Page 28 of Vegas Baby!

Ava was standing at the far end of the hallway with Bryce and Micah.

“I’m sorry,” she said before I could open my mouth.

“Don’t be. I should’ve checked if it was something you still like.”

“I’m kind of impressed you remembered I liked it to begin with.”

“Hard to forget when I think we ate that for a month straight before I moved.”

Her cheeks flushed pink.

“Can I take you out for something that won’t make you nauseated?”

Ava’s blush got darker. “Just me?”

I only wanted her right now, but I had to be open to everyone being with her. “The others are welcome to join.”

Tension melted out of her posture and she glanced between Bryce and Micah. “Do you mind if Luke and I go for dinner?”

Bryce sized me up, standing there with his perfect hair and his expensive suit and his fucking first bond with the most important person in my world. “Have fun.”

I bit down on my growl when he kissed her cheek. He was giving me a chance and I couldn’t ruin it by being a petty asshole.

I held stock-still as Micah and Bryce went back to the apartment, leaving me alone in the hall with Ava.

“Where are we going?” Ava asked.

“Depends what you’re hungry for. Anything else off the menu besides salmon?”

“A lot of things. Baby is pretty fussy. Noodles are pretty safe.”

“How about a ramen bar?”

“That should be okay.”

She let me take her hand as I led her down to where my car was parked, her skin warm against mine. Ava stared at me as we rode the elevator down, but neither of us spoke until I was getting her settled in the car.

“Did you have the homemade sauce and the edamame?”

“Absolutely.”

Ava made a little groan that had heat rushing through me. “I’m sorry I couldn’t eat it. I’m sure it was going to taste amazing.”

“I’ll make it again when the baby is out and about in the world.”

Her eyes shone. “You’re not going to disappear on me again?”

Those eyes were a gut punch, reaching right into me and squeezing my heart until I could hardly breathe.

“I never meant to the first time.” I rounded the vehicle, slipping into my seat and buckling up. “Did Nathan or your mom tell you about what things were like at my house?”

She shook her head.

I sighed. Might as well get this part over quickly. I set off on the familiar route to the ramen bar I went to at least once a week. “I only told them the short version. It was a nightmare. There was a reason I never let you come inside.”

I kept my eyes on the road even though I could feel her wide-eyed gaze on me. “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t over at your house all the time just because Nathan and I were best friends. It was pretty rare that we had groceries at home, and even rarer that my mom would make an actual meal for either of us. I can’t remember the last time she cleaned anything. By the time I was nine, I was the one taking care of her.”

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