Page 24 of Broken King

That will never happen. That Ronan King doesn’t exist anymore.

When I don’t say anything to that, she steps forward and wraps her arms around me. I stare down in shock, and then she rests her head on my chest, surprising me even more. Nobody has touched me since the nurses in the psych ward.

Ava continues to sob against me, so I wrap my left arm and what’s left of my right arm around her. “I didn’t mean to be such an asshole outside. I’m sorry.”

“I get it. You don’t want to see anyone. I didn’t realize we all were bothering you so much,” she says against my chest.

I let out a heavy sigh as I listen to her words. She and Matthias, to say nothing of Eleanor, have been nothing but kind and caring since I came here. I wish I wasn’t so unhappy because they deserve much better in return, not the misery I give them.

It’s just that it’s all I have to offer now.

“Look at me, Ava.”

She lets go of me and wipes under her eyes. It’s her house, and here she is basically apologizing to me for being nice. I really am a fucking bastard.

“It’s okay. I know you don’t mean any harm. It’s all me, and I’m sorry.”

The smile I get in return lights up her face. “You take as much time as you need. We’ll be happy whenever you want to come out and hang with us, okay?”

Ava really is a good person. She doesn’t deserve to have someone like me bringing such misery into her life, especially with all she’s handling now with two babies.

I nod but remain silent because I don’t have anything to say. I can’t explain why I feel so lost. I wish I could. Then maybe everyone would finally understand why I can’t see any of the positive things they all claim exist for me.

CHAPTER NINE

Kate

I driveup the long road to the King house and can’t help but remember the first time Ronan brought me here to meet his family. I was so nervous. Probably about as scared as I am right now, even though Ava was thrilled to hear from me and loved my idea of coming over to see her. She has to know I’m really hoping to see Ronan, but she’s still kind to invite me to her house.

As I shut off the engine, I see the woman Ava told me about walk out the kitchen door. What was her name? Something witchy. Blair? No, that doesn’t sound right. What’s another name that seems like a witch would have it? Samantha? No, that’s not it either.

She stares at me as I get out of the car, and I wish I could remember her name. Whoever she is, she’s pretty. Blond hair and although I can’t see what color her eyes are, I’d bet a hundred bucks they’re blue. She actually looks like a stereotypical babysitter Hollywood might cast.

I walk in her direction while I rack my brain to remember her name. Nothing.

“Hi! Are you looking for Ava?” she asks in a perky voice absolutely fitting for a babysitter. “She’s inside with little Theo in the kitchen.”

Sensing my opportunity to have her tell me her name, I extend my hand to shake hers and say, “Hi, I’m Kate.”

“I’m Sabrina,” she chirps.

Sabrina! That’s the name Ava told me. I seriously need to work on remembering people’s names better from now on.

“Hi, Sabrina. It’s nice to meet you. Ava’s in the kitchen? I’ll just scoot on in and say hi,” I say in my schoolteacher voice.

She smiles, and I can’t help but notice she’s really quite pretty. Even more, I was wrong about her eyes. They’re deep brown, not blue, and they resemble Ronan’s. Something about her reminds me of the girls I went to high school with. Not the ones I hung out with since I was a nerd, but the cheerleader type. I sort of want to ask her if she went to the same prep school Ronan and I did, but I stop myself.

Eleanor is just inside the door when I poke my head in, and she brightens up the moment she sees me. “Kate! Come in! Ava just went upstairs to put Theo down for his nap. I tell you those two boys keep us on our toes here. Thank God she hired someone, or I’m not sure we’d be able to handle it. I’m not as young as I was when Ronan and his brothers were little boys.”

I point toward the kitchen door and nod. “I met Sabrina outside. She seems very nice. I hope she works out because two little boys so young are a handful.”

The housekeeper rolls her eyes. “I’d forgotten how much work babies are. Between the two of us, it was like we never got to rest. Matthias has tried to help too, of course, but he’s busy running King Industries again, so he has to spend much of his time with that. Would you like a soda or some iced tea?”

Pulling out one of the kitchen chairs from under the table, I smile at her offer. “Oh, I would love an iced tea. It’s so hot already today, and we haven’t even gotten to the heat of the afternoon.”

As I sit down, I notice a plate with food and a can of soda sitting on the far end of the table. The meal looks like it might be a turkey sandwich with corn chips on the side.

“I didn’t interrupt your lunch, did I, Eleanor?” I ask, immediately worried I’m bothering her.

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