She tugged on his arm, not letting go of his hand as he rose. “Hey…game session later?”
“You bet,” he said with a squeeze of her hand. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He tucked his laptop under his arm as he headed from the living room, peeking into the kitchen to find Kyle leaning against the counter as he gazed out the window at the ocean.
“Oh, hey, you two finished?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah, umm, yeah, hey, about earlier–”
“Look, Mav, I am not after Ava. I promise. Okay? What you saw was just…Ava being super nice about including me. Nothing else.” He raised his hand in the air, placing the other one over his heart.
Guilt roiled inside of Alex. “Yeah, sorry, with everything going on lately, I’m just…I didn’t mean to accuse you. It’s just…sorry.”
“No problem. Yeah, I get it. If Ava was my wife, I’d be protective, too. I mean, you’re living with her ex at the moment. It can’t be easy.”
“I trust her, though. I just… don’t trust us. I don’t trust that I’ll be enough for her.”
“Well, there’s no threat from me. I’m just making sure she’s not going to have another blackout.”
Alex bobbed his head, some of the upset lifting a little. “I appreciate that. You’re a part of our family, Doc. I didn’t mean to sound as accusatory as I did.”
Kyle shook his head, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “It’s forgotten. Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re a good guy, Doc. I’m heading up to do some reconnaissance on our pals at PharmaTech. Keep an eye on Ava?”
“You know it,” Kyle said.
“Thanks.” Alex offered him a tight-lipped smile before he shuffled from the room and climbed the stairs. As he turned into the hall, Chris popped out of his room.
They strode toward each other, neither of them willing to concede the hall to the other. As they came face to face, Alex made a move to skirt around him, but Chris blocked him.
“Seriously, bro?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, seriously. And I’m not your bro.”
“Well, then maybe you shouldn’t be staying at my place,” Alex shot back.
“And maybe I should be. After all, Ava will need me around once she comes to her senses.”
Alex held back from rolling his eyes. “Please. How many times do you have to be told that Ava is not going to fall in love with you again. I don’t think she was ever actually in love with you.”
“No? Well, did you ever stop to think,Mav, that she’s not actually in love with you? I mean…she is under the influence of behavior-altering drugs. Once those wear off…who knows who she’ll actually end up with.”
Chris pushed past him, knocking Alex back against thewall before he twisted to eye him again. “You may have been her friend, but love? Come on, we both know that’s not what you are to her. She’s with you because it’s comfortable, and she’s confused. You were the convenient choice. But now with that chemical haze wearing off, she’ll figure it out. Just saying…you might want to prepare yourself.”
With a glare, Chris strode away from him, disappearing down the stairs. Alex swallowed hard, his stomach clenching. Ava had worked hard to put his mind to rest, but the concept of her love being merely chemically induced hit him like a sucker punch to the gut.
What if Chris was right? What if Ava left him for her old flame?
Alex clenched his jaw, staring down the hallway where Chris had disappeared. The words echoed in his head, threatening to unravel everything. He pushed them away, forcing himself to focus on the mission. But as he stepped into the room, the memory of Ava, her head bent close to Kyle’s, their laughter soft and intimate, forced itself back into his head. And for the first time in weeks, Alex didn’t know what to believe.
CHAPTER 4
AVA
Ava settled back into the couch cushions, her mind still racing after her conversation with Alex. He wasn’t settling into their relationship as easily as she had hoped. In fact, he seemed to be getting worse.
