Ava (A Hart Twins Novel Rx Book 1)

by Charyse Allan

  to specify. But u look

  pretty hot in those pants

  so I won’t complain too

  much.

  What?

  A throat clearing behind me had me spinning around. I bumped into a smiling Cade who shook with laughter. He steadied me by gripping my shoulders, giving me that patented crooked smile that made my heart jump up my throat. In his usual black jeans and gray T-shirt, with his messy hair curled around his ears, he couldn’t have looked better. While I drooled over him, it dawned on me that I was in my running clothes, which weren’t flattering in the least bit, and coated in sweat.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded, pulling away from him with the hopes he hadn’t felt the sweat through my coat.

  “What everyone else in here is doing,” he pointed out, an eyebrow shooting up. “Getting coffee.”

  “Why are you up so early? It’s barely after seven.” Why can’t you just say, ‘hey, how you doing?’ rather than giving him the third degree, you idiot?

  “My mom kicked me out of bed. The coffee maker broke this morning, so she sent me to get some. What are you doing up so early on your day off?”

  “I told you, I’m only taking the night off. I have way too much to do to take the entire day off.”

  His eyebrows scrunched together, but he didn’t get the chance to argue, since it was my turn to order. I ordered my usual chai tea latte with soy from the petite redhead with a pixie cut and an intricate flower tattoo on the side of her neck that disappeared under her collar. Before I could pull my money out, Cade shoved me aside.

  “Hey, Grace,” he said to the girl behind the counter, which had a stupid twinge of jealousy pulsing through my chest.

  “Cade.” With a smirk, she nodded before he ordered two drinks and some pastries while I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

  The fact they knew each other was odd, unless he frequented The Coffee Shop often enough to be on a first-name basis, since I was certain she didn’t go to our school. Even still, it shouldn’t have bothered me that they knew each other. Though the rocker-chick look, with the piercings and tattoos, was much more his type than an OCD suck-up with a frizzy pile of curls—not that he would be interested in me at all.

  The realization of how much he ordered shook me from that train of thought. With a glare, I muttered, “I don’t have enough money for all of that.” Grace raised a pierced eyebrow at us.

  “As much as I would love to see where you keep money in pants like those, I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I didn’t pay for your coffee.”

  “I can pay for my own drink,” I growled, trying to hide my blush caused by the pants comment—an impossible feat since the blood rushed up my neck and over my cheeks without any prompting from me.

  With a hard look, he said, “Don’t argue,” then paid Grace before grabbing my arm and towing me to the pickup counter. “Aren’t you supposed to get coffee at a coffee shop?” he asked with his gaze trained on me, the amusement in it causing me to fidget with my coat zipper.

  “Coffee hurts my stomach,” I admitted, not caring if it was too much info. We were supposed to be best friends, able to share anything with each other. The fact I kept getting tongue-tied and anxious around him was bound to ruin our friendship. “And it doesn’t taste good.”

  “If you add a little salt when brewing the coffee, it won’t hurt your stomach,” he explained matter-of-factly.

  “We don’t own a coffee maker.” I shrugged. His mouth popped open. “We all drink tea at my house.”

  Before he could respond, Grace handed him the drinks and pastries. With a wink, he told her he would see her later before heading out the door. Obsessing over whether he meant later as in another day or later that night couldn’t be helped. Being paranoid was super lame. So he knew the girl who worked at The Coffee Shop; it wasn’t as if they were dating.

  Right? How can I ask him without it being obvious I have feelings for him? Do friends ask friends if they’re dating someone?

  When I tried to take my drink from him so I could be on my way, he shook his head. Any amount of time with him was always a treat, but I hadn’t even showered yet, and the sweat from my run hadn’t helped in that area. Plus, I really did have a lot to get done if he wanted me to be free that night.

  “Cade, I have to get going,” I told him, stopping on the sidewalk while he kept on walking.

  Noticing I had stopped, he sauntered back to me while shaking his head some more. “Nuh-uh. You aren’t walking back home.” He nudged me toward his Bimmer, which was parked at the curb.

  “I can walk just fine,” I argued, crossing my arms.

  “Ava, I’m driving you home. Get in the car and stop arguing.”

  Without another word, he got in the car, and again, I stared like an idiot. What the heck had gotten in to him, I had no clue. I huffed out a breath before making my way to the car. When I got in, he was taking a sip of my drink.

  “Hey, that’s mine,” I exclaimed.

  “I know.” He smiled. “And it’s damn good.”

  “Why do you think I ordered it?” With an eye roll, I grabbed the drink from him. It was impossible not to get all schoolgirl giddy when I took a drink from the same spot where his lips had been. He started the car, shifted gears to pull away from the curb. “I really could have walked. It’s only three miles.”

  “You shouldn’t even be up yet, Ava,” he grumped. “You need to take a full day off, which means no working out on top of the other things I specified.”

  “I can’t take an entire day off. I have way too much going on right now. Plus, I love running, so that doesn’t count as work or anything.”

  My heart sank when he turned into my neighborhood. If only I really could take an entire day off to spend with him. He didn't seem to notice my glum when he went on, “You also really need to stop arguing. I know you love to argue with anyone who will listen, but you don’t need to with me.”

  My phone beeping interrupted my retort. I took it out and opened the text from Trent, the student council president.

  Trent: What is this

  I hear about the venue

  falling thru? And why

  didn’t I hear it from u?

  Aaaand what are we

  doing about it????!!!

  With a heavy sigh, I rubbed my temple. Cade parked in front of my house before turning in his seat to look at me. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing,” I grumbled, grabbing my drink before going to get out of the car, but was stopped by Cade’s hand gripping my elbow.

  “I’ll pick you up in a couple hours, okay?”

  “I thought you said tonight?” Shoving through the fog his hand on my arm clogged my mind up with was almost impossible.

  “I changed my mind. Keep the afternoon and evening free,” he demanded, dropping his hand to his side, allowing my mind to clear.

  “I can’t. I have stuff to take care of this afternoon.”

  “Get it taken care of this morning. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

  I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. He didn’t want me to argue anymore, and I couldn’t think of a good reason to. The want to spend time with him, to not be stressed about the million things I had to do, was far too appealing. If I wasn’t careful, I really would want to take a whole day off, which I couldn’t afford.

  “Fine.” I opened my eyes, looking anywhere but at him.

  “You could sound a little more excited about it,” he said in a flat tone.

  “Yay, I’m so excited to hang out with you this afternoon!” I exclaimed, with what was supposed to be sarcasm but came out as genuine excitement.

  “That’s more like it.” His smile made my heart thump. “I’ll text you.”

  “Okay.”

  After watching him drive away, another text came through. A big, fat “WELL?” from Trent.

  Chill, Trent. I’m taking care of it!

  Shouldn’t that be ‘It’s

  already taken c
are of?’

  All u have to do is book

  a different hotel. I

  suggest the Marriott.

  His dickness was quick to get on my nerves. It took everything I had not to tell him as much.

  I am taking care of it. The Marriott is waaay too expensive for our budget. I’m calling a meeting for Monday morning.

  Not necessary. Book

  the Marriott, don’t

  worry about the budget.

  Instead of replying right away, I formatted a quick email calling a meeting first thing Monday morning and blasted it to the rest of the senior council. I was not going to take more out of our budget to go with another lame hotel.

  Then I responded to Trent.

  Oops. Already called a meeting. See you Monday.

  I read his, “Not cool, Ava” as I stepped inside the house. Being met by silence, I figured Dad was probably out running errands, Mom was at her gallery, most likely setting up for a show, and Mia was either back asleep or out shopping. After finishing my tea, I took a long shower and spruced myself up a little with some makeup and a short attempt at taming my curls. Once alone in my room, I hurried to read the email my brother sent earlier in the morning.

  Hey Sister,

  I know I’ve been a little short lately, just been busy and exhausted. Any free time I have I usually try to get some rest. Anyway, when I ask about you, I don’t just want to know what’s going on with your school stuff. How are Rabia and Mase? You haven’t mentioned them all month. I’m guessing you still hang out with them?

  Mom says you’re always busy, working hard. She’s proud of you, but worried. You need to enjoy your last couple months of high school. You can’t do them over. Have fun with your friends, date some guys (no physical contact, tho), get into some trouble, just not as much as Mia. I don’t want to have to worry about both my sisters. Speaking of, how is she? She hasn’t been returning my emails, but Pierce said he’s worried about her, which can’t be good. Has she decided what she’s doing after graduation yet?

  I love you, Av, and I’m really proud of you.

  Miss you,

  K.

  P.S. I promise I’ll let you know the second I hear whether I can come to your guys’ graduation.

  Being frustrated with him after reading his email wasn't what I wanted, but I couldn't understand why the hell everyone was suddenly worried about me. I was busy, sure, but I really was enjoying myself. My grades were awesome, I had just been accepted to my college of choice, was staying out of trouble. What more did they want from me?

  His oldest friend, Pierce, had become a police officer when they graduated and often stepped in to do security at the school. The fact he was worried about Mia made me uneasy. If he was worried about her, did that mean something really bad was going on? Had he heard something? I knew I should check on her again, but I had so much going on already. Maybe it was okay to let Pierce keep an eye on her if he already was anyway. Shaking off thoughts of her, I wrote my reply.

  Hey Brother,

  Thanks for writing an email with substance, even though you’re exhausted. I hope they don’t have you doing anything too dangerous.

  Now, I don’t understand why everyone is all worried about me. I work hard, but I love it! Though you should be happy to know I’m taking the rest of the day off to hang out with Cade—only because he’s forcing me to. ☺ I’ll let you know if I get into some trouble.

  Of course I still hang out with Rabia and Mason! I love them! Rabia is as sweet as ever, and she’s just as worried about me as everyone else, apparently. And Mase is Mase—still hanging around, cracking a joke every five seconds.

  I don’t know what to say about Mia. She’s making up for my lack of a life, I guess? Something seems wrong, but she won’t talk to me about it. I guess she’s going a little crazy in our last year of high school, but I’m hoping she’ll come around soon. I’m worried about her. Did Pierce say exactly what’s worrying him?

  I would love to see you, Kai—we all would—but I understand if you aren’t able to.

  Miss you too,

  A.

  P.S. I know you don’t want to hear any more school stuff, but I thought you should know I got accepted into Vanderbilt’s engineering program!!!!!

  After sending that out, I called the event planner from the museum to make some arrangements. Then I made a few other calls to do research for the presentation I was doing on Monday for the council meeting. Since Cade was so pushy about hanging out that afternoon, I got to work on my pile of homework.

  Chapter Five

  Cade

  I drove away from her house with a smile. Even with her arguing and brattiness, she still brightened my morning right up. My mom waking me so early was irritating but seeing Ava made it totally worth it.

  When I got back to the house, my mom was sitting on a barstool at the kitchen island playing with her phone, biting her nails. She showed all signs of someone trying to quit smoking—twitchy with some added irritability. Not a fun mixture. I set her coffee in front of her, then leaned against the counter to sip mine while getting the pastries out. She gave me a weak smile before taking a long drink of her coffee.

  “That took you a lot longer than I thought it would.” With her eyes still glued to the phone, she picked at her muffin, making me wonder who she was so interested in talking to.

  I washed a big bite of my scone down with some coffee. “I ran into Ava at The Coffee Shop.” She made a sour face, earning a sneer from me. “I don’t know why you don’t like her. She’s pretty freaking awesome. Anyway, I gave her a ride home because she had been running and I didn’t want her walking all the way back in the rain.”

  “That’s why I don’t like her.” She pointed a finger at me. “She’s so snooty and all healthy, going for runs and whatnot. Not anything like the normal girls you date.”

  In order to keep from snapping at her, I considered her words while working on another bite of my scone. “You would think it would make you like her a lot, considering the girls I’ve dated,” I said in a flat tone, but she only snorted.

  She got up from her stool, carrying her phone with her while putting her muffin wrapper in the trash. “Don’t get me wrong. You’ve dated some trash, but I just don’t see you being with someone so uptight and goody-goody.” Her words painfully raked against my skin, causing my fists to clench and unclench at my sides. Her gaze zeroed in on my hands, her eyes becoming thin slits. “Don’t get all worked up, Cade. You could date the most perfect girl in the world and I still wouldn’t like her because you’re my son. I just want you to be happy.”

  “Well, I’m eighteen now, so I don’t need your approval on who I date. And you should know Ava does make me happy.” Her lips pursed before she glanced at her phone again as if it held some life-altering news. “Who are you texting?” I changed gears, no longer wanting to hash out my love life with my mom.

  Lips pressed together, she watched me for a moment before muttering, “It’s Darrel.”

  “Speaking of bad taste,” I snarled, my jaw clenching. “What does the dickweed want?”

  “Don’t talk like that. He’s staying at his flat tonight and wanted to see if you and I could have dinner with him.”

  “Can’t. I’m taking Ava out tonight.”

  “He’s your dad, and he deserves to get a little time with you. He says you haven’t been returning any of his calls or texts.”

  “Again, I’m an adult now, so I don’t have to see him, and I certainly don’t have to answer his phone calls or texts. He stopped deserving anything from me when he started fucking twenty-year-olds.” She flinched as if I slapped her, but I plowed on. “I thought you wanted to come here to get away from him. Now he’s followed us over here, bought a place here, and you’re comfortable going to dinner with him?”

  “He’s trying, Cade,” she pleaded.

  Him “trying” only meant he couldn’t find an easy enough twenty-year-old, so he was going to try fixing things with my mom.
She fell for it every time. Her gaze was full of agony, but all I wanted to do was lock her in the room and tell her never to talk to him again. But she was the mom and I was the kid, so I wasn’t going to win this one.

  I glanced at the clock, deciding it was time for me to get ready; otherwise, I might do or say something else I would regret. “I need to get ready,” I told her, shaking my head when she reached out for me. “Just be careful, Mom. I’m really tired of him leaving you broken on the rocks with me having to pick up the pieces.”

  After my scalding shower, I texted Ava to let her know I would be there in twenty minutes. The smiley face she sent back had to be a good sign.

  Twenty minutes later, I parked in front of her house and walked up to the door to ring the bell. The second I did, there was a loud crash inside, met by feet pounding toward the door. The door opened a crack but then slammed shut, and the distinct sound of arguing came through it.

  “You barely have anything on,” Ava said.

  “So what?” Mia’s muffled voice tumbled through the door. “I’m sure Rabia or Mason wouldn’t care. It is one of them, riiiight?”

  With my arms crossed over my chest, I leaned against the doorframe, settling in to wait out their argument.

  “Mia, get out of the way and go put some clothes on.”

  “Don’t be so hateful,” Mia brushed her off right before the door swung open.

  Her mouth opened with an audible pop when she took me in. She was, in fact, in tiny pajama shorts, which showed off a little too much leg, and she had on a tight tank top that looked like it was made for an eight-year-old. I always thought she was okay looking because, well, she was Ava’s twin and looked exactly like her, but I wasn’t into the fake blonde hair and the caked-on makeup. Besides, other than their looks, they were nothing alike.

  Mia obviously hadn’t expected me. Ignoring Ava’s attempts to move her out of the way, she gave me a sultry smile. “Cade! It’s sooo good to see you.”