by C. M. Steele
“Nope. I only dated a little as a teenager, but I made football my love and never cared that much about girls. It’s crazy, but it’s not unheard of. You?”
“No. I didn’t date much either, and I had one steady boyfriend.” I hate that boyfriend more than I should. It’s childish, but I do. We both have a past, so it’s not fair for me to be upset by it. Either way, it doesn’t really matter because she’s mine now.
“My cook and ranch hand fucked on my bed to spite me, but they must have forgotten about the time because I was late coming in and they were still going at it. Then she told everyone that I couldn’t get it up. I barely spoke to the woman other than to complain that she didn’t do something I wanted around the house. She was kind of lazy. I’m betting she thinks she’s going to get a payout, but she’s missing something completely vital in her supposed claims on me.”
“What’s that?”
“That I’d had to have a past relationship with her to make her claims even remotely true. As it is, she has no chance of being pregnant by me. Although you, on the other hand, I’m hoping to impregnate.” I wag my brows at her, making her giggle. “Fuck, it’s sexy to hear you laugh like that.”
“You think almost everything I do is sexy,” she says, sliding her hands into my hair.
“Yeah, you got me there. So while you sit there being sexy as fuck, is there anything I can do for you?”
“Just hold me, and I can’t wait to start a family with you either.” She lets out a yawn. My heart stutters in my chest, happiness building double time. I tilt my head down to look at her, but my sweet woman fell asleep. Smiling, I just absorb this moment of peace.
I don’t know how long I stay like this when my eyes grow heavy and I pass out as well.
I wake up with a stiff neck, cracking it backward, I feel and see that Ava’s not with me on the sofa. Standing and giving myself another deep stretch, I walk through the house, looking for my wayward wife-to-be. I notice the sun’s gone down already as I pass the front hall.
“Ava?” I call out, hoping that nothing’s happened to her.
“I’m right here.” She comes out of the laundry room with a basket of folded clothes in a basket.
“You got up to do laundry?” This woman is something else.
“No, I got up to pee and then decided to take a hot shower since my body felt stiff. There were only a couple of towels so I figured I should get some done. We’ve been going through them pretty quickly lately.” She winks, implying our many sexual escapades leading to multiple showers a day.
“I hope you didn’t let my lazy ass sleep all night,” I grumble, thinking I’d love to take her upstairs for another shower while I wash her pussy with my tongue.
“No, the sun just set. Dinner’s almost done.”
Again, she’s always on the move. I can just imagine a house full of little ones and she’d still be running around like crazy to keep things going smoothly. “Do you need help?”
“Only to get the plates, but you can keep me company if you’d like.”
“I love spending time with you.” I take the laundry and set it by the steps before taking her hand and walking into the kitchen. I set up the plates while she takes the meatloaf out of the oven. “It smells fantastic in here.”
My phone rings while I cut the meatloaf. “Sorry, I thought I turned off the ringer.”
She reaches around and pulls it out of my back pocket, giving my ass a squeeze before checking the number. “It’s my sister,” I say, since I have her ringtone set to the Beatles Come Together.
“Here. Take this, and I’ll serve us.” She hands me my phone as I set down the knife. Bossy little thing. It’s sexy as hell.
“We’re on our way there to your house. We just arrived at the airport,” my sister says.
“You don’t have to come. We’re okay.” I know they’re worried about us after everything that’s happened.
“Well, it’s a little too late. We’re already at your airport.”
“Thanks for the heads up. We’ll put our clothes back on.”
“Gross.”
“Whatever. We’re about to sit down to dinner. We’ll wait for you.” I end the call before she makes another smart ass remark. Plus, I have to warn Ava.
“So your sister’s coming.” I shrug.
“Yep. Luckily, the boys’ bedroom cleaned up after Connor and Greyson played in there.”
“Do the boys get along?” she asks.
“Yes and no. Brandon’s too little, so he becomes the annoying kid that hangs on them or starts crying a lot. Soon that’ll change, but Connor’s almost eight, so he’s starting to like things they don’t or outgrowing them. Greyson and Jr. are buddies. They are the same age so they’re both trouble. I see some serious snowball fights coming.”
“Sounds like fun. It’s been forever since I played in the snow. I didn’t have siblings and young ladies don’t comport themselves that way. I swear my step-mother hates me more than my father does.”
“Well, it’s their loss.”
“I’m going to put this back in the oven to keep warm and make a salad so that we have plenty of food to go around. Ooh, you know what? I can make some brown sugar carrots. That won’t take long.” She finishes up the carrots and a hearty salad with everything in it just as the gate buzzer rings.
“They’re here. I’ll be right back, babe.” I kiss her cheek and walk out to go help them inside. Slipping on my coat and boots, I open up the door and see Landon’s security come out first. Then he opens the door for them in the back. Landon leads my sister out as I make it down the stairs.
“Hey, Danny,” I say to their head of security. They have more, but they don’t like to bring that many with them to come here.
“Hello, Mr. Reynolds,” he says with a slight nod.
“Uncle Bear,” Brandon calls out, running from his mommy.
“Whoa, whoa, be careful buddy.” He nearly falls face first, but I catch him. “Are you trying to face-plant already?”
“Lara, Landon, so glad you could surprise me.”
“Where is Ava? Please tell me she didn’t leave you?”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “No. She’s inside, adding a salad and brown sugar carrots to dinner so that we can spread it out.”
“Woohoo. I’ve been craving carrots lately.” She rubs her belly. Landon pulls a bag of baby carrots out of his expensive coat pocket as proof.
“Holy shit. You’re not kidding.” They make me laugh at how insanely in love they are. It does my heart so much good. My parents at least got to see some of that intensity they share.
“Let’s get my family inside, please.” He’s looking around as if it’s not safe. Honestly, I don’t blame him with everything going on. Landon doesn’t take his family’s safety lightly.
The boys run into the kitchen as soon as they kick off their boots onto the mat. Their coats follow behind making it onto the floor outside the kitchen door.
“Whoa, boys. Hold up,” I call out.
“They’re excited to meet Ava. We saw on the news that you’re engaged—something you forgot to tell your favorite sister.”
“You’re my only sister.”
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, while Landon helps her take off her coat.
“I’m sorry. We were going to tell you and then shit hit the fan.”
“I’m so glad she’s sticking by your side,” my brother-in-law adds.
“So am I.” Landon shakes my hand and nods. We understand each other very well. He already offered to have Ava protected with his best. I want men outside, but no one in my house.
We all enter the kitchen and both boys are sitting on the stool with a cup of hot chocolate in front of them.
“Auntie Ava made us hot chocolate, Uncle Bear,” Jr. says, turning around on the stool with a giant grin taking over his entire face. I rub my hand in his hair and give both of the boys a massive bear hug.
“You are a miracle worker. I’m sure they w
ere cold.” My sister walks straight up to Ava and throws her arms around her. “It’s so good to see you again. What a year it’s been?”
“Yes. Something like that. It’s great to see you, although I’d prefer it was for another reason,” Ava adds. I’m so grateful they’ve already met so my sister doesn’t have to grill her when it comes to me.
“Yeah, I could totally kick that cu—woman in her shins.” She catches herself, covering her mouth so the boys don’t hear her curse.
“Well, the boys ate on the plane, so they’re going to go play in their room. Is it still set up?” Landon asks me.
“Yes, it is.”
“It smells good in here,” Landon adds, turning back to the food.
“Thank you. My woman is an amazing cook,” I slide my arm around her waist possessively.
“That’s why you’re marrying me,” she teases, nudging me away.
“Hell, yes,” I say, winking. She pouts as I pull her into my arms. “God, I love you, Ava.” I kiss her before she can respond and then let go because I’m getting painfully hard.
“Can we play with the Legos, Uncle Bear?” Jr. asks with a chocolate mustache.
“Sure. You know where they’re at.” The boys jump down off the stools and scurry into the living room to pull them out of the storage chest. Usually we all play together, but it’s time to eat and for the adults to talk about the past few weeks.
Without preamble my woman and my sister go around the kitchen and start serving, although Lara steals a couple of raw carrots in the process.
Landon and I pour drinks for everyone, and we sit down at the kitchen table. I have a giant table in the dining room that we haven’t used since my mother was alive, but I like this small intimate setting for us.
“So how are you handling everything, Ava?” Lara asks, refusing to beat around the bush.
“I suppose today came as a shocker. Thankfully, Louisa prepared me for the crazy a while back.”
“I’m glad she did. Louisa’s amazing, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“It’s just so nuts. It makes no sense why she would accuse you. It’s not like there isn’t a thing called DNA.”
“I’m betting she’s either trying to get famous or hoping you’ll pay out to make everything go away,” Landon offers.
“At this point it could be either, but none of it matters because I’m not paying her a dime. Ava’s the only one I care about when it comes to believing me. Anyways, I don’t want to talk about it. We have this fabulous meal to eat and a wedding to plan.”
“Oh my goodness! We get to plan a wedding.” Lara bounces around in her seat, clapping her hands like a child at Christmas while Ava blushes. “So when is the big day?”
“We haven’t decided yet.”
“Well, how about this summer?” Lara suggests with an evil smirk directed at me. I want to kick her in her shins myself.
I let out a groan at the suggestion. I want to marry Ava right now. “Is that too soon?” Ava asks, looking upset.
Before I can answer, Landon does. “No. He’s thinking about how soon he can tie you to him forever. I’m betting yesterday wasn’t fast enough.”
“He’s right. I’ll give you whatever kind of wedding you want, but I’m not sure I care to wait so damn long.”
“Do you have a lot of friends or family you want to invite?” Ava asks me.
“Nope. Less than twenty people for me.” I could have a thousand people here, but I want it to be as intimate as possible and as little of the press snooping about as well. Those fuckers really pissed me off to the point of pure hatred for them and what they do.
“I really don’t have any people I want to come either. Is it so terrible if we make it something small in the house?”
“We can come back in a month or so,” Landon offers.
“How about Saint Patrick’s Day?” Lara squeals. “And we can make all the plans over the phone or online. Whatever. I can have things brought in from Chicago.” My sister is loving this too much, but not if it doesn’t make Ava happy. She looks a little uncomfortable.
I roll my eyes at my sister. “Don’t listen to her. This is your day, babe. Whatever and whenever you want.”
“Actually I think it’s perfect too. If it’s not too cheesy. It will be our lucky day?”
“Woman, it’s wonderful. The sooner I get you to be my wife, the better.” I lean over and kiss her again. I’ll never get enough of her.
“Yay! So the date is set approximately six weeks from now. I can start getting the ball rolling after dinner if you’d like.”
“That sounds like fun.”
The rest of the dinner is spent talking about the boys and tomorrow’s plans for a snowball fight.
Landon brings Lara’s hand to his lips, kissing it before saying, “Beautiful, you will not be participating, okay?”
“I’ll make sure you all have a hot drink for afterward,” Lara says, agreeing easily with Landon. I love that he’s so damn protective over her. His love and desire to keep her safe and happy does my heart a lot of good. My parents loved him from the first time they met him despite the age gap. I suppose Ava and I are pretty far apart in age as well, and I want her giving me my own football team soon.
In six weeks, she’ll be my wife. Six fucking weeks. I love it.
Chapter 13
Ava
It’s quiet on the ranch since the reporters left almost six weeks ago. Tomorrow’s our wedding on Saint Patrick’s Day, and I’m glad it’s finally here. We’ve kept it extremely minimal, but Lara has added all the beautiful touches effortlessly from Chicago. It’s great to have her in my life. We talk every single day and add to what it feels like to have a family. My nerves have my stomach in knots. I’m a bundle of nerves because I feel like something’s going to get in the way of my happiness. Getting married at twenty-one does seem smart, but after all that’s happened, I know in my heart that Tobias is the one.
My phone rings, and I expect it’s Lara for our everyday chit chat so I answer it. “So when is your flight getting in?”
“Flight? You need to be more careful of who you answer for,” the woman hisses on the other end.
I’m caught off guard because only a few women know this number: Louisa, Lara, and Marisa. “Who is this?”
“Tobias’s real love. I don’t know what spell you got him under, but he belongs to me.” Fucking hell, who is this woman?
“I’ve never heard of you, so you can’t be his love,” I toss out with a laugh, trying to coax more information out of her. Tobias must have a crazy ex he failed to mention. Or rather he chose not to mention while grilling me about my past.
“Bitch, keep laughing, Ava. I’m going to kill you soon.” I blanch, stepping backward against the washing machine.
“Who is this?” I ask, my voice shaking.
“He’s mine. You need to leave him now, or I’ll make sure you don’t get to the wedding tomorrow.” The call ends abruptly, and I drop to the floor in the laundry room where I’d been folding clothes.
I look at the phone, and the number comes up private which I suspected. I’m gonna bet they aren’t going to be able to trace the call. This woman knows how to get to me and I have no clue who she is.
Who is she? Is it the same chick who was fired or another woman after Tobias?
The first time it was annoying. This time it’s scary. I rock myself as I contemplate my next move. Tears fill my eyes and spill over before I realize it. “No. Don’t let this bitch get to you. Talk to Tobias,” I say to myself, firming my resolve. I’ve been through a lot in the past six weeks, and I’m not a coward. I have to speak to my fiancé and get the truth out of him. I get up and out of the laundry room and slam right into my future sister-in-law.
“What is going on?” Lara asks, grabbing me by my biceps. “Why are you crying? What did my brother do?” She sounds pissed. I’m not ready to spill our problems out to everyone especially when I haven’t spoken to Tobias.
He hangs up and says, “Come on into the living room and sit down.” He leads me to the living room to avoid any objection from me. “I’ll get you a glass of water.” He caresses his wife’s cheek before leaving the room. Even in my anxious and angry state, I can’t help but adore his affection for her.
Seconds later I hear the telltale sign of footsteps through the back room. “Ava. Where are you?” he calls out while walking quickly.
He comes into the room with his boots still on and drops to the floor in front of me. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Did you call him?” I stare at Landon, glaring at him even though honestly I’m happy he’s here. I have to get this off my chest before I break down in tears again.
“Fuck, yeah, I did.” Landon nods as if it’s not a big deal and then hands the water to Tobias, who brings it to my lips as if I can’t do it myself. I take it from him a little more aggressively than I should have, but my emotions are running the gauntlet.
“He should have. What’s going on?”
“I got a call from some woman, threatening me.”
“What?”
“She told me you belong to her, and that I better call off the wedding or there won’t be one.”
“Oh my God,” Lara cries out. I stare at Tobias, looking for some answer. Something to make me feel better, but I don’t see it in his eyes.
“It might be the right thing to do.” My mouth drops open as I stare at him in confusion.
“Are you fucking serious?” I push off the sofa. I’m about to toss my ring at him when he grabs my hand.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Well I didn’t mean that exactly. Shit. I’m fucking it up. I want to marry you right now. What I’m saying is that I think the person who’s stalking me believes that. Whoever is after me must be someone from town because we’ve kept our plans a secret and I haven’t heard from reporters since that day.”
