by Tessa Teevan
I swiftly typed my response.
Me: Why do you think I left my number on your door?
Unknown: Get your ass over here.
When I glanced up at my house, it was completely dark. Earlier, Mom had delivered on her promise with some delicious pizza before giving me a kiss on the cheek and heading inside for movie night. Eager as ever to get to Tucker, I tiptoed inside and checked in on my brothers. All was quiet with them. I started to head down the hall towards my parents’ room, but I stopped myself. The absolute last thing I wanted to do was press my ear against their door. Instead, I crossed my fingers in hopes they were either asleep or far too distracted to hear my departure.
Tucker was waiting for me at the front door. I’d barely gotten out a hello before he hauled me against his chest and captured my lips, kissing me senseless. Neither of us spoke a word as he led me to his bedroom, stripped me naked, then made love to me until the early hours of the morning.
This, apparently, was our new normal.
I’d take it.
For now.
THREE INCREDIBLE WEEKS PASSED WITHOUT incident since the first night Ava and I had slept together. Three weeks in which she’d snuck over every night after she’d thought her parents and brothers were asleep. Three weeks we’d used to make up for lost time. Five years’ worth. And three weeks she’d been falling asleep in my arms just where she belonged. I just hoped that it wasn’t temporary. She might have thought we were friends with benefits, but I knew the truth. I couldn’t guard my heart from her anymore even if I tried. Hell, it was already hers. It’d always been, and no amount of fighting it would ever change that fact.
“You do realize we don’t have to sneak around anymore, right?” I asked Ava as she looked for her clothes in the dark. “We aren’t teenagers anymore.”
She placed a hand on her hip and pointed a finger at me. “Do you want to be the one to explain to my dad what you’re doing with his little girl during our sleepovers? Or why we’re only friends with benefits and not dating?”
I laughed, pushing up from the bed, grabbing her hips, and dragging her towards me. “Babe, I hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure we’re not fooling anyone.”
She playfully punched my shoulder. “Still! It’s weird. Every time I come over here, my parents will think we’re sleeping together.”
I grinned. “Would they be wrong?”
Her cheeks turned pink with a sexy blush. “No.”
“Are you ashamed to be sleeping with me?”
She gasped. “No, of course not!”
“Am I your dirty little secret?
“You don’t have to be,” she replied.
“What are we doing here, Ava? What do you want?”
“I want you. That’s all I want.”
“As friends with benefits?” I asked, hoping like hell she’d give me more.
She leaned in and gave me a quick peck before pulling back and gazing into my eyes. “I want whatever you’ll give me. I’ll take you any way I can get.”
My heart faltered, but then she continued.
“But remember the promise you gave my dad when we were eight? That’s what I ultimately want.”
And, just like that, my heart soared. Because that promise I’d given Jeremy?
It meant I’d marry Ava one day.
That day couldn’t come soon enough.
Jeremy Banks proved me right a few short hours later. While Ava was off shooting scenes, I was taking advantage of my time off by chopping wood in preparation for a harsh Ohio winter. As much as I hadn’t thought I’d like working with my hands, I’d come to love it. I took great pride in my work, in my home, and I wanted it to show. I was stacking firewood when a large shadow loomed over me. I looked up and saw Jeremy there, pointing a finger in my face.
“We need to have a man-to-man chat, Manning,” he said briskly. Then he walked to his back deck, apparently expecting me to follow.
Generally I wouldn’t appreciate the gruff order, but since I was sleeping with his daughter, I followed this one.
When I met him on the back deck, my eyebrows rose at the sight of two cold ones. As I wiped the sweat from my brow, I gratefully accepted a beer then sat next to him. “Should I go ahead and state my intentions, or would you rather ask me first?”
Jeremy tilted his head, watching me curiously. “You think I don’t know your intentions? Wasn’t I the one who told you to write the damn book? I already know your intentions, kid.”
I laughed. Twenty-three years old and Jeremy could still make me feel like I was that eight-year-old again. “Then what’s this about?”
He gave me a pointed look. “Quit sneaking around. If you’re going to date my daughter, you do it proud, in public. Tonight, you’re at our house for dinner as her boyfriend.”
I cleared my throat. “All due respect, Jeremy, but that’s not up to you.”
His eyes narrowed, and I quickly continued.
“Trust me. I’d take out a billboard claiming Ava as mine if I didn’t know she’d kill me. This has to be her decision.”
He thought it over then pointed a finger in my face. “You hurt her, you’re dead,” he said with a stern glare. “And, before you die, I’ll chop off your nuts.”
I grimaced at the thought. “The only one with the potential to get hurt here is me,” I told him.
“I don’t think that’s true, Tucker. Not in the slightest.”
I frowned.
“Five years ago, you had no choice but to let her go. You made the best—the only—decision you could for your family. But things are different now. Your brother has grown up. You’ve written a best-selling novel, something you can do from anywhere. If, at the end of this, you give her an ultimatum, forcing her to choose between her dreams and you? That will hurt her.”
I swallowed hard, knowing he was right. If things were going to work between us, I had to be willing to follow her anywhere. Which I already planned on doing.
“I won’t hurt her,” I promised.
He slapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I know you won’t. There’s not a man on this planet I’d trust with my daughter more than you. I’m happy she’s back and that you weren’t too damn stubborn to let her back in.”
“Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.”
“Just remember, you set this all in motion. I understand that you have to tread carefully, but quit playing games with her heart and claim her as yours already. Got it?”
My lips twitched. “Did you just BSB me, old man?”
He grinned. “I sure as hell did, but the point still stands. You don’t need a billboard. Just be a man and let her know she’s your woman.”
“I will. You have my word. I just have to make her realize that this is what she wants. I’m what she wants.”
“As long as you love her.”
I groaned. There we went. Down memory lane with boy band songs that had been around well before I was born. Clearly, they’d never die.
“I do.”
“Good. I want it that way.”
“Stop it.”
He didn’t. “If you hurt her, I’ll show you the meaning of being lonely.”
“And, with that, I’m out.”
Just as I was leaving, Sierra stuck her head out the back door. “It’s gotta be you!”
“Not you, too!” I yelled and scurried off the deck before they could launch any more Backstreet Boys references at me.
Jeremy landed one last one. “Whatever you do, make sure it’s larger than life!”
Jeremy apparently wasn’t the only one who had questions for me. When I stopped by the job site that afternoon, Tanner was already in my office, going over an invoice. With each passing day, he proved more and more he was ready to take on more responsibilities in the business. He did me proud with how driven he was. I was about to commend him on that when he noticed I’d entered the room. His smile was knowing. I knew I was going to be hit with questions for the second time that day.
He tilted back in his chair and placed his dirty boots on my desk. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t quite ready to be the boss.
“So, you and Ava?” he asked.
I couldn’t read his sober expression, so I had no idea if he liked the idea or thought I was an idiot. “It’s nothing,” I said.
He snorted in disbelief. “That’s horseshit. She came back and, in less than a week, she was already spending the night in your bed. I’ve watched a lot of porn, man, and you two aren’t exactly quiet. I know exactly what you were doing.”
My nostrils flared at the idea of him hearing Ava’s soft moans or the way she’d scream my name when her orgasms overtook her. “Goddammit, I didn’t think you were home,” I seethed through clenched teeth. Every single time Ava and I had been together, I’d thought Tanner was out of the house. Clearly, that hadn’t been the case. “And I don’t need to know your porn habits, thank you very much.”
He waved me away. “Don’t worry. I’m usually not. But I did get home in time to see the scattering of clothes leading from the front door to your room the first night she stayed over. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.”
“So we slept together. Big deal.”
“And you’ve done so every night since? Catching up on all of that lost time, eh?” He wagged his eyebrows up and down.
I sighed. “Look, Tanner, it’s none of your business, but since you live in the house, I’ll be straight with you. Ava is only here while she’s filming the movie. I don’t know how long I’ll have her, but while I do, she’s in my bed. But this thing between us? It’s only temporary. Just a friends-with-benefits kinda thing. It’s only for while she’s here, and then it’s done. She knows that. So do I.”
The words sounded so phony coming from my lips, and Tanner knew it.
“Bullshit. You’ve been in love with Ava Banks since you were kids. When she left, you were devastated. Half the time I felt like I was going to have to parent you. Then you finally got your shit together and you wrote that damn book for her.” He paused.
I’d originally intended to keep the book from Tanner, but once the royalty payments had started coming in, I had to tell him. Like he’d said, it hadn’t taken a rocket scientist to know that the book was for Ava.
“And, now that she’s back,” he said, “you expect me to believe it’s only temporary or a friends-with-benefits type of situation? No way in hell. Lie to yourself all you want, but I know the truth.”
He had me there.
I dropped the act and grinned. “I don’t plan on it only being temporary.”
His brow wrinkled. “But you just said—”
“You’re right. I’ve been in love with Ava for as long as I can remember. I love her, and I wrote that damn book for her. I demanded she got the part, because without her, there is no Abby. There is no book, no movie. Without her, there is no me. But the last thing I want to do is spook her. I have to play this right so she doesn’t go running back to L.A. without me.”
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” he responded, shaking his head.
“The biggest, but I’m a fool in love, little brother. You’ll understand one day.”
Tanner shot me a knowing smile indicating he didn’t believe a word I said. As I left him to his paperwork, I replayed our conversation over again in my head. He was the one who was right. It was stupid to be playing games. The second Ava had suggested friends with benefits, I should’ve shut her down. There was no way that would ever be enough for me, and I was tired of pretending like it was.
I wanted Ava to be mine. I was the only one standing in my way. I was tired of keeping her at arm’s length. I was tired of protecting my heart when I was suffering from it. I was tired of not doing exactly what I’d set out to do when I’d first written the book.
With a smile on my face, I knew exactly what I had to do.
IT WAS A STRUGGLE TO leave Tucker in the mornings, but I wasn’t ready for the barrage of questions from my family. At least, that’s what I told myself. I should’ve known better, especially when Mom insisted we spend a girls’ day out on the town, shopping and sipping on mimosas while my cousin Maya frantically tried to find a dress to wear to her senior homecoming. Though Aunt Lexi and Uncle Jace live in Tennessee, they often traveled to Cincinnati to spend time with the family. I loved Maya, as well as her brother, and wished I could see them more often. Once again, it was just another reminder of everything I’d been missing while I had been in California. The longer I stayed in Cincinnati, the harder it’d be to leave.
Dressed in distressed jeans and an oversized sweater, with my hair thrown up in a messy bun, I fit right in with all the other shoppers milling about downtown. It wasn’t often that I was recognized, but with the new movie, my face had been plastered more out there than usual, and the last thing I wanted was to ruin our girls’ outing with paparazzi. The truth was that I wasn’t all that interesting in the first place.
“Oh, Maya, you’re absolutely breathtaking,” Aunt Lexi gushed when her daughter emerged from the dressing room.
It was true. She was exquisite in a burnt-orange dress that flared out at her hips and settled just above her knee. The full skirt twirled beautifully when she shimmied her hips. The color was perfect for a fall dance, especially paired with her summer tan and sun-kissed hair. Aunt Lexi’s eyes were brimming with tears. She was no doubt in awe and probably somewhat sad at the idea that her daughter had grown into a beautiful woman and was no longer her little girl.
“Cade’s going to eat his heart out,” Chloe, Maya’s best friend—and Cade’s twin sister—commented.
Maya’s cheeks flushed as she ducked her head, but a small smile played on her lips. She knew that Chloe was right.
Chloe and her mom, Charlie, had joined Lexi and Maya for the trip, calling it a girls’ weekend. Even their friend Lucy had tagged along, though she was a mom to boys. Theirs was an interesting bunch. Lexi, Charlie, and Lucy were part of a tight-knit group of Army wives who’d all fallen in love and had children around the same time. Even after their husbands had retired, they’d all stayed in the same place so their kids could grow up together. As a kid, I’d spent countless weekends down at Uncle Jace’s and Aunt Lexi’s, and over the years, I had grown close not only with my cousins, but with their friends as well. Maya and Cade were much like Tucker and me, except they’d known early on in high school they were meant to be more than friends. Lexi and Charlie loved that their kids were in love and hoped they’d truly become family one day. Uncle Jace understandably wasn’t quite ready to marry his daughter off, but Maya was on the fast track to becoming a Wellington.
After Chloe and Maya had picked their dresses out, our group ended up having a late lunch in Fountain Square, enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company.
Lucy shifted her attention to me. “So, Ava, are you dating anyone back in Los Angeles?”
“No, not at the moment. I’m completely single,” I offered.
“Maybe you’ll fall in love on set,” Chloe remarked. “That would be sooo romantic.”
Maya snorted. “Her costar is Leo Lockwood. His devotion to his wife is legendary, Chloe.”
Chloe’s shoulders fell before they perked right up again. “She could fall for a cameraman,” she suggested. “Then it wouldn’t be as cliché as costars.”
“I don’t want to fall in love on set!” I protested, knowing how on-set romances were often a ploy studios used to sell movies, which was one I never wanted to be part of.
Mom let out a loud laugh.
My head swung around in her direction. “What?” I asked, I should’ve just changed the subject though.
She raised an eyebrow. “Completely single, huh?”
Heat warmed my cheeks. “I’m currently unattached. My love life is boring. Why don’t we discuss something else?”
She gave me a pointed look. “So, you’re not sleeping with the boy next door?”
I nearly choked on my mimosa. “Mom!”
She pressed her hand to her chest in her best Scarlett O’Hara impression. “Oh, goodness. I’m sorry. Why else would my twenty-three-year-old daughter sneak out of the house late at night and then return the next morning before the sun comes up? If it’s not for a boy, I’d hate to think of what else you could be doing.”
“How the heck do you know that?”
“Your father also enjoys a little morning nookie before the boys wake up.”
I immediately covered my ears. “Mother! I do not need to know that information!”
She laughed then shrugged. “I’m just saying. If you and Tucker are an item now, I don’t understand why you’re hiding it. But to say you’re completely single is untrue. We both know it.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed. My cheeks flushed yet again when Tucker’s name lit the screen.
Mom glanced over and read it, smiling knowingly. “Speak of the devil.”
I scooted back from the chair. “I’ll be right back. I need to take this.” As soon as I was out of earshot, I held the phone up to my ear. “We were just talking about you,” I admitted, to which he let out a deep, hearty laugh.
“Is that so? Good things, I hope?” he teased, causing me to grin.
“It seems we’re busted. Mom knows I’ve been sneaking out, and she knows exactly where I’ve been going.”
“What did I tell you?”
“I know, I know. You were right,” I conceded.
He let out a low whistle. “Can you say that again?”
“Shut up.”
“If it makes you feel better, your dad cornered me earlier, too. We’ve definitely been outed, babe, and not only that, we’ve been summoned to a family dinner.”
My jaw dropped. A family dinner?
“You should probably close your mouth, or else I’m going to think it’s an invitation.” His voice thickened with desire.
When I whirled around, Tucker was standing off to the side, his eyes full of delight and the corners of his mouth quirked upward in a sexy grin.
