Chapter 26 Ava Reynolds
AVA REYNOLDS
That Sunday morning, before me and Reek left for family dinner at the estate, I finally Facetimed Ploy so she could see Cairo.
Reek was in the shower, and Cairo was knocked out in his little lounger on the bed, wrapped in one of those soft swaddle blankets.
Even though I still refused to move in with Reek, that man was always at my condo.
He had respected what I said about needing my independence, though, so he mostly showed up late for the night shift and left mid-morning.
Then he made sure to pop in during the day to check on us.
It was his way of being present without making me feel crowded, and I loved him for understanding the difference.
I had not told Ploy I went into labor. I wanted to surprise her. So, I angled the camera toward Cairo while the phone rang and sat there smiling to myself, waiting for her to answer.
The second her face popped up on the screen, she screamed so loud Cairo jumped in his sleep. I put my hand on his little chest instinctively while Ploy slapped her own hand over her mouth.
“Oh my God,” she whispered-shouted. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.” Her eyes were huge as she leaned closer to her screen. “You had baby! Ava! Oh my God.” Her voice dropped into an excited whisper again. “He is so cute. Look at his little face. Congratulations, Ava.”
“Thank you,” I beamed.
“He is beautiful,” she swooned.
It may have been cliche, but my baby was beautiful.
His skin was still light, but the back of his ears were this soft, warm brown that looked like me and Reek met right in the middle.
He had a little full mouth like his daddy, a small nose, long lashes, and dark brows that already made him look serious when he wasn’t crying.
Even as new as he was, his eyes looked like they might end up light like mine. I could stare at him forever.
Ploy kept gushing. “Let me see him better.”
I angled the camera closer to his face, and she made that soft cooing sound people made at babies.
“He looks like a little prince,” she said. “What is his name?”
“Cairo.”
Her whole expression lit up. “Cairo. Oh, I love that. That is a very handsome name.”
“It fits him, right?”
“Yes. He looks expensive.”
That made me laugh hard enough to snort. “He definitely is.”
“And you. How are you?”
I switched the camera view to the front camera. “I am tired, but I’m good. Really good.”
She smiled. “You look happy.”
That made me glance towards the bathroom where I could still hear the shower running. “I am.”
I missed Thailand. I missed the weather, the food, the quiet parts of that life, the version of me that had gotten stronger there. But I had to admit I loved what being back home was turning into.
Messy as it had gotten, painful as parts of it had been, I loved this life.
Ploy must have heard it in my voice because she smiled and said, “I’m glad you happy. You didn’t want to go home. See? You are where you’re supposed to be.”
I looked down at Cairo and nodded. “Yeah. I think I am.”
Riding to the estate for family dinner felt like I was in a presidential motorcade.
There were so many black SUVs around us that it looked like we were escorting a head of state instead of a gang member, his woman, and their newborn son to family dinner.
There was one truck in front of us, one behind, and two flanking our vehicle.
It was excessive, but after everything with the Crown, nobody was taking chances.
Reek especially wasn’t taking chances. He kept one hand resting on Cairo’s carrier and the other on his gun, which sat in his lap.
By the time we got to the estate, it was already chaotic inside. Family dinner at the Cartiers was never quiet, and with all the babies and kids added into the mix, it felt even louder now.
Chef Eddie had shown out. The table was full of food.
Platters of lamb chops, lobster tails, greens, macaroni, roasted potatoes, cornbread, and two kinds of rice were lined up on the island buffet style.
Cairo was sleeping against my chest in his little carrier while I ate, and every few minutes somebody leaned over to kiss him, touch his cheek, or tell me how much he looked like Reek. Of course, Reek ate that up.
Across from us, Aria had a full plate in front of her, including lobster, which was one of her favorites. That was why Legend noticed first when she couldn’t eat her food.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned her.
“Nothing,” she uttered, though she was slightly frowning.
Legend was not buying that. “Aria.”
She took a sip of her drink and tried to smile through it. “I’m fine.”
But I could see that she wasn’t. She kept pushing her food around more than eating it. Every time she lifted her fork, she looked like she had to make herself do it. Aria didn’t play about lobster. For her to have it sitting on her plate untouched meant something was off.
Livia added, “You don’t look fine.”
Aria rolled her eyes, already irritated that attention was shifting toward her. “I said I’m fine.”
Legend sat his fork down. “You ain’t finished nothing on that plate.”
“Maybe I’m not hungry.”
He stared at her for half a second and reminded her, “You got lobster in front of you.”
That made a few of us laugh because he was right. Aria would’ve eaten that first on any normal day.
Zahra leaned forward a little. “What’s wrong?”
Aria sighed, like everybody asking was getting on her nerves worse than whatever she was physically feeling. “I just don’t feel well.”
That earned her a round of skeptical looks from the table.
Saint was the first one to say it. “What kind of not well?”
Aria frowned. “Just not well.”
Legend’s whole attention was on her now. “Since when?”
“Today.”
Aria dropped her fork and looked around at everybody, irritated. “Why is everybody acting like I’m dying?”
Nobody answered that because everybody was thinking the same thing.
Then Aria caught the expression on Zahra’s face and groaned. “Oh my God. Stop tripping. My tubes are fried.”
That made the whole table react at once. Livia laughed first. Tempo nearly choked on her drink. Zahra covered her mouth, still looking suspicious.
Legend, however, did not smile. He sat there looking at her like he wanted to believe that and didn’t at the same time.
Aria pointed at him with her fork. “Do not start.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.” She cut her eyes around the table. “None of y’all do. My tubes are burned. Fried. Cooked. Done. There will be no more surprises from me.”
Saint laughed under his breath. “That’s what you said last time.”
Aria glared at him. “And that’s why nobody asked you.”
That cracked the table up all over again, but underneath the laughter, I could still feel everybody watching her, waiting to see if she was really just under the weather or if family dinner was about to turn into another family shitshow.
And in this family, it honestly could have gone either way.