“You’d have to ask his new girlfriend,” said Andie, foiling his attempt to let Ava know his one-time prom date was off the market, not that he had any interest in her.
“I’m sorry to hear you aren’t still together.”
“Sometimes it’s meant to be, sometimes it’s not, if you know what I mean.” Andie looked directly at Ava and Razor found himself wishing he’d never brought her to get coffee, at least not here.
“You from around here?” Andie asked Ava, who shook her head.
“I’m from New York.”
Razor put his arm around Ava’s shoulders. “So, let’s order. We have a lot planned this afternoon. What would you like, sweetheart?”
She smirked. “A latte, please, dah-ling.”
“Oh, are you two…”
Razor turned his head so he could see Ava’s face, surprised to see she was smiling. He’d seen that twinkle in her eye one time before, and knew she was about to let a zinger loose on Andie.
“We haven’t told my family yet, so, shh,” he answered.
“Oh! Right. So a latte for the young lady, and Razor, the usual?”
“I’ll have a latte too, please.”
Andie rolled her eyes before going back behind the bar, which was the exact response Razor had been looking for.
“I can’t wait to hear what Mama Sharp thinks of your new girlfriend. We play mahjong every week with the ladies from book club.”
“I’m sure she’ll love her just as much as I do.” Razor leaned over and kissed Ava’s face, right near her temple. “Who wouldn’t love her?” he added.
When Andie turned her back, Ava looked at him with scrunched eyebrows.
“It’s the truth,” he murmured. While most of what they’d said was to fire back at Andie, the last thing he’d said wasn’t. Ava was as lovable as they came.
She wasn’t just beautiful. She was smart and funny, the kind of friend who would always be there when she was needed, and even though no one else may see it, Razor knew exactly how much of the weight of the world Ava carried on her shoulders.
“Ready to head back?” he asked once Andie finished making their lattes.
“Sure,” Ave answered. “It was nice to meet you,” she said to Andie, giving her a little wave as they walked away.
When they got to the top of the hill, Razor reached out for her latte. “May I?” he asked.
“Okay,” she answered, handing him her cup.
Razor set both hers and his down on the trail, stood back up, and cupped her cheek with his palm. His eyes met hers before his lips did. What he saw reassured him that she was feeling the same heated intensity he was.
The way Ava clung to him made him want to pick her up and carry her back to his house where, after he ravished her body with his, he would promise to protect her and keep her safe, not just now, but for the rest of her life.
He remembered the day he and Mercer sat in a bar in the middle of New York City, and Razor realized his friend and teammate was in love. He’d been the first of the four to find someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. At the time, Razor doubted the same thing would ever happen to him. His life wasn’t set up to accommodate a relationship, or so he’d thought.
After watching Mercer and Quinn make it work, followed by Doc and Merrigan, he realized that it was possible; all it took was finding a woman who made him want to. Admittedly, he’d thought about Ava in that moment of clarity, but brushed the memory of their brief encounter away.
When he’d left that night—so Mercer could take over Quinn’s detail, but also because she still believed he was her boss, not her fill-in bodyguard—he’d stuck around long enough to see if any of Quinn’s friends showed up. And they had. He’d caught a glimpse of Ava that night, and regretted that he couldn’t go back inside, buy her another drink, and spend the evening getting to know the woman he couldn’t forget.
A year later, here she was, by his side, her hand in his. Nowhere in his wildest dreams could he have predicted this outcome.
Once her ex went to trial, and K19 brought down her father, what would be left between them? Would she still want to be with him, or would she celebrate being able to return to the life she led before she became a witness in a trial so much bigger than she could ever imagine?
She’d said she hadn’t had an ideal childhood, but he’d seen her with her father, and she loved him. So did her twin. If Razor was part of the team that not only brought him down, but also exposed his real identity, would either woman ever forgive him?