First and Forever (Heartache Duet #2) - Jay McLean Page 0,111
shit, shit. I look at the clock. It’s close to 7:30, and I’m late. Stupid four-hour afternoon nap.
I’m not ready. Not even close. Neither is dinner. I wipe my hands on a dish towel and swing open the front door. “Sorry, I’m running behind. I haven’t even started cooking yet, and you’re probably starv—”
“Hi,” he cuts in, leaning against the door frame all cool and calm and, Jesus, he’s so ridiculously handsome it makes me sick. “You’re flustered.” No shit. He’s smiling down at me as if he’s in on a joke only he’s privy to… as if I’m the joke.
I nod, attempt a calming breath. “A little, yeah.”
He returns the nod, peering over my shoulder and into my apartment. I open the door wider, wait for him to step in before closing it behind him. Hands in his pockets, he turns to me, his mouth parting, but before he gets a chance to speak, I say, “How are you… feeling?”
His brow lifts. “How am I feeling?”
“Yeah, like, right this very second. In three words or less. How are you feeling?”
He stares at me, his eyebrows drawn, and Amy is officially the worst advice giver in the world. “I don’t know.” Hands still in his pockets, he shrugs. “Nervous, scared, excited.”
My eyes widen. “How long were you standing outside my door?”
“I just got here. Why?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“Can I add an extra one or is there a three-word limit?” he asks, his smirk throwing my mind off balance.
“Sure, add a word.”
“Lucky.”
“Lucky?” I repeat. “Why?”
“Because you’re wearing a dress, and I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”
“Oh.” Oh.
“You look nice, Ava.”
The breath that leaves me is ragged, and I look down at myself. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he laughs out. “And hi, Crazy. That was one hell of a welcome.”
“Sorry.” I shake my head, clear the fog. “I’ve had a long day… and I’m… flustered.” I point to the counter. “I haven’t really started with—”
“It’s cool. Can I help at all?”
“No.” I motion to the stools beneath the countertop. “You sit. You’re probably exhausted.”
He takes my advice and sits on the opposite side of me, the counter between us. Good. An object that creates distance. That’ll help with the whole humping-his-leg thing. “Honestly, I was pretty beat, and then you opened the door in that dress, and I got a second wind.”
I bite down on my lip to stop my smile and turn away from him, not wanting him to see my blush.
“This is a real nice apartment,” he muses.
I open the fridge, a distraction. “Yeah, I like the floors.” I like the floors? What the actual fuck, Ava! Get a grip.
“Did uh… Did Peter help you with it?”
At the mention of his name, my shoulders tense, and I close the fridge empty-handed. Turning to him, I ask, “Help me with what?”
“The apartment.”
“No,” I reply, a single laugh bubbling out of me.
Connor’s eyes narrow. “Why is that funny?”
“Why would he be helping me—”
“I mean, you moved to Texas with him, so…”
Oh, that. I wave a hand in the air, ignore the way his eyes shine extra blue against the overhead lights. “It’s a long story.”
“Lucky we have all night then, huh?”
Nodding, I ignore the way Connor’s gaze dips to my breasts before checking himself and get back to cutting the vegetables on the counter.
His tone turns serious when he asks, “How’s your mom, Ava?”
I glance up at him, catch him watching my every move. “You won’t believe it if I tell you.”
“Try me.”
I make quick work of the dinner prep while I tell him everything that’s happened with my mom over the past year. He listens intently to every single word, barely ever taking his eyes off me. He asks questions, lots of them, and by the end, his eyes are wide. “So, everything fell into place, huh?” he asks, repeating the words I’d used when I told him I was leaving.
After sliding the tray into the oven, I turn to him, nod. “I mean, in a roundabout way, yeah. It did.”
“And Trevor?” he asks. “How is he?
I start clearing the counter to season the steaks I’d gotten us. “Good. He’s still a dick,” I joke, and he laughs at that. “He re-enrolled at Texas A&M, and he’s living with Amy off-campus. Oh, and remember that—”
“I remember everything, Ava.”
I can’t control the ticking at the corner of my lips. “Um… that conversation you had with him about being an agent?”