Age of Ava (Vested Interest - ABC Corp 4)

“Yes. Two weeks from now, we’re having a barbecue on Sunday. It’s relaxed and fun. The men grill too much food that still gets eaten. We all pitch in and make munchies, salads, and desserts. The pool will be open. There’s music and fun. You can bring Cash.”

She looked so hopeful and earnest, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no. I was always shocked at how much I wanted to please her. To make her smile.

“I’ll think about it.”

Her eyes widened in pleasure. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” I stood. “Now I’m starving.” Despite the pizza earlier, I was hungry again.

“I brought burritos from that little place in town.”

I glared at her. “You’ve been sitting there, yammering away, when there’re burritos waiting?” I pulled her from the sofa. “You better have gotten chips and salsa too.”

“As if you can eat burritos without them,” she scoffed.

She followed me to the kitchen and pulled the bag from the oven. Then she grabbed some bottles of Creemore from the fridge that she’d picked up as well, the bottles glistening with cold.

I grabbed her and kissed her. She really couldn’t be more perfect.

I ignored the little voice that added, “more perfect for me,” in my head—even though a huge part of me agreed with it.

I didn’t know what to do with those words.

* * *

Ava left before dawn, the sound of her SUV engine fading away. Although as I sat on my deck sipping coffee, I swore I heard the faint sound of it drifting across the open area between us as she arrived home. It was probably my imagination. She had stayed, and the night had been different from the other nights we spent together. I had been sore and aching, and she insisted on giving me a neck and back rub. Afterward, she lay on my chest, and I read to her, stroking my hand over her hair as I spoke the words of the murder mystery aloud. It was a book I’d found on the shelf in the living room. I had already figured out it didn’t matter what I read, the sound of my voice and the caresses I gave her helped to soothe and relax her. I didn’t wake her to fuck her, instead quietly switched off the light and resettled her on my chest, falling asleep with her draped over me. It felt more intimate than sex with her somehow. The need to care for her, to watch over her as she slumbered, were new and different feelings for me. I wasn’t sure how to handle them any more than the need to see her all the time.

Stopping my inner musings, I finished my coffee and got to work on the railings. They were a simple, easy design, and I lost track of time as I measured, drilled, and put them together. The sound of a truck in the driveway made me look up, and I frowned as Ronan climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked toward me. He carried a takeout tray of coffee and a bag.

“Hey.”

He waved. “Looks good.”

“What’s up?”

“Oh, I needed to check a couple measurements I had for an idea. Mind if I go in?”

“Help yourself.”

“I brought a snack.”

“Okay, do what you need to do, and I’ll finish this railing.”

“Great.”

A few moments later, he sat beside me on the steps and offered me a coffee. I sipped it gratefully and munched on the fresh Danish. “Good,” I mumbled around a mouthful.

He chewed and swallowed. “Another family tradition. Lemon Danish is our favorite.” He flashed me a grin. “We fight to the death over the last one, no matter how many Mom buys.”

I laughed. “Who usually wins?”

“Ava. She fights dirty.”

I laughed. “My Little Dragon. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

He quirked his eyebrow at my nickname but only grinned. “She is a dragon. She breathes fire when she’s pissed.”

“It’s a cover,” I said without thinking.

He paused. “A cover?”

“Your sister isn’t the big bad wolf she likes people to think she is. Those moments she breathes fire take a lot out of her.”

He leaned back on his elbows. “And you know this because…”

I scoffed. “Because I’m looking. She handles a lot of shit, Ronan. It exhausts her. Last night, she burrowed so tight into me while she slept—” I shut up as I realized what I’d said.

“Keep going.”

I stared at the water for a moment. “She needs a place to just be Ava sometimes. Not the project manager, not the perfect daughter she wants to be, not the big sister with all the answers. Just Ava.”

“You’re right.” He finished his coffee, dropping the cup into the paper bag. “I went through a bad time, feeling invisible in my family. Being a triplet, you tend to be part of a group all the time, you know. Ava understood that, and she supported me even when I was an idiot. I know she’s not as tough as she lets on, and I know how hard she tries to be what she thinks she has to be. I try to help her. So does Liam. They’re close. But you’re the first person outside the family who has ever seen that about her. Whom she has gotten close enough to and allowed to see it.” He sneered. “That idiot she was involved with a few years ago certainly didn’t. He had no idea what he let go. Jackass.”