Arms outstretched, Ava welcomed Lex and Harley as they came running down the stairs into her arms.
She’d only been away for two nights – but they were two of the most intense two nights she’d ever had in her life.
Hugging her kids close to her, Ava looked up as Clark welcomed her home.
He was acting decidedly frosty.
“Let me just say goodbye to Rob, and I’ll be in,” Ava promised, and ushered the two kids into the living room.
Clark stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed, and said nothing.
Ava was concerned as she headed back outside, to where Rob was unloading her suitcase from the back of his gurgling Trans Am.
It had been an awkward two-hour drive back from Atlantic City. If Brandon kissing Ava hadn’t been enough of a giveaway, the clues of Ava’s affair with the handsome karate instructor soon became obvious.
“Why him?” Rob had asked, as they tore down the highway back home. “I mean, out of everybody… why him?”
Ava felt awful.
She’d sat in the leather passenger seat and practically squirmed as Rob had questioned her.
“How long has it been going on? Does Clark know? Do you love him?”
Sinking lower and lower into her seat, Ava had tried to explain herself to her ex-boyfriend; and everything she said sounded worse and worse.
The only saving grace was that Rob was merely jealous.
He’d been trying to sleep with Ava ever since he’d swaggered back into her life; and it seemed like he was more offended that she’d ended up fucking Brandon than her infidelity.
“He’s just a kid, Ava,” Rob had sneered. “And he’s broke…”
“He’s a good kid,” Ava had tried to justify herself. “And I wanted to help him.” She gulped dryly. “And, you know what? I think he ended up helping me.”
“I bet he did,” Rob scoffed.
But her ex-boyfriend had calmed down a little by the time they’d arrived back home.
As Rob pulled Ava’s suitcase from the trunk, he grabbed the small woman by her slender shoulders, and looked down deep into her big, brown eyes.
“Ava, I’m worried about you,” he breathed; intently aware that Clark was studying their interaction through the living room window.
“I’ll be fine,” Ava promised.
“Ava, I love you,” Rob warned. “Whatever happened between us, I’ve always loved you. You were my best friend, and you’re still one of the warmest, sweetest and kindest people I know.” He took a ragged breath. “I don’t want you fucking things up.”
“I-It’ll be fine,” Ava replied, feeling tears in her eyes.
“Well, you know where I am if you need me,” Rob promised. He shook his head. “Man, you really hit me out of left field with that one.” He snorted. “I mean, you’re a beautiful woman. I always knew it was going to happen. I just figured it was going to happen with me.”
Ava smiled at that one.
Standing up on tip-toes, she kissed Rob on the cheek, and breathed: “I love you too, Robbie. Now get the fuck out of here.”
And laughing bitterly, Rob did as he was asked – clambering behind the wheel of his Trans Am, and roaring off down the street with the wheels squealing.
Ava watched him go, and then took a deep and ragged breath.
Butterflies in her stomach, she turned and headed for the front door.
Chapter Seventy Three
Ava
“Anything you need to tell me, Ava?”
Clark had busied Lex and Harley with juice boxes and cartoons, and stood in the doorway of the living room, blocking Ava from escaping to be with them.
Ava let her suitcase drop to the floor and asked: “What’s wrong, Clark? You haven’t hugged me, or kissed me…”
Clark said nothing.
He just stood there, with his red face and frizzy hair, and stared at her expectantly.
Ava gulped. Something was wrong.
Eventually, Clark admitted it too.
“I saw what happened last night.”
From his pocket, Clark pulled his phone. Flicking it on, he handed it over – and Ava saw a screen-shot from the previous night’s TV coverage of the fight.
It showed a sweaty, bloody Brandon standing at the bottom of the steps of the MMA octagon – lips pressed hard against hers.
Ava felt her stomach flip.
“C-Clark,” Ava gulped. “I can explain. He was just… emotional. That didn’t mean anything…”
Clark snatched his phone back.
“You know what? I could have believed that,” Clark admitted. “I mean I know you. That’s the sort of silly thing you’d do. But…”
Ava blinked.
“But? What do you mean ‘but’? But… what?”
“You’d better come into the kitchen.”
Stomach churning, Ava followed her husband into the kitchen, the sounds of the kid’s cartoons fading into the background behind them.
As her heels clip-clopped onto the tiles in the kitchen, Ava rounded the corner and caught her breath.
They were not alone.
Sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of wine, was Mia Werber.
The skinny mom looked at as Ava entered, and a devilish smile spread across her lips.
“Why, Ava Cassidy,” she purred. “I was just sitting here having a nice glass of wine and a chat with your husband.”
Ava felt her mouth go dry.
“W-what are you doing here?”
Mia grinned.
“Funny you should ask that. Somebody from the karate center very kindly mailed my husband a pair of panties.” From a brown envelope on the table, Mia pulled the panties Ava had recklessly sent to Mike’s office. “I checked with your husband. They’re your size, I believe.”
Ava’s cheeks burned red.
“And since you decided to share with my husband that details of my little… ahem… indiscretion with Brandon, I thought I’d wait until you were back from Atlantic City and return the favor.”
Ava slumped limply against the refrigerator.
“Dear Clark now knows everything,” Mia said. “Don’t you, Clark?”
Ava turned to her husband.
Clark was ashen-faced, standing there wringing his hands together.
“I-is it true, Ava?” He asked. “Are you f-fucking Brandon?”
Ava opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
They didn’t need to.
Her silence told Clark everything he needed to know.
Ava’s husband blinked away the tears that were welling in his eyes. He took a ragged breath.
“I-I guess that answers my question,” he admitted.
“C-Clark,” Ava’s voice cracked. “Clark… I’m so sorry…”
Clark gulped. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“W-well, at least this is convenient,” her husband stammered, pointing towards the door. “Y-your suitcase is already packed.” A fat tear rolled down his cheek. “Now, do me a favor. I don’t want to lose it in front of the kids.”
He took a deep breath, and demanded, “Get the fuck out of my house.”
Ava stood there, bile rising in her gorge.
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to say. All she could focus on was her husband’s ashen, tear-streaked face.
And that laugh.
She didn’t hear it at first. It was barely audible, like the humming of a cricket.
But as Ava stood there, she heard a soft, murmuring chuckle.
She turned at looked at Mia, as the long-haired housewife sipped from her glass of wine.
Mia was laughing at her.
She’d just walked into Ava’s life, and utterly destroyed it. And now Mia was chuckling softly and triumphantly about it.
Ava’s hands balled up into fists.
She didn’t know what she was going to do. She didn’t know where she was going to go. She only knew that she was going to make Mia Wer
ber pay for what she’d done.
And that hot, angry stab of hatred was the only thing that gave Ava the strength to turn around, and walk out of the kitchen, and grab the handle of her suitcase.
A moment later the front door slammed shut behind her, and Ava walked down the driveway without a clue about who to call, or where to go.
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ava Cassidy couldn’t believe it. She’d just helped Brandon win the fight of a lifetime – but now it looked like she was about to face her own.
And right then? Right there?
She’d never felt weaker, or more alone in all her life.
Ava trudged miserably down the road – walking away from everything precious to her.
And as she went, only one thought sustained her:
She’d be back.
The End
(To Be Continued…)
Thank you for reading this book!
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Love, kisses and other indoor sports,
Simone Scarlet
New York, 2015
Also by SIMONE SCARLET:
Tag Team
A Sassy Reporter has a Wild Fling with two Brooding Alpha Male MMA Fighters
“You came here tonight for an interview," purred Travis Oates, "so I hope none of what's about to happen is gonna go into your column.”
Sports journalist Lyssa Meadows is about to have the wildest night of her life!
Smooth-talkin' Texan Travis Oates and brooding Russian badass Nikolai Bukov make unusual best friends - and that friendship is put to the test when the two heavyweight fighters find themselves squaring off in the MMA octagon.
Taking notes from the sidelines is sexy junior reporter Lyssa Meadows - who's eager to earn her position as the first female sportswriter of the Herald Tribune by getting an exclusive on this headlining rivalry. But when the fight ends prematurely, she realizes she's going to have to go above-and-beyond to score the story.
Which is why this sexy reporter scams her way back to the two prizefighter's hotel; and then convinces them to give her an exclusive private interview that could catapult her career into the stratosphere.
But the two best-friends-turned-rivals expect something in return; and over the course of a very intimate evening, Travis and Nikolai convince Lyssa that they're not the only ones who need to be stripped down and written up.
A full-length novella, Tag Team is a beautifully-realized MMA romance featuring a fiery threesome between two brooding alpha males and a sassy, sexy female reporter. Enjoy!
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