Chapter 6 #2
“It’s got all the basic food groups,” Alex and Ava said at the same time before they grinned at each other.
“Jinx.” She poked a finger at him.
“Jinx?” Chris asked. “Are you five?”
Ava held back rolling her eyes. Chris was upset…again. It was becoming bothersome, and she could see why Alex didn’t care for him. He was coming across as aggravating. She just wished they’d both lighten up and get along.
“Just a little fun, Pillar Pro. Take it easy.”
After dropping the pizza slice to his plate, Chris grimaced as he wiped his hands on another napkin. “So, can you now tell me where you went earlier, Ava?”
“To the jail,” she answered before a sip of her soda. “I went to see Simon Blackburn.”
“What? Why?” Chris barked.
“I think he’s innocent. And I wanted to know if he knew anything.”
“Oh, by the way, Avs, Barry is heading over there tomorrow to talk to him about the case,” Alex said.
“You sent him an attorney?” Chris asked.
Ava rubbed Alex’s shoulders. “Alex is the kindest person in the world, so, yes. That’s another reason we have to protect him from Miranda Vale. She is a predator.”
Redness rose into Alex’s cheeks as she spoke. “I’m not going to fall for her, Avs. She was awful to you.”
“A predator? I think that’s a little…much.”
“It’s not. You should have seen her. First, she accuses me of being a terrible wife, then she asks Alex if he needs her to stay. Then she comes back with the papers and picks another fight with me. And then she tried to kiss Alex!”
“Oh no, a hot woman tried to kiss you. The horror.” Chris’s features twisted with mock fear.
“She tried to kiss a married man in front of his wife. That’s…bold,” Ava answered, annoyance creeping into her voice.
“You two aren’t really married.” Chris held up his hands. “I get it. I get it. You are technically really married. But not really, you know?”
Ava slouched in her seat, grabbing her soda as a distraction. She knew full well their marriage was fake, but she still felt protective of Alex.
“First of all, it is a big deal,” Alex answered. “She thinks Ava is my wife, and that I would have enough disrespect for my own wife that I’d entertain the affections of another woman right in front of her. And second, she’s not that hot.”
“Umm, wait, do I have the right woman? Brunette with a bob, dark, alluring eyes, full lips, great figure.”
Ava’s lips parted as her eyebrows pinched together at her fiancé’s description of another woman. With a scoff, she shook her head.
“What?” Chris asked.
“What do you mean what? Seriously?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Ava, I didn’t say I was having a torrid affair with the woman, but I have eyes.”
“I don’t think she has anything over Ava,” Alex answered. “Personally, I think Ava’s far better looking.”
“Of course, you do. Look, I didn’t say Ava is not beautiful. Obviously, she is, but there are other beautiful women in the world.”
“Okay, fine, you find her alluring and attractive,” Ava said with a sigh. “That doesn’t mean she gets to kiss someone’s husband in front of them. I mean, what if this happened between us, Chris? You’re saying because she’s hot, it’s okay?”
“Hey, I can’t control what other people do. It’s not my fault if someone throws themselves at me. But let’s be clear, Ava, you’re my fiancée. You’re the one I’m interested in. No amount of ‘hot’ is going to change that.”
Indignation swirled inside her as he failed to identify the behavior as reprehensible. “Oh, right, okay. Well, I think Alex is hot. What if he kisses me? Is that okay?”
Alex turned as red as the lobsters on his pajamas.
“No, absolutely not,” Chris said.
“Well, I can’t control what he does.”
“Ava… are we really having this conversation?”
“Yes, we are,” she said, her voice raised. “We are having this conversation because when I directly asked you if it was okay to kiss someone’s husband in front of them, you couldn’t answer that question.”
“I did answer it,” he said, his voice incredulous.
“Not the right way,” she answered with a frown as she tossed her plate on the coffee table and stormed from the room.
“Ava…” Chris called after her. “I told you I’m just interested in you.”
She pounded up the stairs, a voice interrupting her fuming. “Avs, wait.”
She glanced at Alex, tears filling her eyes as she continued toward her room. He raced up the steps behind her, two by two, and grabbed her by the elbow gently. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, flicking a tear away.
“No, you’re not.” He stepped closer to her, his thumb wiping at another tear that fell. “What he said was not cool. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
She pressed her lips together as she sniffled and bobbed her head. “It wasn’t me, right? Like…he should have said something different, right?”
“He totally should have agreed that it was completely inappropriate.”
“It is inappropriate,” Chris’s voice said from behind Alex.
Ava flicked her gaze to the floor, her arms crossed tightly.
“That’s not what you said a second ago,” Alex answered.
“I didn’t say anything either way, actually. But, Ava, you took it totally wrong, okay?”
“Oh, so this is her fault? You can’t be clear, and somehow, it’s Ava’s fault?”
Ava slid her arm onto Alex’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Alex.”
“No, it’s not, Ava,” he answered, heat in his voice. “It’s totally not okay.”
“Well, I’m making it okay. Or I’m trying to if the Geek Squad would let me anywhere near you.”
“Stop calling him that,” she growled.
“Oh, but it’s okay that he calls me Builder Buddy and Pillar Pro.”
“It’s not demeaning like yours is,” Ava shot back, “but it seems like everything you do is belittling to others. What do you think it felt like to sit there while you described Miranda like you’d never seen someone so alluring and hot?”
Chris pressed his lips together, an incredulous expression on his face.
“What’s going on with you, Chris? Are you that threatened?”
“By who, him?” He thrust a finger at Alex as he scoffed.
“If that’s not the case, then explain to me why suddenly you’re nothing like the Chris I agreed to marry. Or have you always been like this, and I just never noticed?”
“Like what, Ava? I think you’re the one who’s threatened.”
“By what?”
“Miranda. What I can’t figure out is if that’s just in general or if it has to do with one of us.”
The shrill ring of her cell phone cut through the silence between them as she firmed her jaw at the statement, her mind swirling as she tried to sort through it.
“Don’t answer that. We’re in the middle of a discussion,” Chris said.
She swiped the phone and pressed it to her ear. “Hello.”
“Ava,” Simon’s panicked voice answered her. “Ava, I need help.”
“Help?” Ava asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
“Yes. Help. Please. I think…I think someone’s trying to kill me.”
Ava’s heart plummeted as the last words echoed through the phone. Her eyes rose to meet Alex’s questioning gaze as she swallowed hard. Was someone after Simon? And would they come after her and Alex next?