Chapter 21
ALEX
Alex’s fingers caressed the soft velvet of the tiny box in his hands. He pressed his lips together, his stomach tightening into a knot as he flipped it open. Sweat beaded on his brow as a flood of insecurities rushed through him.
The massive diamond sparkled against the deep blue velvet of the box, but suddenly, it seemed far too small. “Should have gone bigger,” he murmured to himself, shaking his head as he snapped the box shut.
He ran his thumb over the velvet box, feeling the smooth edges, trying to quiet the storm in his chest. Only a few years ago, he’d have been too scared to believe he deserved someone like Ava.
All his doubts, the ones he’d wrestled with since their fake marriage began, now seemed so far away.
This was different. This was real. He’d earned this moment—with her.
His fingers tightened around it, his knuckles turning white as he puffed out his cheeks.
“You okay?” Ava’s voice sent a shot of panic through him. His muscles tensed as he shoved the ring box into his pocket and spun to face her.
“Yep!” His voice, two octaves too high, betrayed his nerves.
Ava arched an eyebrow, an amused smile playing on her lips as she closed the distance between them. “Well, that sounded like a lie.”
“Totally not a lie.”
“You afraid of getting sick when you take me to Mexico?” She grinned at him as she slid her arms around his waist and leaned closer.
He couldn’t stop himself from smiling a little at her guess. “I’m not telling you where we’re going, Avs.”
“But we’re actually going this time, so what’s the harm?”
He shook his head. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”
He slid a lock of hair behind her ear as he studied her face. They’d finally gotten to this moment. He’d tried so many times before after they’d agreed to stay together, but they’d never made it to that surprise he had for her.
He couldn’t wait to see her face, but a small nugget of terror lodged in the pit of his stomach, threatening to upend everything. Suddenly, the surprise that had been so important to him seemed…stupid.
In fact, he’d been considering not even mentioning it again, but he hadn’t had that opportunity. His mind returned to the moment in that hospital room when Ava had winced at him.
His heart had dropped, and a cold sweat broke out across his forehead as she said, “But…we do have one problem, Ace. And it’s a big one…maybe a deal-breaker.”
He hadn’t wanted there to be any problems, but moments after they’d finally found a smidgen of peace, Ava had presented one.
He’d do anything to overcome it, but…what if it was something he couldn’t do? He didn’t deserve Ava, but he would fight for her with everything he had. But his sweaty palms and the gnawing feeling in his stomach made him wonder if he had enough to win her.
“W-what is it?” he murmured, his voice almost breaking.
He cleared his throat, swallowing hard.
“Well…” she started, her lips tugging into a playful pout, “we never got to go on that surprise trip. And now that The Board isn’t breathing down our necks, I kind of really want to go.”
He couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. “Oh, right. That.”
“Yeah,” she said with a sweet smile. “That. I’ve been excited since you told me about it, and then things got so messed up.”
She grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “But now, things have finally settled. So, it’s time to start living our lives.”
“Yeah,” he said, his brilliant plan losing some of its sparkle. After everything they’d been through, the big surprise seemed a little bit smaller.
“What’s wrong?” Ava asked, leaning forward to catch his eye.
“Nothing. I just…I have to…you know, make all of the arrangements and stuff. And I don’t want you guessing it so, I need to be careful.
Just thinking through logistics.” His mind stretched as he considered changing the location.
What were some of the places she’d guessed? Maybe one of those would be better.
In the end, he’d stuck with his original plan. And now that seemed like a really horrible idea. As she stood in her sparkly pink tracksuit, her seafoam green eyes staring up at him expectantly, nothing seemed good enough.
“We should go,” she said.
“I mean…it’s our plane, so it’ll wait for us.”
She chuckled as she pulled away, grabbing his hand. “Come on.”
“Sparky…”
“Yeah?” she prompted when he continued to avoid eye contact with her.
“Nothing, I just, you know, maybe we should just do a gaming session.”
Her features twisted with surprise. “What? You have been going on about this surprise forever. And now you want to stay home and game?”
“We love gaming.” He shrugged.
“I also love surprises.” Her eyes went wide, and she grinned at him again. “Oh, or is it not a surprise because I already guessed it?”
“No, you haven’t guessed it. And that sort of makes me nervous, but you know, oh well.”
Ava pulled on his arm, getting him moving toward the door. “Why are you nervous?”
“Because after everything that happened, maybe my surprise is just stupid.”
“It’s not,” she said, wrapping an arm around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder as they made their way down the hall.
“Could be,” he answered as they descended the stairs.
“If you’re excited about it, Ace, then I’m excited about it. I can’t wait to see where we’re going. Especially since I haven’t guessed it.”
“Off on your big trip?” Kyle asked as they reached the foyer floor.
“Yep,” Ava answered. “You cool to hold down the fort while we’re gone?”
“I mean…you’re leaving me with the wolves here, but sure. I’ve sharpened a stick, so I can survive.” Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged nonchalantly, though Alex detected the note of genuine worry in his voice.
Ava chuckled as she patted the man on the chest. Alex eyed the gesture, wondering if he’d ever stop feeling the twinge of jealousy when she showered attention on another man. But within seconds, the green-eyed monster died a quick death as Ava looped her arm through his.
“They’re your family, Doc. You’ll be fine. Plus, I’m sure they’ll be enjoying some downtime now that there isn’t a crisis,” Ava said.
“Yeah, well…my half-sister low-key hates me. My dad and I are on speaking terms at least, but he’s still not totally keen on the entire idea of me existing. Julia’s nice, but…I sort of ruined that with the kisses.”
Ava snuggled closer to Alex, her lips forming an exaggerated pout. “We’ll be back soon. Just hole up in your room with some video games.”
Kyle rocked on his heels, nodding too many times. It was clear he wasn’t pleased.
“We’re not taking you, bro,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
“Come on,” Kyle answered, his features twisting into a pleading expression. “I won’t interrupt you. I’ll just…sit quietly on the plane. Maybe eat some food. Maybe have a drink.”
Alex shook his head. “No. Come on, man, you can’t be serious.”
Kyle frowned. “Okay, I’m not totally serious, but if you were considering it, I just wanted you to know that I’d be totally cool with going and not a pain.”
“I don’t get why you’re so upset staying here,” Ava answered. “You live here now. Grant, Julia, Sierra, they’re all just guests. You are a permanent resident.”
One corner of Kyle’s lips tugged back into a smile. “Aww, thanks, Ava. That’s sweet. And I totally needed to hear that.”
“Needed to hear what?” Sierra’s shrill voice called from the top of the stairs.
“That this is my house now, too, so I make the rules while Alex and Ava are gone,” Kyle retorted, his features haughty.
Sierra’s jaw dropped open as Blake appeared at her side. “Daddy, did you hear that? Do something.”
“Uhhh,” Blake said, rubbing the back of his neck as he shot a glance Alex and Ava’s way. “Sorry about that, I’ll–”
Ava waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Nothing to be sorry about. We’ve all discussed this. Doc’s a part of our family now. Our house is his house. So…his rules until we’re back.”
Kyle grinned at her as Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently guided her toward the door. “Yep. What Sparky said. Have fun.”
He guided her into the warm air and toward his SUV, hesitating for a moment.
“What now?” Ava asked.
“Uhh, was just going to leave my car for Doc because he likes to drive it but…eh, he can drive yours.”
“My pink SUV? He’ll love it,” she said with a chuckle as she slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt. “It’s totally him.”
Alex fired the engine, his nerves playing up again as he guided the car down the driveway. For a second, he considered going back for Kyle. Maybe it would break some of the awkwardness when Ava realized what an idiot he was.
But he pressed on, his foot inching the accelerator toward the floor as he gripped the wheel tightly.
His mind swam as he navigated to the private airstrip. His private plane waited in the hangar, and he tried to keep his hands from shaking as they walked toward it.
Ava slid her hand into his, smiling up at him. He offered her a nervous grin in return, wishing his palms weren’t so sweaty.
They settled into the supple leather seats of the plane. Before he buckled his belt across his lap, he twisted toward her. “Babe, are you sure you want to fly after the…you know?”
“Plane crash? Yeah, I’m fine.” She reached for him, squeezing his hand. “There’s nowhere else I want to be, babe. I can’t wait to see your surprise.”
He chuckled nervously as he buckled the belt and settled back in the seat.
“Seriously, Alex. If you thought this was a special place to go, I’m going to love it.”
The engines revved to life as Alex gripped the arms of his seat. “I hope so.”
As the plane took off then settled at cruising altitude, they made small talk, but Alex’s mind remained fixed on the outing ahead.
When the plane’s wheels bounced against the nearby runway, his stomach was in a tight knot.
Ava grinned excitedly, bouncing in her seat. “I can’t wait to see Paris.”
“Babe…”
“I know,” she answered, “it was way too short of a flight to be Paris. Like real short. Where are we?”