Taboo Boss - Natasha L. Black Page 0,77

crackers and crying over it.”

She nodded and laughed as we sat down on the couch together. “That’ll happen. And I hate to have to tell you, it’s going to get worse.”

“Fantastic,” I said. “I guess it does mean that right about now would be the best time to tell Tom. While I still have some semblance of control.”

“Well, it’s not quite that bad,” Ava said with another laugh. “For the most part, you do remain the same human being throughout your pregnancy. But I do agree now is the best time to tell Tom.”

“He doesn’t know I’m here?” I asked, wanting to confirm it.

“No,” she said. “He was wondering about you earlier when you didn’t go to the meeting. I think he knows something’s up. I promise I didn’t tell him anything. Not even that you were coming.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“You know, I didn’t tell Mason I was pregnant for a while,” she said.

“You didn’t?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. It was really hard on me to begin with. And we weren’t really a couple when it happened. After the miscarriage when we were younger, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing. I was terrified about losing another baby, and I didn’t know how he was going to feel. It was just a lot. So I kept it to myself for a long time.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“I ended up telling him. Well, the bartender who desperately wanted to be friends with me ended up telling him. It was an accident, but it all came out and we were kind of forced to talk about it. He accepted it later on, and things turned out great,” she said.

“But you and Mason had history. You two were together for a really long time and were still in love with each other. Tom and I don’t have that. He never even defined our relationship,” I said.

“That’s true,” Ava said. “I can’t be absolutely sure things will be the same way. You don’t have the same type of history that Mason and I did, but there is definitely something between you. And it’s not like you just met. You’ve known each other for years and obviously got closer while you were here.”

“I’m just afraid it’s going to go so badly,” I said.

“I’m not,” she said. “I am more than confident things will work out between you two.”

“Thank you,” I said. “But I just don’t even know how to start. Do I call him? Show up at his hotel room? Is he even still staying at the hotel?”

“He is,” she said. “And that’s the perfect place for you to talk to him. Go to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I’ll take care of getting Tom there.”

I let out a long breath. This was really going to happen. There was no turning back now.

33

Tom

“Hello?” I said as I answered the phone. I was surprised to see Ava’s name pop up on the caller ID, mostly because I was standing within earshot of Mason. He was busy moving furniture around, so perhaps he just didn’t hear his phone and she needed me to get him, but either way, it was odd, and the surprise in my voice was probably evident.

“Hey, Tom, could you meet me at the hotel restaurant for dinner? I thought you’d be back here by now and was just going to swing by and chat, but there’s some stuff on the menu here I want to try now,” she said. It all came out almost as one breath, and if I was confused before, I was completely lost now.

“You want me to meet you at the hotel restaurant?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, seeming to realize how weird it sounded. “I just had some ideas for theme nights, you know? And I was going to drop by your room and chat with you about them, but you hadn’t left the bar yet, so I was going to head back that way. Then I passed by the restaurant down here, and they have—” There was a pause for a moment. “—chicken scallopini.”

“Chicken scallopini,” I repeated.

“Yes. Chicken scallopini,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to try that, and they have it here. And I thought we could go over the ideas I had while I tried it.”

I took the phone away from my ear to stare at it for a moment. Ava was a free-spirited girl, but this was a little odd even for her. I glanced over at Mason, who