Chapter Three
Gabby grabbed Ava’s arm and pulled her away from the family knot near the entrance. “Fernsby’s game to wait,” she said. “We can have a nice yummy cocktail and a good long chat. He’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
The two of them exchanged hugs with their brothers and Cammie, though Ava stopped short of hugging Fernsby. He just wasn’t the huggable sort. She’d seen him hug Dane and Cammie at the get-together three months ago to celebrate his big win on Britain’s Greatest Bakers, but she was sure that had been an anomaly as rare as the win itself.
Besides, she was terrified of the look he was giving her. What did it mean? A look from Fernsby could be only an ill omen.
When they were outside, Gabby dragged her down the street to a hole-in-the-wall bar, its dark and dingy interior suiting Ava’s emotional state. It might once, in its heyday, have been a jumping joint, with a mahogany bar, hardwood floors, and wood-paneled walls. But now there were scratches on the bar’s surface, dents in the hardwood, and streaks of dried condensation—or something—on the panels.
Thank God someone had wiped down the seat of the circular booth they slid into.
“I know this must be a really difficult decision,” Gabby said, her mouth drooping in a frown.
“It’s the worst,” Ava agreed. “Because Ransom is the only choice left. Dane is probably right that even if he won’t do it for me because of how badly we left things, he’ll do it for our family.” She huffed out a breath and finally smiled. “Thank you for not spilling the beans to the brothers. You’re the only one I ever told about me and Ransom.”
Her sister laughed. Gabby had a beautiful smile and a beautiful laugh. She was blond like their mother, whereas Ava’s red hair had come from some weird recessive gene in their father’s line. And while Ava could be called statuesque, Gabby was almost but not quite petite.
“You didn’t tell me,” Gabby declared. “I figured it out because I’m smarter than they are.” She scoffed from deep in her throat. “Like you were really going to tell your fifteen-year-old sister about your affair.”
Gabby was six years younger, and when Ava had met Ransom, her sister had barely started high school. Ava would never have thought of confiding in her. She’d never intended to tell anyone. Ransom had been her delicious secret. Until the relationship had soured.
“Well, I’m glad you figured it out, because I got to cry on my baby sister’s shoulder. I’ll always love you for being there for me.” She leaned over to hug Gabby tightly.
The waitress arrived then, and Ava was happy to know they had a server in a place like this. Especially when most of the clientele were huddled around the bar and only a very few of the tables were occupied.
“What can I get you two?” the woman asked. She looked like a college student, probably paying her way on salary and tips.
“I’d love an espresso martini.” Ava usually had a champagne cocktail if it was late, but after the day she’d had, she wanted the espresso boost. “That is, if your bartender knows how to make one.”
The young woman smiled. “If he doesn’t, I’ll look it up on the internet. We’ll make sure you get what you want.”
Ava smiled her appreciation. “Thank you.” And vowed to leave a good tip to help the waitress on her way to that college degree.
“I’ll have the same,” Gabby said. “As long as there’s no cream in it.”
“No worries.” Ava did a finger-drum on the table. “It’s just a couple of liqueurs and coffee. Nothing from a cow.”
The sisters laughed together, although Ava wasn’t sure the waitress got the joke.
“I’ve tried to think of alternatives to Ransom,” Gabby said as the ponytailed waitress bounced off to the bar, eager to fill the unusual order. “But none of my suppliers are equipped to do something like this.”
Ava covered her hand. “You’re the best for trying.”
All roads led to Ransom, it seemed.
When they’d met at his grandmother’s convalescent home, she’d been pleased to see that Ransom visited religiously every week. So many of the residents received no visitors at all. He’d told her he was working with Dane on the new resort her brother had been opening at the time. Had it been coincidence or serendipity? But the attraction had been instant.
She fell back into the present as her sister said, “I hate even saying this, because you know how I feel about that man.” Gabby had been her only confidante when things went south. “But you’ll just have to pretend nothing happened between the two of you.”
Ava felt a grunt rise from her throat. “How am I supposed to do that? He almost ruined my life.”
She’d thought herself in love. She and Ransom had spent every available moment together, though that hadn’t been a lot, since he was always flying off to Hong Kong or Dubai or London. His career was on the rise, and the man was literally going places. Ava had to admit she’d been no less busy. She’d enrolled in night school and was studying hard on her healthcare management and senior living degree.
But when they came together, they flashed like comets in the night. They’d filled up every one of those moments, hiking, talking, cooking, loving. Oh, the loving. The way he’d touched her, kissed her, even the way he’d looked at her had set her on fire.
Until he’d returned from Costa Rica one morning and said he had to fly out to Paris that night. They’d made a fabulous dinner together, he doing the cooking, she chopping vegetables, acting as his sous-chef, something she’d always loved doing for him.
Then over dinner, he’d made the offer that absolutely destroyed her.
Gabby said, “He didn’t get a chance to ruin anything, because you left him before he could.” She punched the air. “Way to go.”
Ava said a little indignantly, “I didn’t leave him. He flew off to Paris and left me behind. After, mind you, he told me he’d give me a job working for him so I could always be with him. He treated me like Edward treated Vivian in Pretty Woman, basically saying I could come along as his mistress.”
As though her dreams meant nothing. As though only his rising career was important. He’d even said she could come back and finish her degree in a few years. The nerve. She could hear him even now. You’ll gain valuable life experience.
As what? Being a hanger-on, a woman he could introduce to his clients, then shuffle back to bed that night? She’d told him bluntly, “That’s not the kind of life experience I want.”
After she left that night, he hadn’t called, hadn’t even texted. She hadn’t either. He was the one who’d made that offer. The one who’d been in the wrong.
Gabby agreed with her. “He totally pretty-womaned you.”
After Ransom was gone, they’d often watched the movie together over bowls of popcorn and buckets of tears. But Ava always turned it off before the ending, when Edward came back. Because Ransom never had.
Ava’s heart turned over with love for her sister. “You’ve always been my staunchest supporter.” She squeezed Gabby’s hand tightly.
Her sister’s eyes were limpid pools. “You can’t know how I feel about that man for what he did to you.”
“But I do.” To escape painful reminders, Ava had avoided following Ransom’s rising celebrity status as much as she could. But Gabby had gone a step further, her animosity for Ransom coloring even her career decisions. “I never meant that you should pass up huge opportunities,” Ava said. “When Ransom needed a vegan chef—”
Gabby held up a hand. “I would never have worked with someone who could do that to you.”
Her sister’s loyalty always hit that soft spot in Ava’s heart. “But you just said I was the one who walked out.”
Gabby shook her head, her blond hair flying. “You had good reason to.”
“But I never wanted you to put your career second to my feelings.”
A growl rumbled up from Gabby’s throat. “I wouldn’t work for that man if hell—” She stopped herself. Because Ava might now have to work with that man.
The waitress arrived, two martini glasses filled with coffee liqueur on her tray. “Try these, ladies, and see what you think.”
The two drinks were foamy, with a scattering of espresso beans on the top. “It looks delicious. Thank you.”
The woman waited while Ava lifted the glass to her lips. And truly, it was ambrosia. “Oh my God. This is so good.” She flashed a smile. “You’re a wonder.”
Shrugging shyly, the waitress said, “I looked it up online and told the bartender how to make it. He didn’t even know we had all the ingredients.”
“Above and beyond,” Ava told her.
“You did great. Thank you.” Gabby licked the foam mustache off her lips.
“And no cream,” the woman added with a smile before she walked away.
“She deserves a big tip.” Ava fortified herself with another delicious sip. “Okay, here’s what I’ve learned over the last fifteen years. Yes, I’m still angry with him. I can’t help it. I really did think I was in love with him.” Gabby opened her mouth, but Ava forestalled her. “But I don’t think I ever really believed in love. Especially after Ransom. You know what our parents were like.”
Gabby answered softly, “Yeah, I know.”
“They were never great examples of shining love or family loyalty.”
Gabby could only agree with a nod. “I remember how it felt every time they left on another trip—”
“—and never took us along,” Ava finished. She’d spent her formative years trying to gain her parents’ approval. She brought home the best report cards, joined the debate team, worked on special projects, did whatever she could to get them to notice her. To spend time with her. To love her. But she was never good enough for them to stay.
She’d done the same with Ransom, always trying to do whatever he wanted, always trying be perfect for him. It hadn’t worked with him any more than it had with her parents.
She could say it now, though she hadn’t been able to when they died, or even long after they were gone. “They only showed us the selfish side of love. But their kind of love wasn’t the real thing.”
Her parents had always been more concerned with their next junket than they were with their kids. The family had gone through several nannies, none of whom ever said a thing about the parents’ attitude, even though they all must have wondered how the Harringtons could leave their children behind so often. Her parents had been like playmates, always off on the next fun adventure. All they’d known how to do was pump out a passel of kids, then go on their merry way.
Maybe their parents’ legacy was why none of them could deal with the subject of love. While they could talk about almost anything else with each other, love was off the table. None of them had ever broached the topic with Dane, even though all of them knew he was in love with Cammie. It could also have been why she’d kept Ransom a secret.
None of that mitigated the hurt she’d felt over Ransom’s betrayal. But maybe it explained a little. “I’m not sure I ever really believed in love.” Which might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. The moment Ransom pretty-womaned her, she’d known the whole relationship had been an illusion. She was nothing special to him, no matter how much she’d tried to please him. It was painfully familiar territory.
She’d thought he wanted someone who worked as hard as he did, someone with the kind of ambition he had. She’d gone back to school for herself, but she’d also wanted him to respect her. And while she’d been doing everything she could to please him, he’d made that offer as though none of it mattered. As though he hadn’t even noticed.
But her little sister called her on the comment about love. “What about Dane and Cammie? You don’t think their love is real?”
Ava shrugged. “They probably think it is.”
Gabby’s blue eyes blazed. “Of course they’re in love. Dane has been in love with Cammie since the day she started working for him.” Twelve years, to be exact. “And Cammie has stars in her eyes when she looks at him.”
“Okay. I admit they’re totally in love.” She’d known it for years too. She just didn’t want to admit that the problem was her. Despite their parents’ poor example, Dane had learned how to love. But she and Ransom had failed spectacularly.
Gabby wasn’t finished. “And what about all the Mavericks? The way Gideon looks at Rosie, the way he always put his hand on her pregnant belly.” Rosie had recently given birth to their little girl. “And Matt—the way he so tenderly touches his new son’s head, then kisses Ari.”
The babies had all been introduced at one of the weekly family barbecues. Ava admitted that the look in Cal’s eyes as he gazed at Lyssa, the youngest of the Spencer children, was love and nothing but love. “I know you’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen looks like those.”
“Those men love,” Gabby insisted, heartfelt. “So do their wives and partners. And look at their parents, Bob and Susan Spencer. A love that’s lasted more than thirty-five years.”
Ava held up her hands in surrender. “All right, already. I get it. They’ve all got fantastic relationships. And Dane loves Cammie with all his heart and vice versa.” She took a gigantic breath, filling her lungs, then let it out. “So basically it’s just me and Ransom who suck. We couldn’t make love work.” Before Gabby could say yea or nay or deny the obvious, she turned the conversation on her sister. “What about you? Have you ever been in love?”
Gabby gave a half smile and a half shrug. “There was a French boy when I was at cooking school in Paris.” This time, it was a full shrug. “But I’d never call that love. It was just nice to have someone help with the language barrier, someone to hang out with.”
Ava wondered how big a story lay behind those words.
But Gabby preempted her by asking, “So you know you have to hire the guy, right?” When Ava grimaced, Gabby finished, “He might suck at love, but he sure as hell doesn’t suck at cooking or catering.”
With those fateful words, Ava flopped down onto the table, laying her head on the surface.
Gabby groaned. “That’s disgusting. What if they don’t wash these very well?”
Ava could do no more than mumble, “I don’t care. I don’t want to call him.”
Gabby tugged on her tightly wound chignon, and Ava opened her eyes.
“You’re a different person now than you were then. You can handle him. You’re strong and confident, and you’ll do whatever you need to do to make sure your residents are well taken care of.”
“Yeah. But I can still grumble about it.” Ava had known all along that she’d have to contact Ransom, even as she’d been fighting herself. “He’s the only one left to turn to. So I have to swallow my pride and act like nothing happened fifteen years ago.” Because her business and her residents came first, always. “I listened to all that crap George Twisselman gave me about how they were transitioning, when really he was just cutting costs and not giving us trained personnel. I should have seen that and started looking for a replacement right then.”
Gabby leaned in close, her mouth a deep frown. “Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve got a lot of balls in the air. If one of them drops every now and again, that’s just part of running a business.”
Ava had done her very best never to let a ball drop.
“You gave the guy a chance,” her sister went on, “instead of firing him right out of the gate. That was a reasonable decision.”
But Ava couldn’t erase poor Mrs. Greeley’s tears from her mind. The guilt that any of her residents had to go through that kind of nastiness weighed on her. “I’ve obviously got to do something, so this is what I’m doing. Then I’ll find a replacement for Ransom as soon as I can.” Mrs. Greeley’s tears had been her undoing. She had to fix the situation any way she could, even if it meant burying her emotional scars. She would act like the no-nonsense businesswoman she knew herself to be.
And she was no-nonsense in her business dealings. In her dating life too. The truth was that after Ransom, she’d been very careful that no relationship got too serious. She just wasn’t good at them.
Sitting up straight, she looked at her little sister. “You know, I haven’t dated in two years.”
Gabby went with the flow, as if she understood how Ava’s mind flitted from one thing to another. “Oh, that sucks.”
“It just seems that the more successful I’ve become over the years, the more the men who are truly interested in being with me as a woman instead of an executive have dwindled.”
Gabby nodded knowingly. “Emasculated by your success.”
Ava laughed. “I never thought of it in those terms.”
Her sister shrugged. “They’re intimidated by you.”
“They all seem to want something from me.”
Gabby grinned. “Other than to let you use them ruthlessly?”
It had been a long time—a very long time.
Ava thought of all the ways she and Ransom had used each other—beautiful, pleasurable, ecstatic ways. Her breath quickened and her pulse began to race.
But there was no way she’d ever go there again. Not with Ransom.
* * *
The following morning, Ava dressed for success. Or rather, she dressed for an ambush.
She’d trolled her closet for the perfect outfit. And there it was—a buttoned-up bespoke power suit she’d had made for meetings with executives who thought they were the only high-powered people in the room. She hadn’t worn it yet.
This was the perfect occasion for its debut.
Dressed and turning in front of the mirror so she could see it from every angle, she satisfied herself that the suit would make Ransom drool over what he’d given up all those years ago.
It was frowned upon for women to use their sensuality in a business setting. Yet men dominated with their size and their deep voices and their big muscles. Why shouldn’t a woman dominate with her innate qualities, intelligence as well as sensuality? It was a natural part of her power. She’d never hesitated to use it the way men never hesitated to use their misplaced sense of authority.
After checking the mirror one last time, she slipped into her high heels.
There. The perfect picture of a consummate businesswoman. With an edge of sensuality.
Let him drool.
After stopping by her office to check in with Naomi, make some calls, and answer a few emails, she headed out. Ransom’s office was only a couple of blocks from hers, and walking it, she marveled at how close they’d been since she’d opened her headquarters in the city.
Had they passed each other on opposite sides of the street? Been seated in the same restaurant without seeing each other?
No, she would have felt him if they’d been so close. She’d certainly never booked a table at his San Francisco restaurant.
But now she was about to face the wolf in his den.
Her blood froze with an appalling thought.
What if he refused to see her?