“Good Lord, Ava, that was years ago. I have no idea.”
“Think, Mom. Do you remember anything about when Quinn arrived.”
“I don’t. Why do you ask?”
“I thought maybe Daddy knew Quinn’s father.”
“I don’t think so. Not that he ever told me anything.”
Ava recognized her mother’s tone. What she really meant was that her father never told her about all the other women he slept
with while they were still married.
“Oh, look, Razor is coming back. That is one fine-looking man, Ava.” Her mothered fanned her face.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, rejoining them at the table.
Her mother pushed her shoulder and whispered, “Go with him.”
Ava stood and walked away, hoping Tabon would get the hint that she didn’t feel like talking to him right now. First, she needed a glass of Champagne, or maybe two.
“Hold up,” she heard him say, but she kept walking.
There were several things that had bothered her so far today, not just that she sensed he and his friends were talking about her dad.
Sure, she had a crazy, mad crush on him, but when he’d switched their seats at the head table, he’d hurt her feelings. Why did he want to talk to her now?
Plus, as her mother said, she and Aine were planning to spend more time in California, particularly since Quinn and Mercer were planning to live here.
If she became his wedding hookup, wouldn’t it be horribly awkward running into each other when he was with his friend and she was with hers?
Ava had to admit she’d come on pretty strong the day she talked to him at the bar on Fire Island. She’d all but offered herself to him. At the time, her bravado had been fueled by a combination of alcohol and a broken heart.
She wasn’t sure she actually would’ve delivered if he’d taken her up on it. That wasn’t ever the kind of girl she was. In fact, she hadn’t had sex with anyone before or after Dash.
“Avarie, stop.”
She did. Right in her tracks. She didn’t know why. There was just something about his voice. She didn’t move until he was by her side.
“Come with me,” he said, pulling her along with him through an archway in the hedge that led to another grassy area. She tried to free her arm from his, but he wouldn’t let go.
“What are you doing?” She gasped when he spun her into him and captured her body against his with his arm around her waist.
“Shh,” he said, moving her beyond the bushes, to where no one could see them.
He cupped her cheek with one hand while he dug his fingers into her waist with the other.
“I have wanted to do this for so long.” His lips descended on hers, and his tongue wound its way between them.
Without thinking, Ava wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the passion of his kiss.
—:—
Kissing Ava was everything he’d dreamed it would be. Their tongues tangled together as she instinctively rubbed her body against his.
The noise, the other guests, even the voices in his head melted away until all that remained was the soft, sweet woman in his arms. He dropped his hand from her waist to her ass, and kissed his way down her neck, over her collarbone, to the place where the halter top of her dress barely covered her breasts. Soon, he hoped he’d feast on their bareness, but for now, he needed her mouth again.
Ava’s hands were in his hair, pulling until his scalped tingled. She whimpered as he ran his tongue back up her neck, scattering kisses along the way. His lips met hers again, and he nipped the bottom one when she didn’t open to him fast enough.