Page 27 of Yes, Love

I gaped at her. The only thoughts of Lucy I’d had in weeks involved worrying about her safety. “Is that what you think this is about, Ava?”

She stared at the floor and crossed her arms but didn’t say a word.

I let out a dry laugh. “Don’t be daft! You’re a brilliant fuck, Ava. This has nothing to do with Lucy. I just don’t do rough sex. I don’t do rough anything ever.” When I realised that I was physically stronger than most females, I swore I’d never lay harm to one. I swore that my hands would never cause a single bruise. I would never be like him — the bastard that tormented my mum.

Ava just scoffed at me and stormed out of her bedroom, leaving me alone on her bed. I lay back and ran my hands through my hair. What was happening in Ava’s head tonight? If she thought I didn’t want her, then I needed to explain. I groaned and slid off the bed to follow her.

I spotted her in the living room, surrounded by a group of tall, thin, model-like women. Ava was a full head shorter than all of them, even in her heels, and it made me smile despite being completely baffled by her tonight. She was a darling little thing. Ava glanced at me over her shoulder and gave me her fakest, brightest smile. I could have sworn she did it to piss me off. “Lover! Come here!” She crooked her finger at me and laughed her awful fake laugh.

I smiled for the audience and played the part of a loving boyfriend, walking to her and wrapping my arms around her from behind. I pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and whispered in her ear, “Can we talk about what just happened?”

Ava stiffened in my arms but laughed her tinkling little laugh again and said, “Baby, not now!” loud enough for our audience to hear.

“Mmm, can’t help it.” I played along and nibbled at her neck, still desperate to pull her away and have a real conversation.

The women gave us wan smiles and fake laughs. “Oh my god! You guys are adorbs!” One of them gushed and batted her false eyelashes at us.

“Aw, thanks, Britt!” Ava gushed back. “We are so lucky to have found each other.” She turned in my arms and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. Her berry-coloured lipstick didn’t transfer to my skin. It stayed perfectly in place, infallibly helping to mask the storm in Ava’s head.

“Incredibly lucky,” I agreed. “Sorry, ladies, I need to steal her for a moment.” I guided Ava away from the group and out onto her back deck, searching for a private place to chat. The far side of the deck was empty, and when we reached it, I said, “Ava, I need to explain what happened back there. I wasn’t rejecting you—”

“Save it.” She held up her hand. “You don’t owe me any explanation. This is all an act, and the sex is just for fun.” Ava started to give me her fake smile but couldn’t hold it in place. Finally, she dropped it and rubbed her temples with a sigh. “You’re almost free from me, Dom. Two more stupid months.” Then she donned her mask again and turned to walk back into the party.

Two more months. Was Ava tired of our act? Did she want this to be over with? Why did that thought give me such a sinking feeling?

Fourteen

Ava

Jeanie sat in the gray, high-backed armchair in my room and typed into her phone while I packed six different bikinis. I tried not to wonder if Dominic would like the silver one better than the coral one. He wouldn’t give a single fuck because it wasn’t my body he wanted to see in a bikini anyway.

“Okay, you need at least five club dresses, too.” Jeanie stood and walked into my closet. “Your post with the strappy purple thing got a lot of engagement, so you should pack that one.”

“Oh, yeah. That one’s hot.” I slid it off its hanger and caught sight of the stupid yellow dress I’d worn to the party. It sat crumpled up on the floor in the corner of my closet. Huh. Not a bad reflection of how I felt after Dom rejected me. To say I was humiliated was an understatement. What the actual hell was I thinking, throwing myself at him like that?

I mean, I knew what I was thinking. I was reeling from a biting comment made by one of my guests correcting my contouring technique. My self-loathing thoughts were already swirling before Rya insulted me in front of like fifty people. After that, they skyrocketed. When I sought out Dom and dragged him up the stairs, I didn’t know if I was searching for validation or punishment.

I cringed as I remembered the look in his eyes when I asked him to choke me. He’d looked completely horrified. Dominic had tried to talk to me after, said he needed to explain, but I was too humiliated to even look at him.

We still hadn’t spoken since the party, and now we had to spend an entire week together. Shit! In the one room that I’d asked Jeanie to book. “Yo, Jeanie, can we change the booking to two rooms?”

Jeanie pulled her gaze from my party dresses and raised a single black eyebrow at me. “You’re joking.”

I gave her a bright smile and pressed my hands together in a prayer. “Please, Jeanie, oh great one! I know you can make it happen!”

“I can’t, actually.” Jeanie put her hands on her hips. “This is a trendy event, and the hotel is fully booked now.”

I laughed. “Just have them push someone else’s reservation.”

“Ava. You’re special, but not that special.”

I rolled my eyes. Don’t I know it.

“Oh, don’t forget, this hotel is paying you to promote it. You guys need to do one post a day about how awesome the suite and amenities are.” Jeanie paused her perusal of my closet and caught sight of my tired expression. “What’s going on? Trouble in paradise with your sexy British boy-toy? I thought things were going well between you two. I haven’t had to remind you to be nice since your second date.” Jeanie pointed to a hot pink dress. “Pack that one, too.”

I cleared my throat and slid it off the hanger. “Things are fine. I just like my space.”

“Well, sorry, sweetheart. You’re going to have to get cozy with your fake boyfriend this week.” Jeanie turned to my wall display of shoes. “Oh, and keep in mind that this is a Wild Love reunion, so these are his people, and he’s very well-loved in that community, as was Lucy. You’ll need to be ultra-charming and sparkly to make this work for both of you.”

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