Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
AVA
I drove my car to Austin’s house, which was in a recent development on sought-after Salisbury Street. I parked in the spacious lot with three car garages.
“When did you buy this house?” I admired the brick exterior as I walked up the steps. He’d upgraded from his previous one.
“Six months ago.” He slid off his coat and hung it in the closet in the marble foyer. “Let me take your coat.”
While he hung my coat, my gaze spotted the porcelain vase I’d painted with him. My heart quickened. I’d assumed he’d tossed it after our breakup.
“Do you want a tour?”
“After I clean your cut.”
We walked into the spacious bathroom near the kitchen, and he got out a small emergency kit. With a cotton ball, I cleansed his cut, which wasn’t big. Then I put some ointment on it and covered it with a bandage.
He looked at his neck. “It’s not that bad.”
“Better safe than sorry. I don’t want you getting an infection.”
“Okay.” He smiled, rubbing his finger over the bandage.
“How did you know I was in the bookstore?”
“I was heading to the bakery and saw you park. So I stopped, wanting to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because seeing you makes me happy.”
My heart thundered in my chest.
“Ready for a tour now?”
I followed him to the living room, where comfortable brown couches surrounded a round wooden table. Two chairs were still wrapped in plastic.
“They’re still new,” I said.
“I’m not sure where to put them yet. There are a few rooms that need to be furnished.”
His family room needed a table and some chairs to warm it up. A spacious and empty room could be used as a library or an office. His walls desperately needed art. Though the home was lovely, it needed a few things to make it cozy.
When he led me into his kitchen, my mouth dropped. “Wow.” I gawked at his massive kitchen. “Do you cook now?”
“No.” He grinned, watching me as I ran my hands over the fine ivory marble counter.
“Then why do you have such an enormous kitchen?”
“For a woman I had in mind.” He took my hand in his. “It’s for you.”
The confession made my feet feel like jelly, but I had to be cautious.
He gripped my hand tight as though he feared I’d escape. I didn’t mind him holding my hand. It comforted me more than I realized.
“We weren’t together,” I muttered, trying to understand why he’d make a kitchen for me.
He kissed my hand again. When he’d done it in the jewelry store, I’d wished it wasn’t a pretense.
“You’re the only one I want.”
Pain and betrayal flooded back into my memory, and I extracted my hand from his grip. “You broke up with me, Austin. You were engaged.”
“And I broke off the engagement a month later. It would’ve been sooner, but my father is a stubborn man to convince.”
“Your father? I don’t understand.”
“Come sit down. It’s time for the explanation.”
I followed him into the living room and sat on the comfortable couch.
“Do you want anything to drink? I’ve got tea, hot chocolate, and wine.”
The wine would probably help settle my nerves, but tea was better for me. “Tea, please.”
“Got it.” He took the remote and pressed a button. The horizontal electric fireplace lit up, casting a warm glow on the wall and in the room.
He brought back a glass of wine for himself and a cup of tea for me.
“I should’ve handled the situation better.” He sat beside me and sighed, looking nervous. “I never wanted to be engaged to Sierra. I’ve never dated her.”
I remembered seeing all her social media posts declaring she was engaged to Austin Tanner of Tanner Properties. The news had hit me like a slab of ice, knocking me down for weeks.
My eyebrows furrowed. “So the engagement just appeared out of the blue?”
“Sort of.” He sipped and placed the wine glass on the table. “Tanner Properties was suffering a major financial loss. My father’s health was going downhill. He thought marrying a Montage would keep the company alive. Marcus Montage told my dad his daughter liked me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I finished my tea as I listened to the arranged engagement, how he’d ended it, and how Sierra continued to pursue him.
Austin also shared about his father’s heart surgery, a stroke that nearly left him paralyzed, and Parkinson’s disease.
My body tensed as though I felt the pressure he’d been under.
Austin explained how his condo investment had helped Tanner Properties bounce back without the help of the Montage family.
Austin led the company out of the dark all by himself.
“I was an ass for sending you the text.” He grabbed my hand with both of his.
“I have so much I want to say. I’m so sorry for the pain I caused.
” He looked at me and pain and regret stirred in them.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing you .
. . Saying those things to you would’ve been like knifing myself with each word.
I couldn’t do it. Hearing your voice on the phone would’ve been the same as seeing you.
I love you. That has never changed and will never change, Ava. ”
My heart trembled. “Why didn’t you tell me all this afterwards?”
“You didn’t want to talk to me, remember?”
I recalled the anger that had cut into me.
The betrayal was like salt dumped onto a raw wound.
At that time, nothing he said would’ve made me feel better.
My heart had been ripped wide open, and I was too angry and hurt.
I needed to protect myself. Seeing him and talking to him would have only reminded me of the pain he’d caused.
“Yeah,” I said, wishing the situation had been different. I wished I could have forgiven him enough to listen to his explanation.
“There’s a reason for everything,” he said. “That time away from each other allowed me to grow. My love for you grew even though you weren’t with me. It sounds weird, doesn’t it?”
A clump formed in my throat as tears slid down my face. “No, it makes sense. I couldn’t let you go either. I thought of you all the time and cursed myself for it.”
He grabbed a tissue from the box on the side table and dabbed my eyes. “I guess the statement is true: distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
Because tears wouldn’t stop, he offered the entire box of tissues. “Thanks. I wanted to give up on my dream so many times.”
“To have your own bakery?”
I nodded. “You were the only person I shared it with. I associated that dream with you—the man I love.”
“Ava.” He pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. I felt his heart thumping wildly. “Never let go of your dreams for anyone. Not even for me.” He dropped another kiss on my forehead. “You have no idea how much I love you.”
His words soothed the pressure in my chest.
“My savings dwindled. I thought it was a sign that my dream was dwindling too, that it was just an illusion tricking me into believing in it. The more the savings disappeared, the more I felt hopeless about my dream.”
I told him about the car repairs, the burst pipe, my mom’s bracelet, and her recovery from breast cancer.
“I should’ve been there for you.” His arms tightened around me.
“You had a lot going on.” I touched his face, rubbing out the crease between his eyebrows.
“Is your mom doing better now?”
“She is. Thank you.” I smiled. “Her friends are keeping her busy.”
“That’s excellent news.” Regret strained his face. “We’ve let so much time pass, Ava.”
“We both had a rough year.” I traced his square jaw with my finger. “But you’re right—everything we’ve been through made us better.” I kissed his chin. “It’s like baking bread. Every pat, every squeeze, and every knead makes the dough stronger so it can rise to become what it needs to be.”
“That’s a marvelous analogy.” Amusement gleamed in his eyes. “Only you could see meaning in something like that. I love it.” He kissed me, and his warm lips chased away all the doubts that had clung to me. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” I kissed him back.
The dam that had contained my emotions broke free.
I needed to feel all the feelings again.
My fingers gripped his hair, wanting him closer.
He felt my urgency and responded effectively with tongue and teeth.
He growled and sucked my tongue. Our mouths devoured each other as though we’d never see each other again.
Heat spread through me, and I moaned, wanting more.
He drew back, staring at me with darkened eyes. “I want you in my bed.”
I smirked. “Lead the way, handsome.”