Page 269 of This Woman Forever
“But it was Carmichael’s baby,” she whispers. “You wouldn’t sell it when your mum and dad demanded it, so why now?”
And there’s the thing—they never actually demanded it. They begged, and there’s a huge difference. I should have sold it when Mum and Dad begged me to. But, again, I wouldn’t have met Ava, and that seems like an impossible something to accept. “Because I have you three,” I whisper, my eyes dropping to her tummy. All I feel is complete wonder whenever I look at her belly.
“You’ll always have us three, anyway.”
“I want you three and nothing to complicate that. I don’t want to lie to our babies about my job. I would never allow them to spend any time there, which means my time with you and the babies would be limited. The Manor was an obstruction. I don’t want any obstructions.” And that is that. “I have a history”—a painful, complicated history—“and The Manor should be part of it.”
I watch as she absorbs the words. She wants to smile but feels guilty. I wish she’d smile. There’s nothing to feel guilty about. “So I get you all day every day?”
“If you’ll have me,” I counter, slightly shy, also confident, especially when I see her relent and let loose that smile.
She attacks me, thrilled, and it’s the best response, but just as I’m about to indulge, she shoots back up, all delight gone, worry replacing it. “What about John and Mario? And Sarah? What about Sarah?”
I don’t want to talk about Sarah. I still can’t believe how blind I was. How I let guilt get in the way of my own happiness. And Ava’s. “I’ve spoken to them.” Or John and Mario, anyway. I’ve not seen Sarah, but John’s told me what her plans are. I half listened. Pretended to care. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her for what she did. And tried to do. “Sarah’s taking up an opportunity in the US and John and Mario are more than ready for retirement.” I’ve made sure retirement will be comfortable, and the golf resort will reemploy most of the other staff. It was part of the deal. The very sweet deal, just as John said it would be.
“Oh. And will the members renew under the new owners?”
“Yes.” I laugh. “If they like playing golf.”
“Golf?”
“The grounds are being converted into an eighteen-hole golf course.”
“Wow. What about the sports facilities?”
“They’re all staying. It’ll be pretty impressive.” The plans to be submitted to planning were something else. Almost made me want to take up golf. But, I won’t. I know I can never step foot through those gates ever again. “Not much different to my setup, except the private suites really will be hotel rooms and the communal room will serve as a conference room for businesses.” I had to laugh when I was shown those particular plans. The communal room. No longer packed full of naked, sexually adventurous, hedonistic professionals, but now packed full of... well, they might be hedonistic. But they’ll be dressed. And at work.
“So that’s it, then?” she asks.
“That’s it.” No more talk of The Manor. “Now, I need to get you ready for the rest of your day.” I try to get up and go nowhere.
“I need to freshen up my mark,” she says, eyeing my pec. “And you need to work on mine too.”
Fuck, I’d love to, but I just heard a car coming down the driveway, which means people are arriving. “We’ll do it later, baby.” I quickly get up, which isn’t so quickly these days, my insides tugging, and set Ava aside. “Go take a shower.” I look over my shoulder to the windows as I spank her arse, directing her toward the bathroom. She goes with ease, thank God, and I quickly wrap a towel around my waist and go out the doors, spotting Drew, barefoot, wading through the sand at the end of the garden. “Hey,” I whisper-shout. “You’re early.”
“Fucking sand everywhere,” he mutters, flapping the front of his shirt.
“My man!” Sam sings, dragging a cooler box with him.
“Shhhh,” I hiss.
“Where is she?” Kate calls.
I slap a palm on my forehead. “My God,” I breathe, shooing them off, pointing down the beach. They all look. All hunch their shoulders, realizing, holding their fingers to their lips like, yes, okay, we can be quiet. Off they go, just as Amalie rounds the corner, Dr. David in tow. “Where’s Mum and Dad?” I call quietly.
“Dad disappeared for half an hour,” Amalie yells, and I show the sky my palms, exasperated, hoping the shower is blocking out the noise for Ava. “He came back with a diamond bracelet for Mum. You should see her face.”
My eyebrows jump up. And I smile. Spoiling her. I’m happy.
“You know,” Amalie goes on, her volume still too high, “the replanning of our wedding is costing slightly more than we anticipated.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I bet.”
She gives me an impish grin. “Love you, brother.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I mumble, backing up. “Go.”
I go to the wardrobe and pick out a dress for Ava. Lace. A bit short, perhaps, but I’ll deal with it. Then I pull some shorts on. White. Will she cotton on?