Page 193 of This Woman Forever
My smile is halfhearted as I fall to my back, pulling Ava onto me. “This place was Carmichael’s,” I say quietly. “It was part of his estate, as was the boat.” I don’t know why I’m telling her this. What does it matter now? We can never come back here, and the boat was sold years ago.
“I know,” she breathes, making me shudder as she follows the line of my scar with the tip of her finger. Lightly. Delicately. Precisely. It’s uncomfortably symbolic.
“How did you know?” I ask, looking down my body, resisting telling her to stop.
“Why else would you have a villa so close to where your parents live?” she asks. So she’s thought about this?
“My beautiful girl is frightening me,” I say quietly.
“Why?”
“Because she’s usually so demanding for information.”
“There can’t be anything else you could tell me that would convince me to run away from you again.”
Thank God she’s not looking at me right now, because my face must be pained. Naturally, I don’t want to talk about Lauren or Rosie. It’s another chance. But there is one thing we do need to talk about. Sarah. We’re going home today. I don’t want to lie to her. “I’m glad you’ve said that.” I feel Ava’s finger stop moving and her body stiffen. “Ava?”
There’s a beat of silence. “What?”
“I need to tell you something.” And I know she’s not going to like it. This is Sarah, after all, but she must let me explain. Hear me out. Understand. And to achieve that, I need to ensure she can’t walk away. I fight with her to move her onto her back, and she doesn’t go easily. Sitting on her thighs, I hold her hands, wondering how to start as she looks up at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
“I’ve had Sarah at The Manor while we’ve been gone.” I blurt it all out fast and immediately wished I hadn’t. Her face is irate. Disbelieving. Fuck, I should have given some context first.
“What?” Her voice is harsh. As livid as her face.
Explain! “She’s dealing with things while I’m gone,” I rush on. “John can’t do it on his own, Ava.”
“But Sarah?” she asks. “You said she was gone, end of. Why, after everything she’s done, would you allow that?” She violently yanks her hands out of mine. “Get off.”
“Ava,” I sigh. “Will you calm down?” Her blood pressure must have just jumped into the danger zone if her red cheeks are a measure.
“Why?” Her lip curls. “Worried I might injure your babies?”
Yes, actually. And herself. “Don’t talk fucking shit,” I fume, snatching her hands and pinning them down before she clouts me one.
“You think it. Your constant monitoring and overprotectiveness tells me all I need to know.”
Wait. I thought we were talking about Sarah? And I’m not monitoring; I’m being attentive. Sensible. Doing things right. It’s a second chance. “I’ve always been overprotective,” I hiss. “So don’t brandish that card, lady.”
“She goes, or I do.”
For fuck’s sake. Freeing her from beneath me before she does any of us damage, I watch her stomp away, an angry mist rising from her skin. Jesus, I totally underestimated the level on pissed off I’d get back. “I was in a mess, Ava,” I explain, getting to the context side of this conversation. A bit late by the looks of things. “You refuse to work for me, and I need someone who knows what they’re doing.”
“So she’s working for you again?” she screeches, spinning to face me.
That’s what I said, didn’t I? I growl and go to her, stopping, surprised, when she holds a hand up.
“Stop where you are, Ward,” she seethes. “Don’t try to placate me or convince me that this is all fine, because it fucking isn’t.”
Convince her? The chance would be a fine fucking thing. I can’t get a word in edgeways. But she’ll hear this... “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“No,” she snaps. I recoil, stunned. “She’s in love with you. Do you know that? Everything she has done really is because she wants to take you away from me, so don’t even think about trying to convince me that this is a good idea.”
“I know,” I say, quickly and easily. Of course I fucking know.
Ava could be looking at a monster right now. “What do you mean, you know?”
“I know she’s in love with me.”