The bed is a mess, her breasts lactating everywhere.
“Go shower,” I tell her. “Just tell me where the sheets are, and I’ll clean it up.”
Ava informs me to look inside the closet in the laundry room. While she showers, I strip the bed, throw the sheets in the wash, and then make the bed. Emmy stirs, just in time for Ava to come out and feed.
I hop into the shower as well, then keep my boxers on as we lay in bed together while she feeds.
“She’s looking more like you,” Ava says softly. “Your hair.”
“I think she’s going to be all you.”
Ava shakes her head with a knowing smile. “She’s going to be a daddy’s girl, just like me.”
As if the Universe is watching us, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, my phone goes off with a text from Lex.
Lex Edwards: I spoke to John at Cedars-Sinai. He wants to meet with you if you can fly over. I’m arriving tomorrow morning if you want to visit me in my office to chat.
I quickly read the text, then put my phone away. Lex pulled me aside during his visit, mentioning his contacts at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills. They have a level one trauma center, but the competition to get in is fierce. Transferring mid-residency isn’t easy unless, of course, Lex Edwards lends you a hand.
“Is everything okay?” Ava yawns beside me.
I nod, my smile fixed as I watch her feed our daughter. “Just perfect.”
Ava and Emmy were fast asleep when I left early this morning. I rushed home to change and grab my things, then made my way into work.
Thankfully, things are quieter today, giving me some time to catch up on paperwork and get my head together. Yesterday with Ava was amazing, but neither one of us talked about the future, too caught up in devouring each other’s bodies like animals in the wild.
A few patients are admitted with minor injuries and one older man who suffered from a stroke. Even with a few colleagues off sick, we still manage to stay on top of things.
“You have a minute?” Lane is beside me at the desk, her face less than pleased.
“Sure, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I mean for me. I just want to make sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t want to show you here. The nurses are all watching.”
Lane motions for me to follow her into the storage closet because it’s true, the nurses are known for gossiping, which drives me insane because we all have better things to do.
She pulls her phone out of her pocket, clicks on something then turns the screen around to show me.
“What am I looking at?”
“Read it.”
It’s an article on an entertainment website with a picture of me, Ava, and Emmy in her carrier. Given Ava’s social media following, I’m not surprised to see this nor care who knows I’m Emmy’s father.
“So, what’s new? The media are always taking photos of Ava.”
Lane purses her lips. “Read below.”
There is a photo of Millie and me. This would’ve been taken years ago. In the photo, she’s in my arms, and we’re kissing, both of us smiling. The article continues on, dating both those photos to last week.
“The affair between Austin Carter and his ex-Amelia Edwards-Romano has torn the family apart. Billionaire, Will Romano, is said to be livid at the breakdown of his marriage, and close friends of the family have said Amelia has never stopped loving Austin, devastated to learn her sister fell pregnant with his child.”
My blood boils as my teeth grit from the anger festering inside of me. I pass the phone back to Lane.