“Except when we weren’t,” he grumbled.
Even though she was alive, every moment they spent apart felt like a knife to his heart, a punishment for all the time he wasted over the years. If he had only told her sooner, they could have spent twenty peaceful years together before the Board turned their lives upside down.
“Hey,” Julia said, rubbing his arm as she paused in her work, “you loved each other even when you were apart, okay? You have to know that.”
“It doesn’t help,” Alex said, his lips tugging into a frown. “It really doesn’t. Even if Ava was alive right now, I’d still regret how long I waited to tell her.”
“You lived life on the timeline you were meant to live it on. I know that’s hard to hear, but Grant and I spent two years avoiding our feelings. Do I wish we wouldn’t have? Yes, of course. But if we would have been honest earlier, would it have changed anything? It may have made things worse.”
Alex didn’t answer, the thought swirling in his brain.
“Alex, I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.You and Ava were best friends from the time you met in college. You had a great relationship all the way through your life whether it was romantic or not.”
“I wanted more time with her,” he whispered.
“I know,” Julia said as she straightened the knot and patted his lapel. “I know you did. And I’m very sorry you didn’t get it. There is nothing I can say that is going to help you right now.”
Alex chewed his lower lip, tears forming in his eyes again.
“And like I said, everyone knows this is going to be a really hard day for you.”
Another knock sounded at the door, and Kyle appeared at the closet entrance. “Hey, Mav, you ready to go?”
“Nope,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “Why don’t you guys all go. I’ll stay here. I’ll say goodbye to Ava in my own private way.”
“Alex…” Julia began, her eyes flashing with a gentle warning.
“Uh, Julia, would you mind giving us a minute?”
Julia flicked her gaze between the two of them. “Sure.”
With another pat on Alex’s chest, she slid between the two of them and disappeared into the room beyond. A few seconds later, the door softly clicked. Kyle backed up to peer out of the opening to ensure she was really gone.
“You gotta get it together, Mav. This is our big moment.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s killing me, though. I have to pretend Ava is dead. And most of the time, I’m worried she actually is going to be, and the joke’s going to be on me.”
“She’s alive. We know this.”
“For now,” Alex said with a huff as he paced the floor. “She’s on the run. What if…Doc, what if The Board found her again. We have no idea, only partial contact with her. By the time we have our triumphant coup over Chris, she could really be gone. I just feel like I’m tempting fate here.”
Kyle clapped him on the shoulder, his features taut. “We have to do this. We need Ava back here, and this is the way. I know it’s rough, but you need to dig deep and pull this off.”
Alex shoved his hands into his pockets, sliding his eyes closed. “You’re right. The faster I bury Ava, the faster I can resurrect her.”
Kyle gave him a shake. “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s go clobber Chris so we can bring Ava home. She’s spendingwaytoo much time with Sebastian.”
“Shadow,” Alex said with a frown.
“Ugh, don’t remind me that she nicknamed him. This is exactly my point. She’s with him too much. She’s starting to like him. And now he’s hurt, so it’s even worse.”
“It’s worse that he’s hurt? I think it’s better.”
“It’s so much worse. He’s vulnerable, needy. When Dad was hurt…wow, Julia went crazy. Like running into a burning building crazy.”
Alex drew his chin back to his chest. “Ugh. I hadn’t thought of that. I thought his Alpha Male act was as bad as it could get. But you’re right…wounded Alpha is way worse.”
Kyle pointed a finger gun at him as they strode from the closet. “Bingo. This needs to end. Let’s end it.”
