quinlan. I trust you’ll treat my niece in a proper and respectful manner.”
“She’s absolutely safe with me.” Griffin hands me my tea. “Here.”
“Thank you.” I take it and our eyes lock. Next thing I know he’s lowering his mouth to mine.
But I turn my cheek.
“Minx,” he whispers and turns to my aunt. “Griffin is fine.”
“Griffin,” Aunt Helena hums a soft note of approval. “Do you have a problem with me planning the wedding?”
“Not at all.” He crosses his arms, the fresh forest green button down he changed into stretching around his biceps.
Damn.
“Budget?” Aunt Helena asks and takes a sip of tea.
“Sky’s the limit,” Griffin answers proudly.
“Excellent.” She puts down her empty cup and lifts her purse to get the hell out of here. “Then I’ll start making the preparations.”
“Wait!” I bark. “I... I get no say?”
My aunt tilts her head, and Griffin’s shock shows on his face, too.
“Of course, little darling.” She folds her hands with a sweet smile for me. Her tone sharpens when speaking to my future husband. “Griffin, shall I contact your mother for a guest list?”
He and I look at each other until he shakes his head. “She doesn’t know yet.”
Because Griffin didn’t know where I was as of yesterday. Or thought I was dead. Maybe even hoped I was dead. Now that I know he wants out of this marriage, I’m unsettled. What if I said no to his release deal? Would he have killed me to get rid of me in a year?
“Let me talk to her first,” Griffin fills the silence.
“We can’t just go to City Hall, can we?” I rock on my feet.
“No,” Aunt Helena and Griffin say at the same time.
“I’ll start putting feelers out with a date.” This is my aunt’s dry run for my cousins. “Your brother said he wants this done right away, but we have to find an appropriate venue first. I’ll handle Ares.”
I snort, “Tell me where and when and I’ll bring the popcorn.”
My aunt leans in and kisses me goodbye. “I’ll also make an appointment to look for wedding dresses.”
She and Griffin wait for a reaction from me. Even he knows women well enough that wedding dress shopping is the equivalent of bringing a little kid to Disney.
I’ve got...nothing. I’m still getting used to my skin again in something other than rags.
When she’s gone, I say to Griffin, “We don’t have to make a grand show of it.” My voice gets husky, igniting something in Griffin’s blue eyes
“Be glad all you have to do is walk down an aisle. We could have had a real traditional wedding where I invite everyone to watch me consummate the marriage. Conquer you. Fuck you in every hole to prove you belong to me.”