Chapter 1
ALEX
Alex peered into the living room, checking on the status of his surprise for Ava before he shuffled back to the kitchen to butter her toast.
He’d risen early, leaving her to sleep after the exhausting day yesterday.
The day had been life-changing for him. He’d finally admitted to her his feelings for her, and she hadn’t run screaming. She stayed.
She’d stayed with him.
But she had some reservations, fears that their relationship would fall apart if they allowed their marriage to become real.
He knew that wouldn’t be the case, and he’d spend the rest of his life proving it to her. No matter what it took, no matter how much he had to reassure her, spoil her, love her, he’d make certain Ava never regretted her decision to stay.
With the butter melted on the warm toast, he added it to the tray along with her mug of coffee, squeezed next to a single red rose, and hoisted it up.
He mounted the stairs, whistling as he went up them and pushing through the bedroom door.
Still snuggled in the covers, Ava’s rhythmic breathing still filled the quiet room.
He eased onto the mattress, setting the tray to the side before he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Sparky, time to wake up,” he whispered as he eased a lock of hair back.
Her eyelashes fluttered, confusion pinching her features for a second before she found his face, a smile spreading across her face. “Hey.”
“Good morning,” he said with a smile as his hand wrapped around hers.
“Good morning, what time is it?” she asked in a groggy voice.
“Little after ten,” he answered.
She shifted under the comforter. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”
“Because you needed it,” he answered. “And you needed this.”
He lifted the tray as she pulled herself up to sit.
Her features melted as she clicked her tongue. “Aww, you made me breakfast in bed.”
“I did,” he answered as he slid the tray toward her before he leapt from his perch and skirted the bed, diving onto the other side next to her.
“And with a rose,” she said, cupping his face as he settled into the pillows next to her and giving him a soft kiss.
Alex pressed his forehead against hers, savoring the moment between them. He’d waited so long to kiss her, and now he never wanted to stop.
But they needed to talk, so he encouraged her to eat.
She picked up her fork, stabbing at the scrambled eggs as he stole a crispy piece of bacon. “Hey, did you make me breakfast in bed, or you breakfast in bed?”
“Both,” he answered as he bit into the bacon. “We’re married. We share things.”
“Ohh, I see. It’s funny how you only want to share my bacon.”
He nuzzled closer to her, kissing her cheek. “I want to share everything.”
He snagged a sip of her coffee.
“Oh, the coffee, too, huh?”
“I said everything,” he answered.
She shook her head at him before she skewered an egg and held it toward him. “Wow,” she said as he ate it, “you really did mean everything.”
He grinned at her as he chewed. She returned to her meal, and he eyed her, waiting to turn the conversation more serious.
She sipped her coffee, side-eying him. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just…admiring you.”
“You’re not. You have something you want to say.”
“Can’t a man admire his beautiful wife?” Alex asked.
She shook her head as she took another sip of coffee. “Not with that look on your face, you can’t. That’s your ‘we need to talk’ look.”
“It’s funny that you think you know all my looks, but I really sneaked a major thing by you for a lot of years, Avs.”
She set her mug down on the tray and twisted to face him. “I…feel so stupid about this. How did I not know?”
“You’re not stupid, Ava.”
“Apparently, I am. My husband has been in love with me for years, and I was clueless.”
“I didn’t exactly draw you a map,” he answered. “But I do want to talk about this.”
“About how clueless I was, you mean?” she asked as she grabbed a piece of bacon.
“About some of the things you said yesterday,” he said, his voice softening.
She set her fork down, sending it clattering across the plate as she heaved a sigh. “I really don’t want to, Alex.”
He squeezed his lips together, rubbing her shoulder. “But we have to.”
Her shoulders slumped, her features pinching as she shifted the tray away from her before she faced him. “Please, we don’t have to. I don’t want to.”
“Hey,” he said, cupping her face in his hand, “you don’t need to be afraid, okay?”
She wrapped her hand around his, swallowing hard. “I am,” she whispered.
“I know. Which is why we need to have this conversation. And you don’t need to talk. I just want you to listen. Can you do that?”
She bit her lower lip, nodding her head.
He sucked in a deep inhale before he launched into his speech. “I just…Ava, you said some things yesterday that I want to address.”
“If I hurt your feelings–”
“No, no, no,” he interrupted, shifting closer to her, “no, that’s not it, Avs.”
“Okay?”
“You said everything always falls apart in your relationships, and it’s your fault.”
She slid her eyes closed, her eyebrows knitting.
“Ava, that couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Alex–”
“No, Ava, you said you’d listen.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Technically, I didn’t—I said I didn’t want to talk, but I changed my mind.”
He grinned at her, his admiration for this wife surging. “Well, too bad, because you’re going to listen. Your relationships before, Ava, they didn’t work because you weren’t supposed to be with them. They didn’t appreciate you. Not all of you.
“You are not a problem. I need you to hear that.”
“Okay,” she said softly, her fingers intertwining with his.
“And I need you to hear that you’re not going to lose me.”
She raised her seafoam green eyes to his. “I really hope that’s true because I can’t handle that. There is no way I can live without you in my life.”
“And you won’t. It’s not going to ever happen, Ava. I promise.”
She pressed her lips together, her gaze falling to their clasped hands.
He stroked her hair, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his hand around hers and laid it on his chest. “Do you think I’m stupid, Ava?”
“I think it’s obvious you’re not.”
“Okay, so, why are you acting like I am?”
“I’m not,” she said, popping up to stare at him. “But Alex, we’ve never been involved before. It changes things.”
“It doesn’t. Do you really think I don’t know you? That I’d actually walk away from you?”
“Maybe,” she said, concern etched her features.
“That’s never going to happen. Even when you’re being frustrating. Kind of like you’re being right now.” He grinned at her.
“This is all new. But what about the fifth time I’m frustrating?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Tenth?” she tried, earning another wag of his head.
“Twentieth?”
“Never,” he whispered. “And I meant what I said. I will spend every day of our lives showing you what you mean to me and making sure you’re happy, comfortable, and loved.”
She tilted her head, swinging her legs around to sit on her haunches. “You may have your work cut out for you.”
“You’re not difficult, Ava. You are so easy to love.”
With her features melting again, she leaned forward to kiss him. “Thank you.”
A smile spread across his features. “And on that note, I have something for you.”
She glanced down at her rings. “You didn’t get another ring, did you? Because I kind of like this one. It reminds me of the sneaky way you tried to make our marriage real.”
“Oh, you caught on to that, huh?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, a teasing discernment on her features. “Yeah, I kind of figured it out after you spilled the beans yesterday.”
He chuckled before he screwed up his face. “You know what’s kind of strange?”
“That’s really a loaded question at this moment, Ace.”
“Chris caught on really quickly to this entire thing.”
She slid her eyes closed and shook her head. “He kept saying you didn’t want a divorce.”
Her brows knitted as she raised her gaze to him. “You never said no. You just said you weren’t behind the whole Board thing.”
He smiled and nodded at her. “And I didn’t want a divorce. Nor was I behind the attack. I’m not part of The Board. And I meant every word I said to Miranda.”
“How disappointing for her,” Ava said.
“Too bad.” He raised a finger in the air as he shifted off the bed. “Now, my surprise.”
“Wait, wait,” Ava said, grabbing his hand. “I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything,” he said, wrapping her hand in both of his. “Name it.”
“No more lies. No more secrets, okay? Promise?”
“I promise, Ava. No more secrets between us. Everything out in the open from now on. Besides, I’ve gotten really comfortable telling you how much I love you already.”
“Good,” she answered with a grin. “Okay, surprise me.”
He backed toward the door, an excited smile on his features. As he disappeared from the room, he could barely contain his enthusiasm. He hurried downstairs and into the living room where he scooped up the surprise, cradling it carefully in his arms.
His discussion with Ava had reinforced all the things he wanted her to know. He could feel her nervousness still holding her back, but he was determined to show her that they could work.
He knew Ava Collins. When she got into her head, he knew she just needed time and tender loving care before she relaxed and realized she’d been wrong.
The idea that she was too difficult to love made him love her all the more.
And soon, she wouldn’t have any doubts. He’d make sure of it.
He climbed the stairs, heading back to the bedroom. “All right,” he called from the hall, “close your eyes.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes, really, Ava. Stop being difficult and close your eyes.”
“All right, they’re closed.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, shifting the surprise so he could peer into the room without her spotting it.
“Yes,” she answered.
He smiled at the sight of her sitting in bed with her eyes squeezed closed. She definitely was easy to love.
“Okay, keep them closed.”
“They’re closed, Ace,” she answered as he crept into the room.
He eased onto the edge of the bed next to her. “Now, put your hands out.”
She stuck her hands forward, palms up.
“Okay, careful now.” He eased the surprise into her hands, keeping hold of it so she wouldn’t drop it.
Her eyebrows creased at the feel of it.
“Okay, you can open them now.”
She opened one, then the other before they both went wide. Her gaze shifted to him before she stared at his present again, taking it fully from his grasp and clutching it to her chest. “Alex!”
“Do you like it?”
“Do I like it? I can’t believe you remembered!”
“Of course, I remembered, Avs.”
Ava lifted the tiny chihuahua puppy up to stare at his fawn-colored face.
“You have always wanted a chihuahua like Bruiser.”
She squeezed the dog tightly to her chest again as she nodded. “Uh-huh, I did.”
“And you never got one with the moving and whatever.”
“And then Chris hated dogs.”
Alex screwed up his face. “What? How did you ever date him?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head. “Especially when I already had such a wonderful husband.”
“Right?” Alex said with a teasing grin.
“If you would have given me the dog earlier, I wouldn’t have moved.”
“Now, you tell me,” he said with a laugh.
“Aw, Alex, I love him so much. Thank you.”
Alex gave the tiny puppy a scratch on the head, his eyes softening with affection. “You’re welcome. He can be a symbol of our new life together, a reminder of the happiness and commitment we’re building despite the chaos it came from.”
“Yeah,” she said, kissing the little dog’s head. “What should we name him? Him, right?”
“Yep, him. And that’s up to you, Sparky.”
She pressed her lips together before she lifted her eyes to his. “Gizmo. After–”
“The first movie we ever watched together. Yep. Excellent choice.”
“How about that, Gizmo? Do you like that name?”
Alex chuckled at the baby voice she used to talk to the puppy as she shifted it around and kissed it again. She reached for his hand, squeezing it. “Alex, I love him.”
“Are you happy?”
She grinned at him as she nodded.
“Good,” he said as he crawled over her to lay back in the pillows next to her.
She set the small dog down between them, laughing as he chased his tiny tail.
The chiming of her phone interrupted the sweet moment.
“Ugh, that stupid phone,” Alex said as she reached for it. “If I hadn’t made billions on tech, I’d crush that thing.”
“Very funny. I want to get pictures of Gizmo, anyway.”
“Oooh, post them on your feed with the caption ‘Gift from my hashtag hubby’ so Chris sees them. I kind of want to ruin his day after how mean he was to you.”
She offered him an unimpressed glance as she shook her head. “Talk about ruining the day.”
“What?” he asked, inching closer to peer over her shoulder.
“Raven,” she answered. “With our first assignment.”
“Oh, come on, Raven. We’re enjoying our new puppy.”
“I don’t think they care.” She swiped into her messages, finding a picture of an elegant couple. “Learn everything you can about Theodore and Vivienne Bancroft. Be discreet. They are high-ranking Board members.”
Ava leaned closer to Alex, her gaze flicking to his. “Looks like we need to do some digging.”
He wrapped an arm around her. “Looks like it.”
His elation from the morning spent with Ava deflated a little as the danger they faced, the danger that had brought them together, pressed in around them like a suffocating fog, reminding them of the precariousness of their situation.
He was determined to give her a happy life…if they lived long enough.