27 Truths: Ava's story (The Truth About Love Book 1) (6 page)

“Seriously, I’m fine.”

“What happened to your eye?” Harper asks.

“She hit it on her bedpost,” Dad explains.

They all seem fine with the answer.

Piper walks up to me and lifts her arms. “Fairy god-Ava.”

Without thinking, I pick her up and hug her. “Much more social today, huh, beautiful girl? Have you gotten into the Ross family eggnog?”

She squeezes me tightly around the neck. “It’s yummy.”

I realize Dad, Harper, and Tessa are still eyeballing me. Then I realize they are probably worried that she could catch my fake illness.

“I swear it’s jetlag and probably the sushi from lunch yesterday. I’m fine.”

I can do this. I can, and I will.

I position Piper on my hip. “Take me to the eggnog.”

She points her chubby, little finger in the direction of the entry hallway that spills into the garage full of people filled with the Christmas spirit. One of those people will be Luke.

The first people I spot are Harper’s husband Maddox and his father Brody. I glance at Harper and wag my eyebrows. She expects it.

For seven years, I have made no secret that I have a lustful school girl crush on the older of the two rock stars. The only reason Maddox has been safe is because he’s been Harper’s since the two set eyes on each other.

My heart aches for a moment because I have secretly felt the same way about Luke, like he was made for me. I still can’t help thinking that maybe, just maybe, someday …

Harper is looking at me, expecting me to follow up with the menacing glance, so I give it to her.

“Brody Hines.” I shake my head. “Does that man just get hotter and hotter?”

“Ew,” I hear from behind me and turn to see London, Brody’s stepdaughter, making a face as if she is going to get sick.

“Sorry, London.” I smile and use my free arm to give her a hug. “Damn, look at you.”

“What happened to your—”

“Hit it on her bedpost,” Dad says, and London nods.

London has grown into a beautiful young woman. She looks like her mother Emma: tall, brown hair, blue eyes, and high cheekbones. She is classically beautiful.

“She got boobs,” her little sister Lexi says as she walks toward me to give me a hug. “I wear a bra now, too.” She smirks and shows me her bra strap before hugging me.

“Like you need one for your itty-bitties,” London huffs.

“I do, too!” Lexington protests, pulling her shirt tightly against herself. “See?”

“Okay, you two,” their mother Emma says, shaking her head. “It’s Christmas, so could you two possibly take a break from the arguing?”

“Is it present time yet?” Lexington asks Emma.

Brody comes up behind her and scoops her up, throwing her feet over his shoulder and then tickling her.

Her shirt falls down, and she cries out, “Daddy, my boobs!”

“You do not have boobs,” he says. “You’re a baby and going to remain a baby, you hear me?”

They walk away, her laughing and him telling her she’s always going to be his baby. She then tells him babies don’t have boobs.

I watch Emma and the way she looks at them. They did not have an easy beginning, but they made it. They made it, and they love each other.

“Food and drinks are in the garage. I’ll go with you,” Harper says, holding her arms out for Piper; except, Piper is not moving.

“Stay,” she says, holding me more tightly around the neck.

“Wow, all right, then.” Harper snorts.

We walk out into the garage, and the first person I see is my very best guy friend on the planet, Liam Ross, and a girl. She’s tall, thin, blonde, and flat-chested. She’s pretty and appears to be very country. When I say country, I mean she’s wearing a pair of boot-cut jeans, a flannel shirt, and is totally Liam.

“Hey, Liam.” I smile.

He nods then pauses, looking at my eye. “Ava …”.

“Hit it on my bedpost,” I say, considering wearing a sign around my neck with the explanation.

He nods again. “This is Marta, my girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, Marta.” I hold my hand out to shake hers.

“Cute dress.” She smiles. It’s forced, but hey, at least she’s trying.

“Thanks. I’m pretty sure it’s a dead giveaway that I’m one of Santa’s elves, and that’s why Piper is hanging out with me,” I joke.

I ignore the banter and chatter coming from the left. Every party involves a card game or two. But when I hear a loud baritone laugh coming from that direction, my heart sinks.

“You okay?” Liam asks.

“Yeah, of course. I’m fine. Are you okay?” I giggle, and he nods. “Are you okay, Piper?”

She smiles and nods as she continues to play with the white fur balls hanging from the strings on the dress’s neckline.

“Eggnog,” I say to Piper.

She points to the right where there is enough food to feed an army.

Piper is clinging to me, but I swear I am doing the same. I realize that she has become my little security blanket. How odd is it that something so small can make me not only want to be strong, but forces me to be?

I sit down at a table with Piper on my lap. Harper sits next to me.

“So”—Harper smiles—“how are things at Woods and Associates?”

“I’m happy to have a job, but not happy that, after seven years, I am not arguing a case in front of a judge and jury. I know I have to prove myself and that it’ll take time, but I get a little tired of reading over old rulings.”

“You still glad you went into criminal law?”

“I am.” I smile. “And you? Tell me what keeps you busy all day besides this little one and her daddy?”

“Maddox and I have been trying to narrow down where we want to start our charity. We have decided that it will definitely be helping victims of sex trafficking to rebuild their lives. We also have decided that he and I shouldn’t be hands-on. We’ll do fundraising and awareness for a few years to get things off the ground. But as this little one gets older”—she tickles Piper—“we really don’t want her to know everything about his past and the hell he lived or what we went through a couple years ago. We want to let her grow up without a care in the world. Plus, it hasn’t been easy trying to find people we trust who aren’t family to run an organization and take care of things the way we want them to be taken care of. But we’re hopeful.”

“And his music?”

“That’s where our fundraising efforts are going to be focused. He says he doesn’t like the stage, but he’s so talented, and obviously, it is a part of who he is.” She looks behind her where Maddox stands, his eyes trained on her, and smiles. He doesn’t smile, but he lights up for her in a much different way.

She turns and looks back at me. “When are you coming home?”

I laugh and shake my head. “Have you been talking to my dad?”

“No,
I
miss you,” she replies.

“I’m very adamant that I am going to make it on my own. After that, I hope to someday very soon come back here and maybe settle down.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“I’ve dated … a lot.”

“Anyone you think maybe …?”

“No. Can you believe that in a city with eight and a half million people, there has not been one I look at and think, that’s the kind of man I want?”

She laughs. “Do you know what kind of man you want?”

“I think I do.”

“Do tell.”

“Someone strong and smart. Someone who, when I look at them and they look at me, we know we are meant to be one another’s forever. Someone who has lived and knows who they are. Someone who can look at me and know who I am and doesn’t want to change me. Someone who feels like they should be family immediately. Someone I can trust to have me emotionally as well as take me to the moon physically.”

“And someone your father approves of,” Dad says, sitting next to me.

“Pop-pop,” Piper says, smiling at him.

“Pip-pip,” he chimes back, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Presents?” she asks him.

He sighs and looks at Harper. “What do you say? I think she’s been patient enough, don’t you?”

“I think you just want to open gifts, Lucas.” She chuckles.

He laughs. “Hell yes, I do.”

When they announce that it’s gift time, we all walk into the house. It is a rule in this family that no gift cards can be exchanged. The adults—adults being college age and above—draw names on Thanksgiving. I happened to draw Harper’s name. She’s getting the same shoes I am currently wearing.

After gifts and a few glasses of wine, I feel a little better. Luke has avoided me, and honestly, it doesn’t seem weird. Hell, it’s normal.

What’s not normal is that, after a get-together like this, I used to know he would end up in my bed. When he was home, it was a Christmas tradition.

After everything is cleaned up, everyone heads back to the garage, and I head to the bathroom. When I come out, Luke is waiting outside.

I look up, and he looks down.

“Excuse me,” I say when he stands, unmoving.

“Yeah, sure,” he huffs yet doesn’t move.

“Is there a problem?”

He looks at me and finally shakes his head then steps aside.

I’m glad he gave me space to get by, but it takes me a moment to move. I desperately want him to say he was sorry, that he woke up ill-tempered or confused. I want him to say something, anything, but he doesn’t.

The party is dying down when I go to look for Logan, who has made himself scarce this evening, spending much of the time on the phone, to see if I can get a ride. I want Dad to stay here with his wife.

“Have you seen Logan anywhere?” I ask London as she and the rest of her family are about to walk out the door.

“Wherever he is, he has his phone glued to his ear, and he’s avoiding—”

“London,” Emma whispers.

“It’s true,” London gasps.

I can’t help smirking. London and Logan are either gonna end up at war when she gets older or married. I have never told either of them that I think that, and I am not planning on it. If it isn’t obvious, I don’t feel confident about my insight on love right now.

I open my eyes and look at the hot pink alarm clock that I have had since I was sixteen when pink became
cool
again. It’s six in the morning, which means I have slept for three hours. I’m exhausted emotionally and, because of that, physically.

I sit up and look around my room. It’s much different than my 6
th
Avenue brownstone apartment in Midtown, Manhattan. My apartment is full of windows and hardwood and marble flooring. Its furnishings are white leather, all very contemporary and sophisticated. It’s a place I planned to build my resume and wait for Luke.

My bedroom, on the other hand, is very girly. It’s pinks, blues, and everything is soft and warm. My view is trees and the neighbor’s house, Luke’s house. It’s full of hope and childhood dreams.

I fist my hair in my hands and groan, “Daddy didn’t raise a quitter.”

I throw my legs over the side of the bed and stand up tall—well, as tall as I can. I’m five-two, five-three on a good day.

It’s Christmas. Christmas means hope, and dammit, I’m hopeful.

Today, we will spend the day with Tessa, Dad, Piper, Harper, and the rest of the Hines family. Piper, Lexington, and London will obviously be the center of attention, as they should be since they’re the youngest. I plan to be myself. Myself without a broken heart.

I walk down the stairs in my bathrobe to find Dad is standing in front of the fireplace, facing away from me. Per the norm, he is in Christmas pajamas, which we will all spend the day in.

The change in my father since he and my mother divorced is obvious. I would have never known he wasn’t truly happy in his life. He always seemed it, and maybe he was. Now, though, I see that, with Mom, it seemed like he was never relaxed. He seemed to go nonstop, do more, work harder. I’m sure the man never slept. Now, with Tessa, he seems content, relaxed, and the smile on his face is different. Real.

I don’t know if he would have left Mom after Tessa’s husband died. I don’t think he would have had it not been for discovering Mom was unfaithful to him.

My mother, she’s a different story. She lied, cheated, and with the help of my grandfather, whom I have yet to speak to, she stole my father’s company away from him. She is my mother, and I love her—hell, even abused kids love their parents, and I am far from abused. Trust her like I do my father, however? Not in the least.

At the same time, I have never walked in her shoes, and if it’s true what she says—that Dad always loved Tessa—I’m not sure how I would have managed twenty years of knowing my truth about love was that I was the second choice.

He turns around and smiles. “Merry Christmas, baby girl. Santa brought your stockings here. I think he took your gifts to Tessa and my place, though.”

I can’t help grinning. I swear he gets more joy out of the holidays than Logan and I do. Then again, from what I hear, his childhood holidays weren’t filled with joy like ours were.

“Merry Christmas, Daddy. That was smart thinking on Santa’s part.”

He hugs me and kisses the top of my head. “Let’s go wake up your brother. You know how much he loves Santa.”

***

When we get to Dad and Tessa’s house, everyone I expected to be there is. There is also one person I didn’t expect.

“Goddess Ava has arrived.” T—or Thomas, the British, drummer for Maddox Hines’ band, the Burning Souls—is standing in the living room, his arms spread wide for a hug.

“For fuck’s sake,” my dad grumbles almost inaudibly.

“Lucas.” Tessa gives a smile with a dash of warning and mischief. “Can you go and grab a chair from the garage? Thomas is joining us today.”

He gives her a glare, and she smiles bigger.

He tosses back a fake smile. “Of course, dear.”

I walk toward T’s outstretched arms, and Piper runs up and hugs me. I squat down and give her a big hug.

“Merry Christmas, Piper.”

“You’re not sad anymore,” she whispers as she takes a step back and grabs the side of my face.