Love You Anyway: Our Second Chance at Love, page 23
I hold up my finger and answer the phone. “Hey, Ava.”
“You still coming to the concert?”
“Sure am. I just have some paperwork that needs my attention.”
“Did you get the passes Brody sent you?”
“Yes, right here. I’m gonna have to get off the phone. I need to contact my lawyer.”
“Divorce paperwork?”
“Yeah, Ava, sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m an adult. And a lawyer. Well, almost. I’m an hour away. Can I stop over? We can ride together.”
“Sure thing. Love you. See you soon.”
I go over the paperwork and am in shock based on the fact that nothing I asked to be added was. However, alimony was removed, which is like a fucking trojan horse to someone who knows his way around a Trojan. She told me the paperwork was all set, that I’d be happy with it.
“Bones, is there more to this than I’m seeing? She’s accepting half a million dollar settlement, no alimony. This is too cut and dry. Links Construction isn’t mentioned. LLGI isn’t mentioned. I want this looked into. She isn’t getting half a million and not signing off the businesses.”
“What do you think she’s up to?” he asks suspiciously.
“No fucking clue, but she’s in bed with a lawyer who happens to be a politician, so who the fuck knows? Can you get Dad on the phone? I need to see what he’s heard, if anything.”
❖
I am still sitting at my desk, waiting for Dad’s return call, when Ava walks in.
“Hi, Daddy. Let me see the paperwork.”
“Ava, this isn’t something I want you involved in, okay?” I stand and hug her.
“I’m a lawyer, Dad. I just want to see it.”
“Conflict of interest. Meaning I don’t want you conflicted. It’s between Mom and me, all right?”
“No.” She walks up, sits on the edge of the desk, and tries to grab the papers in front of me.
“Ava.”
“Dad?”
I am trying to come up with some way of shifting the conversation when she stands and takes off her jacket.
“Christ, Ava, where is the rest of that shirt?”
“It’s a whole shirt, Daddy.” She rolls her eyes.
I nod, trying to think of how the fuck to respond. “Isn’t the kindergarten student you stole that shirt from a little upset?”
Bones laughs.
“No, Daddy. Actually, the nuns at the Catholic school I borrowed it from happen to be very nice. Then the lady at the sexy lingerie store helped me pick out a matching thong and bra. If you wanna see it, I posted it on Instagram.”
Bones is rolling, and if she wasn’t my kid, I would have probably laughed, too. But she is.
I stand up and grab my phone. “Let’s you and I go shopping.”
“Give it a rest, Dad. I look good, don’t I, Bones?” She winks at him.
“Ava!”
“I’ll let you take me shopping if you let me look at the paperwork.”
“Can you just let it be?”
“Daddy.” The way she says it was almost comical. Like she wants to say seriously, but in a grownup way. My little girl is growing up, and I don’t like it.
“You can’t wear flip flops, Ava. Your feet will get stepped on.”
“My thigh-high boots are in my car.”
“For fuck’s sake.” I run my hand through my hair. “You are a pain in the ass.”
“Apple. Tree. Did you expect any less?”
“I cannot believe I paid for you to go to school to learn how to argue your point even better than you already could just a blink ago, when you were two.”
She laughs and takes the papers before I can stop her.
I sit back and watch her look them over, point by point.
“Too vague. Dad, is Robert her lawyer?”
“I assume so, or someone who works for him.”
“Nothing about your businesses. Nothing about the Upstate house or property here, aside from the lake house which, I should point out, has to be at least five times the value of our home based on property value alone. I wouldn’t sign anything. I would have your lawyer add …” She stops. “I will discuss with him the changes that need to be made. If he has any objections, you’ll know he’s working with them. My God, what happened to her?”
“Ava, that’s why I don’t want you involved.”
“Too bad. Bones, get me the number. I’m making a copy of this. I can talk to your lawyer in the car. Then you’re taking me to lunch.”
While Ava makes a copy, I send Jones a text, telling him he is to use kid gloves with my daughter when she speaks to him and to listen to what she has to say and figure it the fuck out. I then ask Bones if he’s heard from Dad, and he tells me no.
I’ll deal with it from home. But first, I am going to take my girl to a late lunch and then shopping for appropriate attire before the concert.
❖
Ava and I are on our way to the concert. She’s excited to see Harper’s belly, and I’m nervous as hell about seeing Tessa. Not Tessa exactly, but Jade and Phoebe will be there, and Ava is on high alert in regards to my feelings for Tessa. She hasn’t come right out and said anything, but our shopping trip turned into a haircut and new clothes for me.
Apparently, I should be wearing something besides dress pants and Polo shirts. We bought jeans, and every time I pulled them up to my waist, she told me they were supposed sit on my hips.
“They’re not pulled up high, Ava. My hips are up here, not down there.”
“Dad, trust me; the lower, the better. You have a kick-ass body; you shouldn’t be afraid to show it off.”
“Okay, but I am not of the show-my-ass-crack generation, or the skinny jeans, or the belly shirts. Oh, and FYI, I am a straight man.”
She laughs. “I got the wrong size. I wouldn’t have let you get the belly shirt.”
“A V neck shirt, Ava?”
“You look hot, Dad. From behind, you look just like Logan.”
“Okay, is that supposed to be a compliment? Am I supposed to not wonder just what I look like from the front?”
“I wasn’t being rude. I’m just saying, if I didn’t know you and saw you from behind, I would probably cop a feel of that ass.”
“Cop a feel?”
She laughs. “Yeah, cop a feel, grab a cheek.”
“You seriously have not done that, have you?”
“You seriously do not want the answer to that question.” She laughs, but I don’t. “Dad, I’m an adult.”
“You’re my daughter. My little girl,” I remind her.
“An adult.”
“Unless you’re scared, or whiny, or—”
“Whiny?”
“Or need your daddy.” I said daddy like she does. “Don’t ever stop that either. I need my little girl as much as my little girl sometimes needs her daddy.”
She smirks as I hold her hand. Nothing prepares you for when the little life you helped create comes into the world. The feelings are so intense that past hurts are just boo-boos. Or, when their boo-boos are enough to bring a grown man to their knees. And nothing prepares you to watch them grow and change before you. They don’t need you any less then, and you certainly don’t want to protect and love them any less.
“Dad, Logan’s had sex.”
And nothing prepares you for a kid like Ava, who thrives and takes pleasure in a shock and awe effect from a statement like that.
“Ava …”
“No, listen; he’s three years younger than I am. You offered to bring him condoms.”
“Who told you that?”
“He did. But with me—”
“You’re my little girl. I don’t want you to ever be hurt.”
“I’m a sexual being—”
I reach to turn up the radio. I don’t want to hear anymore. And yes, she’s right; I am pretty damn hypocritical when it comes to the difference in the way I treat them.
“I have a vagina!” she yells then laughs. “And boobs!”
“Ava!” I reach up and turn down the radio.
“Daddy!” She laughs her little belly laugh. “You never offered me condoms.”
Feeding into her is not a good idea, so I shrug. “I want you to know what I expect from you. What I want you to except from a man. Ava, you need a man to treat you like I do.”
“Like a baby?”
“Keep quiet and listen. They have to be intelligent. Someone who is funny and understands your quirky sense of humor. Someone who shares your values and loves family. They have to love to talk, or at least love you enough to listen to you talk. They need to think your little tantrums are adorable. They need to give you attention, a lot of it. You should not be their second thought—always their first. They need to cherish every moment they spend with you. When they succeed, and if they don’t search for you to share that with them, they don’t deserve you. If they don’t need you by their side during every part of life, they don’t deserve you. If they hurt your perfect and beautiful heart, they don’t deserve you. If they fuck up, even if you are head-up-your-ass in love with them, you need to walk away so you can continue to love yourself. If they come back, you make damn sure they’ve felt the impact of losing you before you tell them they need to speak to me before you even consider it.”
“Talk to you first?”
“If you’re considering forgiving them, they better not just come to me; they better fucking crawl.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, little girl.”
❖
Ava and I are in the VIP section when the opening band ends, and still no Tessa. I don’t care. I really hope she’s staying backstage with Harper, because I am going to kill the fuckers checking out my little girl. I can’t imagine having two of them to look out for.
“Jade!” Ava yells and waves.
Jade is being escorted into the VIP section, and behind her are Phoebe and Tessa.
Tessa, fuck, she looks beautiful. Too beautiful. My cock plumps a bit seeing her walk up to us.
“Lucas, looking damn good.” Jade smacks my ass pretty hard.
Ava laughs. “See, Dad?”
“Yeah, I see, Ava.”
“See what?” Phoebe asks.
“Nothing.” I give Ava a warning look.
“Dad and I went shopping. Check him out. No, go ahead. As much as he pretends to hate it, I can assure you he doesn’t. Doesn’t his ass look incredible?” She looks right at Tessa. Right fucking at her.
Tessa laughs as she walks by me and smacks my ass hard, too, and Ava laughs.
“Told you, you have a great ass, Dad.”
Phoebe laughs and walks by, and does the same damn thing.
“All right! That’s the end of the ass smacking, ladies,” I scold them, and then look at Ava. “It’s not okay. I have feelings, too.”
“Liar.” Jade laughs.
Tessa is between Phoebe and Jade, which I suppose is perfect, so our cover isn’t blown.
“Tessa, come sit by me,” Ava yells down to her. “Slide down, Dad.”
“Ava.”
“What?”
Tessa walks past me, and yes, I inhale her scent.
“You excited about the concert?” Tessa asks, giving her a hug.
“Sure am. But I’m especially excited about seeing Harper’s belly. Has it gotten bigger?”
“Sure has.”
“You know I told her I should be the godmother. We are as close as two sisters, you know.”
Tessa smiles and nods.
Oh, Ava, please say no more, I plead in my head.
“I’m moving home soon.”
“That’s great. I bet your dad will be happy.”
“Oh, he is. He’s lonely, you know. Since Mom … well, you know.” She shrugs. “I hope he finds someone to love him. He’s a catch, you know.”
Tessa nods. “He is.”
I’m ready to crawl under the stadium seat.
“So, are you and Zach Taylor, um … dating?”
“No, he’s a friend.”
“So, you’re not interested in him?”
“Just a friend.”
“That’s good.” Ava looks behind Tessa and winks at me.
I glare at her, and she grins.
The lights dim just in time to shut my sweet and obvious little match-making girl up.
I look over at Jade, and she’s doing her best not to laugh out loud. Phoebe giggles, and I look at the stage, where my eyes will now be fixed until the end of the concert.
Scratch that.
Tessa takes off her lightweight sweater, and I see the girls are shoved into a tight concert tee-shirt that says, “The Brody Hines Band.” She turns to set the sweater on the back of the chair, and I glance back.
“Hey.” A guy behind us winks at her.
She smiles and turns around.
“Did you see the tits on her? Fuck, man,” he says to his buddy.
“Too busy checking out the ass on the schoolgirl in front of me.”
I lean back, making sure they see me, and glare at them.
The bastards laugh.
The band takes the stage, and I am forced to look away from them.
Ava is shouting and jumping around.
“Hi.” Tessa nudges me.
“Hi.” I wink at her.
The crowd screams louder, and I look up.
“Hello, New Jersey!” Maddox yells to the screaming crowd. “This is one hell of a crowd to end our US tour with. Thanks for coming out tonight! Feels like déjà vu. It was only a year ago I stood here, on this very stage, here at Badger Field, doing the same damn thing. Ending one hell of a summer concert series!”
The crowd screams, and Maddox is loving it. In his element, for sure. I get that—the high from a crowd. Not much compares. But Maddox usually doesn’t say much.
“Did you miss me? Of course you did. I missed you, too!”
I lean over and ask Tessa, “Holy shit, is he the same kid I have met over the past four years?”
“I know. He’s totally different up there. Amazing.” She smiles then looks at my lips.
“Baby, don’t do that.”
She smiles and looks away.
Three songs in, and Ava has Tessa dancing to the music. The two of them are singing and laughing. Both happy, fucking love that.
Jade and Phoebe are on the other side of me, doing the same. It feels good being here. It feels like … home.
Tessa backs up and bumps into me, and I almost move away when she looks back and winks then rubs her ass against me.
“I have to pee!” Ava turns around, and Tessa says she’ll go with her.
“Jade, Phoebe, bathroom?” Tessa asks.
“Hell yes,” Jade and Phoebe both answer.
“Do you have to go, Tessa, or do you just not want me to be alone?” Ava asks.
“I don’t have to, but I don’t mind.”
“Stay with Dad? If we all leave, someone will try to take our seats.”
“Okay.”
When they are out of earshot, she stands close to me again.
“My kid’s trying to pimp me out.”
“She wants you to be happy.”
“This makes me happy—being here with you.”
“I’m glad you came.”
“Really?”
“I missed you.” She smiles shyly.
“Perfect.” I take a room key out of my back pocket and hand it to her. “Same hotel as you. If you want to see me, come over.”
“Will Ava be there?”
“She plans on going to Ashley’s, which is perfect. I want to be with you for some of your birthday.”
She moves closer and holds my hand.
“I would kiss you, but your son-in-law may see me.”
She sighs.
“You look beautiful, by the way. And I’m not just saying that because the girls seem to know I am here.”
“Maybe I’m cold.” She smirks.
“Maybe I am …” I take our hands and rub the back of hers against my erection.
She bites her lip to stop herself from smiling.
“I can’t wait to give you this tonight.”
I release her hand when I see the girls approaching.
❖
When the concert ends, we stand, waiting for the crowd to thin out, when Tessa gets a text.
I look over her shoulder as she reads it
- Harper is on her way to New Jersey General. Her water broke. A car is waiting to take you.
She stumbles a bit, and I catch her elbow.
“I have to get out of here.”
I look up, see Brody, and wave.
“What’s going on?” Jade asks as I push through the crowd with her under my arm.
“Dad, is everything okay?” Ava asks, her hand on my shirt, holding it like I taught her when she was a little girl and we were in crowds.
“Everything is gonna be all right,” I assure her, hoping it gives Tessa some sense of calm. “Ava’s on her way to the hospital. The newest Abraham-Hines is ready to meet her family.”
“She’s in labor?” Jade asks.
Tessa looks up at me, and I smile as we get closer to Brody.
“Go take care of your girls.” I scoop her up and all but throw her over the security gate.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Phoebe calls after her then looks at me. “You’re driving. Let’s roll.”
“It’s too early,” Ava says, about ready to freak.
“Harper was early, and she’s fine.” I wink. “You took your sweet time.”
“Not today, she won’t,” Jade says as she starts throwing elbows.
TWENTY-FIVE
FULL CIRCLE
I am standing in the nursery, holding a tiny Piper Ann Hines. She’s seven weeks early and weighs only six pounds, but she’s so strong. Her lungs are fully developed, and she passed the APGAR tests with flying colors.
My little girl is a mommy. Harper Ann is a mommy, and I was there when she gave birth. There couldn’t be a better birthday gift than this little life.
Her eyes are blue, her hair blonde, and she is beautiful.
They want her to stay the night in the neonatal nursery and are working on my child now. My girl was amazing in the delivery room, and her husband, Piper’s father, was as amazing.
