Page 11 of We Never Kissed

Ava furrowed her brow. “Why you?”

I leaned back in my chair, lifting a brow in challenge. “Go right ahead.”

That was clue enough I had no faith in her to accomplish the task successfully. But she picked up the menu and perused it, as if she knew exactly what she was looking for.

Holding back a grin, I said, “Need a hint?”

She tilted her head in Dax’s direction. “Cheerios?”

Dax rolled a car up Ava’s bicep.

“Eggs?” Her eyes darted from Dax to me.

“Psh!” I shook my head.

The server, whose nametag read Angela, stopped infront of the table just as Ava said, “You’re just trying to screw with my head!”

“I’ll give you another minute, then.” Angela backed away.

“I’m guessing she won’t be back for a while. I’m starved too.” I shook my head again, tsking, laying it on thick.

“Aw, does the grumpy baby want some Cheerios while they’re cooking his food?” Then she picked up one of Dax’s cars and pushed it in front of me. “Here, play with this to keep you busy.”

Dax gave me a big grin. “Uncle Alex, play cars with me!”

Ava’s eyes widened at how loud Dax said that, but I was used to it. For some reason, in the last few weeks, he’d been exploring his tone and often shouted his words instead of speaking them. Ava’s gaze went over my shoulder, and then she winced. “Shh, honey, we’re in a restaurant.”

“It’s a café,” I corrected. “And he’s just a kid.”

Tilting her head, Ava said, “That man behind you gave us a dirty look.”

“So.”

“So, I don’t want Dax to see his Uncle Alex manhandle a disgruntled diner. Plus, we should let him do whatever he wants?”

I shrugged. “First of all, that was a long time ago. Second, not whatever he wants… But you of all people should be more patient and understanding of this behavior.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I leaned forward, taking my time to answer as I enjoyed the irritated look on her face. “Well…you’re a creative, a dancer.”

“Wasa dancer—”

“You’ll always be a dancer, Ava,” I said pointedly, pushing away images of Ava on stage, elegant and beautiful at times, downright sexy other times. “And Dax is expressing himself.”

She laughed. “And how do you know that?”

“I just do. Squash him now, and you might just be dashing the talent of the next Pavarotti.”

She scoffed. “That’s a stretch.”

“Look, are we ever going to order? Dax likes toast with butter and jelly and a couple slices of bacon on top of it.”

“Ew, really?”

“Yeah! Bacon sandwich!” Dax threw both hands in the air, and in the process, the car flew from his hand. I followed its trajectory and watched as it landed on the next table over, right on top of Mr. Dirty Look’s eggs. He pushed his chair out, stood, and turned to us.

“Well, this’ll be fun,” I said to Ava before standing to face the guy.

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