She wrinkled her nose. “Nice try. Hot toddies are anEnglish thing, not a southern thing, Doc. Now, can I please sit up.”
“Sure, let’s test it out and see how you do. Tell me if you have any dizziness, okay?”
She nodded as she pushed up to sit. “So far so good.”
“Okay, let’s just hang out here for a second before we get you on your feet, okay?” Kyle said.
“While we’re shooting the breeze on the floor, mind telling me whatthingyou and Doc are talking about?”
“I can go,” Kyle offered, starting to stand when Ava grabbed him.
“No, you can stay. This isn’tthatearth-shattering. It’s nothing, really. That’s why I don’t actually think this fainting spell was stress related.”
“What is it?” Alex asked, his stomach churning.
Ava heaved a sigh, settling back onto her elbows. “Chris has been…deluding himself again with the idea that I’m going to come back to him. I’m not, just to be clear. There is no part of me that is even remotely interested in Chris at all. But I thought I should tell you–”
Kyle cleared his throat, his eyebrows raising.
“Right,” Ava said. “Doc thought I should tell you so that everything is out in the open. I didn’t want to tell you because I know you’re already twisted into knots over our relationship, and I didn’t want to make things worse. But…Doc…being the genius that he is, felt otherwise, and I agreed because I don’t want any secrets between us.”
Alex heaved a sigh, both relieved and annoyed at the same time. It hadn’t been anything too upsetting. Chris had already made it clear he thought Ava would break for him the moment she got her head clear.
Although, he still worried that may be true. When Ava emerged from the chemically induced haze The Board had put her under, she may see things differently.
“Yeah,” Alex said with a sigh. “Chris has already more than hinted at this to me. He insists that your feelings are all part of the behavior modification courtesy of PharmaTech.”
“They’re not,” Ava insisted with a vehement shake of her head. “Alex, I promise. I haven’t been under the influence of these drugs my entire life. I liked you in college, we’ve been together for a long time. I don’t love you because of the drugs.”
Alex stared at the floorboards underneath him for a moment before he shoved his uncertainty aside. Ava needed him to believe in her and their relationship. He had to support her.
He flicked his gaze to her, his head bobbing. “I know. Chris is…super annoying, but we’ll get through it, Avs.”
The corners of her lips turned up as she grabbed his hand. “Good. Now, everything is in the open, so let’s try to move on and kick some Board butt. And Doc can relax because he was worried he’d be a child of divorce.”
“Huh?” Alex asked as Ava sat up again.
“Doc was worried we’d get a divorce, and then he’d have two divorced friends.”
“Aww, Doc, it’s okay. We’re sticking together,” Alex said, climbing to his feet and gently tugging Ava to stand.
“Good. I really don’t want my only two friends to break up.”
Alex sucked in a sharp breath. “Well, with that crisis passed, maybe you should go back to your tea while I try to make some headway on PharmaTech. We need answers.”
“Speaking of answers, I convinced Doc to go with me and Shadow on the big raid. That way if there are medical terms, he can figure them out instead of me.” She grinned at Alex as she wrapped her arm around Kyle.
“And you can make sure Shadow doesn’t hit on Ava,” Alexsaid as he plopped into his chair. “Doc is the only man in this house that I trust.”
“I feel like my dad wouldn’t steal Ava,” Kyle answered.
“Grant has had five wives. I don’t put anything past him. But sure, he’s the second man I trust, but way second. Like a pretty far second from you, Doc.” Alex opened the lid of his laptop, his screen blooming to life with the PharmaTech logo. “I was almost into their security protocols when Ava decided to interrupt.”
“Sorry, Ace,” she answered as a knock sounded at the door. “Yeah?”
The door handle shimmied. “Seriously? What are you doing in there?” Sebastian called.
“Meeting of the minds,” Alex retorted, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he worked to gain access to the private system.
