Always Loving You

Emma looked confused as she asked, “Motorcycle?”

Settling back into her chair, Ava gave a proud smile. “Yep, I’m working on the daredevil part of my plan. Well, actually, it kind of fell into my lap. You know Dominic, who works with Mac?”

Emma gave an appreciative smile, and Ava was sure she licked her lips. “Oh yeah, I sure do. I love your brother, but I’m not going to lie, Dominic starred in a few of my preengagement vibrator sessions. That man just breathes sex.”

“He does look good.” Ava found herself agreeing. She wasn’t used to having this kind of girl talk, because before Emma came along, she really didn’t have any close friends, especially women. She had spent most of her time with Mac. Maybe what they were talking about was silly, but it was nice to do something so normal for a change. “Anyway, he’s going to teach me how to ride his motorcycle. He was a little hesitant at first, but he said yes. I’m meeting him after work tonight.”

Emma jumped up out of her chair, pumping her fist in the air. “Yes, yes! You are my new hero!” Brant picked that exact moment to stick his head in the office, looking at his fiancée in amusement.

“I believe you said the same thing to me this morning, baby.”

Emma whirled to see him behind her, and Ava was surprised to see her assistant blush as she gave Brant a soft smile.

“Cool it, Mr. Stone. Your sister and I are trying to get some work done here.”

He smiled at them both, looking curious. “I can see that. Just wanted to know if you ladies had lunch plans.”

Before Ava could make an excuse, Emma jumped to it first. She took Brant’s arm, steering him toward the door. “I’m sorry, babe. The girls invited us to lunch earlier. Ella’s having some of those Braxton Hicks contractions and she wanted to discuss them with the girls. You know, get a second opinion.”

Ava had to choke back her laughter as her brother started to shift uncomfortably. Obviously, the man thought this was some kind of code for “female problems.” “Oh yes, you need to do that, then. We can have lunch another day. I mean, no big deal at all.” The whole time he was talking, he was edging backward. Emma blew him a kiss, saying that she loved him as he turned to flee.

“You’re really bad, you know? Brant was sweating bullets when he left. The poor man is too uptight for his own good.”

Emma grinned in return. “He is cute, though, right? And I was serious. Not about the Braxton Hicks thing, but about meeting the girls. They asked me this morning to have lunch. We’ll eat at the mall and get them on board as well. Mac will never know what hit him with all of us working together.”

Ava started shaking her head, beginning to feel apprehensive. “Em, I can’t go to lunch with your friends. I hardly know them. I just . . . I’m not good with crowds. I don’t know what to do with other women.”

Emma sat back down in the chair in front of her, giving her a look of sympathy. “Ava, you’ll be fine. You already know Ella—and Suzy, Claire, and Beth are awesome. You’ll have a great time, I promise. If you get uncomfortable, just give me a sign or something, and I’ll make an excuse for us to leave. You can consider this part of your daredevil challenge. Having girlfriends is a wonderful part of life, one I think you need.”

Ava felt as if she were agreeing to a voluntary root canal as she said, “All right, I’ll try it. Don’t blame me, though, if your friends don’t want anything to do with you after this. I’m not only sexually stunted; I’m socially stunted as well.”

“You’ll be just fine,” Emma assured her. “Now, I’ll let the girls know that we’ll just meet them in the front of the mall. I’ll cut you some slack and won’t make you ride with them . . . this time.”

“Gee, thanks.” Ava smiled. She was secretly relieved, though. She hadn’t thought of how uncomfortable being in the confines of a car with a bunch of women she barely knew would be. It sounded like hell. Yeah, she was completely and totally socially inept.

*   *   *

“So, Ava, I’m really digging this look you’ve got going on today. Your boobs look much bigger than I first had them pegged for.”

Ava almost spat her drink across the table as the cool redhead openly assessed her breasts. “Er . . . thank you, Suzy. That’s . . . good to hear.” They were having lunch at a Mexican restaurant inside the mall. Emma had arranged it so Ava was sitting between her and Ella, and that had helped lessen the discomfort a bit. Unfortunately, that left Suzy, Claire, and Beth across the table. So here she sat, fiddling with her glass and trying to follow the flow of conversation around her. She felt as if she had entered some Lifetime movie where each woman talked about her husband. She knew who these women were married to and she suspected they must be thrilled to go home at the end of each day.

When she and Brant had originally met Jason Danvers, she had been so tongue-tied she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t been expecting someone so young and gorgeous. But the real crush had developed once he started talking. The man was brilliant. She had fallen in love with his mind that day. Ava had always had a thirst for knowledge, and Jason was a master teacher. To watch him in action closing a big deal was a thing of beauty. One of his most attractive qualities, though, was how much he loved his wife and the fact that he didn’t bother to hide it. Ava had had dinner with them a few times through the course of various business functions, and Jason seemed to think that the world revolved around the woman he had chosen to be by his side. Ava knew that Claire had once been his assistant at Danvers but was now his wife and the mother of his child.

Suzy was married to Grayson “Gray” Merimon, who had also come on board at Danvers when Jason acquired his company. Gray’s brother, Nick, worked for Danvers as well and was married to Suzy’s sister, Beth. Just trying to keep up with all the connections seemed mind-boggling. And of course, there was Ella, who was married to Ava’s brother Declan. Ella was adorable and currently only a month away from giving birth to their first child. Lately Ava felt a pang of emptiness when she saw how happy other people were as part of a couple. She could have had that if only she hadn’t been such a coward. Mac had wanted a real relationship with her, but now it might be too late.

“Yoo-hoo, hellooo!”

Ava jumped as Emma’s shout jostled her back to the present. She felt herself flush as all eyes at the table were on her.