Always Loving You

Ava instantly felt guilty about what she was doing. It was obvious from the tone of Dominic’s voice that he genuinely cared for the other woman. It had been far too easy to forget that there was someone else involved in the whole scenario, someone who would be hurt if Ava got what she wanted. “Crap, I’m a horrible person, aren’t I?”

Dominic planted his feet squarely on the ground, turning his head slightly to look at her. “All’s fair in love and war, Blondie. Unfortunately, there has to be a loser. If I thought for a minute that Mac loved Gwen or vice versa, I wouldn’t be helping you regardless of how I feel about her. He may not be able to admit it to himself, but Gwen is just a temporary replacement for you. Mac wants someone in his life and he made it happen. If I know him like I think I do, though, he’s feeling right about now like he’s made a mistake.”

“And Gwen?” Ava asked, wondering why he was so sure she wasn’t in love with Mac.

“If Gwen had serious feelings for Mac, she wouldn’t be watching me around our apartment complex like she does.”

Ava snorted, unable to hold it in. God, was this man vain! “Have a high enough opinion of yourself?”

Rolling his eyes at her tone, he said, “Men just know these things. I’ve busted her for looking at my ass several times, and she got all flustered over it.”

“Okay, so obvious question here. Why don’t you just talk to Mac about the whole thing? I can’t imagine he would ever go out with someone if he knew that you were already interested in her. That’s just not how he is.”

“But I didn’t make the first move, Blondie. He did. I fucked up. He just needs to remember that it’s always been you for him and you need to show him that you finally understand and return those feelings. Hell, why don’t you just talk to him?” At the look of panic on her face at his suggestion, he grinned. “That’s right, isn’t it? Sometimes you’ve got to take the long way around to get to where you need to go. That’s why I’m helping you; you’re my long way to what I want.”

Smiling at him uncertainly, she said, “Um . . . thanks, I think.” Were they both going about this all wrong? Should she just talk to Mac about her feelings? The fear of rejection was enough to make her tremble. She was taking serious chances here—doing crazy, reckless things to get his attention. Why was the risk of breaking her neck so much less scary than saying I love you?

Being a future cat lady seemed a lot simpler than what she was attempting now, that was for sure.

*   *   *

Brant and Emma were standing in the parking lot when they pulled in a few moments later. Emma looked thrilled to see her sitting on the back of a Harley with Dominic between her thighs. Brant just looked confused.

Dominic steadied her as he helped her from his bike. She was grateful for the Tylenol she had taken before leaving home, which kept her aches down to a mild throb. Emma ran over and threw her arms around Ava’s neck in an unusual display of affection. “Holy hotness, I forgot what a stud Dominic is. You looked like a motorcycle queen when you rode in.” Ah, now it made sense. Emma was using the hug to speak to her without the men hearing. “By the way, Brant is about to freak out over the whole thing. I give him thirty minutes before he pulls you aside and starts quoting the crash statistics of motorcycles.”

As if on cue, Brant gave her a frown as Emma pulled away. Dominic said hello to the couple, looking amused at the tense expression on her brother’s face. Emma, thankfully, said something about being hungry and ushered them all inside. It was so funny to Ava to see her ultraserious brother trying to control his instinctive cringe as the noise level assaulted them. She knew that he had rarely spent time in fast food restaurants before Evan and then Emma came along. That was one thing about Brant: he was always family first even if it killed him.

She studied the woman who had stolen her brother’s heart for a few moments, looking for cracks in her veneer. It had been a tough few months for Emma. Her sister had drowned in a surfing accident in Florida and she knew that both she and her family were still trying to deal with the loss. That was one reason she didn’t cut Emma slack at the office. When they were bickering, Emma didn’t have time to be sad. She had those hours each day when she could be her normal sassy, funny self, and truthfully, it was a bright spot for Ava as well.

With Emma leading the way, they pushed through the crowded McDonald’s, making their way to the play area and the rest of their family and friends. As she looked around, Ava spotted Mac sitting in a corner talking to Evan. He smiled as he saw her before frowning when he noticed Dominic behind her. Oh, shit, maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. It would defeat the purpose of trying to get Mac’s attention if he ended up killing Dominic and hating her in the end.

Looking for the world as if it didn’t bother him at all, Dominic walked over to where Mac and Declan were now talking. With Evan back on the playground, she suspected the men were calling each other their usual unflattering nicknames. Dick-measuring contest: check.

The next people to enter the crowded room were Claire and Jason with their daughter, Chrissy, followed closely by Gray and Suzy. Suzy was sipping what looked like a frappé and wrinkling her nose in dismay. Ava walked up saying hello as Suzy said, “Come on, what’s wrong with Chuckie? At least they have pizza there.”

“You hated Chuck E. Cheese.” Gray smiled wryly. “If I remember correctly, you told baby Henry to ask for a Hooter’s party the next time.”

Ava hadn’t seen Nick and Beth come in, but suddenly Nick’s head popped up between Suzy’s and Gray’s. “Henry’s daddy is completely on board with that suggestion.”

Beth shook her head next to her husband. “Go take Henry to play with the other kids, perv.” Everyone laughed as Nick, Gray, Brant, and Jason joined the other men, leaving the women to themselves.

“Thanks for coming, everyone.” Ella sighed. “I know this is the last thing you wanted to do on Sunday, but this is what Evan picked. With Julie away on her honeymoon, we’ve just been trying to distract him.”

Ava looked across the room smiling as Evan let loose a bloodcurdling battle cry before throwing himself on Declan’s back. Evan was the result of a one-night stand between Evan’s mom, Julie, and Declan back when he was in the military. Declan hadn’t found out until last year when he ran into Julie at Danvers. Apparently, Claire and Julie were friends. Julie had tried to track Declan down when she found out she was pregnant, but the military had a strict policy on giving out information on their servicemen. When Julie recognized Declan, she had taken the opportunity and finally told him about Evan. Even though it was a shock, Ava had been proud of the way he had stepped into the role of dad. Like Mac, Declan carried many tough memories from his time in the marines. It had taken the love of Ella and Evan to make him accept that he could have something as normal as a wife and a child. Now they were expecting their second child, which was obvious from Ella’s enormous stomach. Ava had to swallow the urge to beg her to sit down as she bustled around the room and her pregnant belly jiggled alarmingly.