Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-two
Ava
Things have changed this week, for me, anyway. I’m starting to realize that River was always where I’ve now found myself — in love.
The house changed things. Yeah, it freaked me out to start with because it made it real, it meant he wasn’t playing a joke on me anymore, he wasn’t about to do a one-eighty and destroy me.
But after my chat with the girls, after the week we just spent together and the words he’s constantly saying to me?
I can’t deny it anymore. This is real. River loves me.
For some reason I haven’t been able to say the words to him. There’s something holding me back, and I’m not sure what it is or how to get past it, I just know the words won’t leave my lips right now. They can’t, no matter how much I know they’re true.
It’s midmorning on Monday and I’ve just finished a meeting with a potential donor. Their offices are around the corner from River’s and I’ve got time to meet him for a coffee before I need to be back.
Ava: I’m round the corner, you free for coffee?
River: Come up. I’ve got to finish something real quick then I’ll buy you one
Ava: Why don’t I just bring us one up?
River: Because I want to take you out
I shake my head as I make my way towards his offices. My stubborn man.
He rises from his seat and heads towards me as I walk through the door, pulling me into his arms and stamping his mouth to my own. He kisses me like he hasn’t seen me in days, rather than mere hours ago when he was buried deep inside me.
“Hey, baby,” he murmurs as he presses his forehead against mine.
“Hi,” I whisper back.
“Hmm, you smell good.”
“I probably still smell like you,” I laugh. “You made sure of it after this morning.” His eyes darken at my words, and I feel his cock harden between us.
“Don’t tempt me, pipsqueak.”
“Like it takes much with you. But we don’t have time, I want a coffee before I need to get back to work.”
“That’s the only reason you’ve still got your clothes on.” I can’t help but roll my eyes at him, he’s ridiculous.
“Careful,” he warns. “You know what happened last time you did that.”
My ass was decidedly sore.
“Are you ready?” I ask to distract him; I don’t need him spanking me in his office, that only ends one way, and this isn’t the time or the place.
“Let me just run these drawings over to graphics, then we can go.” He grabs some papers off his desk and wanders out of the room.
I busy myself looking through the different books he has on his shelves — none of them hold my interest, but he’s hardly going to have any spicy romance books in his office — when there’s a knock at his open door. I turn to see Nina standing in the doorway, some papers in her hands.
“Hi Nina,” I greet her as she takes a few steps into his office.
“Ava, right?” she queries like we didn’t spend an evening sitting next to each other celebrating my boyfriend.
“Mmhmm,” I hum. I’m not going to engage if she wants to try and be a bitch.
“Are you looking for River?” she asks me.
“Nope, I found him.”
“Oh, right. Well, I’ll just wait here, then. I need to give him these papers.”
Oh, I don’t think so.
“That’s fine, you can give them to me. I’ll make sure he gets them.”
“Oh, I shouldn’t,” she murmurs like she’s holding top secret papers. “I always give him his documents personally.”
Yeah, I’ll bet you do, bitch.
“Well, today I’m here, so you don’t need to.” I walk up to her and hold my hand out, she finally relents and hands them over to me.
“They’re the charity donations he needs to sign off on before finance can process the payments.”
Charity donations?
“I didn’t know the company supported charities.” She gives me a look as if to say, ‘see I told you I shouldn’t have given you these.’
“It’s something River started, he was very vocal about it, he’s also the one who picked the charity. I’m surprised you don’t know about it seeing as you’re dating and it’s something he’s very passionate about.”
I walked right into that one. Although, I have to say it does sting that he hasn’t told me about it.
“I’ll make sure he gets these,” I grate. I’m not engaging in this conversation, she can try and insinuate things about our relationship all she wants, it won’t work, though.
She turns on her heels with a flick of her hair and sashays out of his office. It’s childish, but I can’t stop myself from flipping her off as she leaves.
I head towards River’s desk, my intention to just put the papers down and leave it at that, but my gaze catches on three words.
Three words that make me freeze in place.
Three words that I know all too well.
Three words that really do change everything.
Shining Stars Foundation.
Holy shit. River’s our secret donor.
River
I walk back into the office, ready to finally take my girl for coffee, but pull up short at the sight in front of me. Ava has tears streaming down her cheeks, and not just one or two, she is full on sobbing, and I swear my heart cracks.
What the fuck happened?
Before I can take even one step towards her, she runs at me, I barely manage to lift my arms in time to catch her before she’s wrapped around me, kissing every inch of my face. Her tears smear across my cheeks, lips, forehead, all over me, as her lips do the same.
“You love me,” she whispers. “You really fucking love me.” I honest to God have no idea what’s going on right now, and I’m genuinely freaking out.
“Yeah, pipsqueak. I love you more than anything.”
“I know.” Her voice is a broken cry.
“Christ, baby, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“You were never going to tell me, were you?” she sobs.
What the fuck?
“Baby, please, you’re worrying me. Tell you what? What’s wrong?”
“It’s you. It’s always been you.”
Her lips find mine, her kiss passionate and desperate. She kisses me like she never has before, like she loves me and it fucking wrecks me.
“Pipsqueak,” I rasp as I pull away from a kiss that I wanted to last forever. “I need you to tell me what’s going on. Why are you crying, baby?”
She takes a shuddering breath and her glassy, tear-filled eyes meet my own.
“You’re him, you’re ou—” her voice breaks and she takes a gasping breath. I swear she’s trying to kill me; I can’t take much more of this. “You’re our secret donor.”
Well, shit.
“You were never going to tell me, were you? Even though it’s something you knew I would have loved, you were going to keep it a secret. You didn’t want that to be what changed things.”
“No, I wasn’t going to tell you,” I admit. I’m sure she would have found out at some point, but it’s not information I was going to volunteer.
“Do you know how long I’ve admired you? How much respect I’ve had for the person who never wanted any recognition for what they did?” I can only shake my head.
Fuck, the way she’s looking at me right now, it’s like I’m everything to her.
“River, this doesn’t change the way I feel about you. This isn’t the reason I’ve fallen in love with you, but it’s made me realize that I am. This has made me finally accept that this is real, that you’re the one I love unconditionally. You did this for me, didn’t you?”
“Baby, everything I do is for you.” Then her words register with me. “Say it again,” I demand.
“I love you, River,” she vows.
“Fuck, pipsqueak, I love you, too.”
“River?”
“Yeah?”
“We need to tell our parents.”
“Yeah, baby, we do.”