Page 39 of Broken King

Discouraged and disappointed for the second time since I got here, I force a smile for Ava and say, “Sounds great! How was shopping?”

She begins describing in minute detail how Matty not only spit up on one of the salespeople who asked to hold him but also pooped so stinky that she was embarrassed, and they had to leave the store immediately. I try to pay attention, although hearing about baby poop isn’t top on my list of topics, but all I can think is Ronan just told me he’s never moved on from me.

From us.

Maybe there is a chance after all.

Once she gets the baby down for a much-needed nap, Ava sits down with me at the kitchen table. We aren’t there for more than a few seconds before she says, “It’s so gorgeous out today. Would you like to sit outside? It’ll give me a chance to get a little sun, and I want to get Theo some fresh air. I think it’ll help him sleep better. At least I hope so.”

“Okay. Lead the way!”

After informing Eleanor of our plans, she and I walk outside with our glasses of iced tea to sit out on the patio in the backyard. That word makes it sound like anyone else’s yard behind their house, but at the King estate, the backyard goes for hundreds of yards beyond the patio and pool area.

“Ronan used to tell me about how when he and his brothers were young they’d play outside all day,” I say as she gets Theo into his baby swing that’s attached to a tree near the corner of the patio.

“They did, and I was always tagging along, once I got big enough.”

“That’s right. You lived in the house down the road on the estate. I bet you have stories from when those boys were kids,” I joke.

She sits down looking worn out, and it’s not even one o’clock in the afternoon. Taking a sip of iced tea, she sighs. “Mostly Theo. He was my best friend, so we did everything together. I rarely played with Matthias when we were kids since he never seemed interested in hanging out with us, but the other brothers were always around.”

We settle into an awkward silence after her mention of Theo. I wonder if I should say how sorry I am that he passed. I came over after the funeral, but I never spoke to Ava that day since I she wasn’t around. I heard she didn’t handle it well, so maybe I shouldn’t.

Thankfully, she interrupts my thoughts with something else entirely.

“Did you see Ronan shaved? I wasn’t feeling too good about him getting his hands on a razor, but Sabrina told me he wanted to clean himself up yesterday but couldn’t do it, so she helped. I think he looks a million times better without that mess he had on his face, don’t you?”

I smile and nod, saying he looks much better, but all I can think of is Sabrina shaving Ronan’s face. I didn’t realize they were that close. Is that why he went with her as soon as she mentioned wanting to tell him something?

Jealousy fills me as Ava talks about being relieved that he may have turned the corner from the months of being so unhappy since his accident. All I can think of is this Sabrina person is the reason he’s coming around, not me. I should be happy for him, but all I feel is ugly envy.

“So, Matthias told me last night he thought you’d become a schoolteacher. Is that true? What grade do you teach?” Ava asks,tearing me from my misery of thinking I’ve lost my chance with Ronan because of Sabrina.

“I did. I start teaching third grade at the Rosemont School in midtown this fall. I was working part-time for the past few years, but then I got hired there. That’s why I took the opportunity to go on a trip to Europe with my friend this year. I’d always wanted to, so we figured this might be my last chance before I start my job.”

Ava nods and says, “Not a fan of Europe in the summer? I mean, teachers usually get the summers off.”

As I watch Theo bounce in his seat to let his mother know he needs another push, I say, “To be honest, I’m not a fan of summer anywhere but around here. Everywhere else is too hot and humid. My father swears we have the nicest summer weather in the world right here in New York.”

She gets up to give the swing a little push and sits back down again. “I think he’s right. My brother lives in Florida, and I swear I don’t know how he does it. Hurricanes and rain every day? No thanks. I’ll take what we have over that any day.”

I start to mention about how my parents are thinking about moving to Florida if they ever finally retire when Sabrina walks out of the house wearing a teeny-tiny black bikini and a beach towel slung over her left shoulder. All I can think is she looks fantastic and has an incredible body.

“Are you going in for a dip?” Ava asks, seemingly perfectly fine with her babysitter enjoying a swim.

“Yeah, it’s nice out, so I figured I’d get a swim in while Matty is sleeping.”

Ava looks over at me with an embarrassed expression. “I should have told you to bring your bathing suit so you could swim too. Matthias occasionally swims and Ronan never does, so it’s just Sabrina and me and the babies, but they don’t really swim. They just sort of splash around.”

I wave off her suggestion, still fixated on Sabrina who at the moment is parading around the pool deck like some model at a trade show. I know it shouldn’t bother me, but does she have to look so damn good? Meanwhile, I’m sitting here in my pink sundress looking like I just auditioned for some lame off-off-Broadway production of Mary Poppins.

“I have a great idea!” Ava says as she jumps up from her chair, nearly knocking over our glasses of iced tea. “I’ve got a few bathing suits, and I bet you’d fit in one. Let me go see if I can find them so we can go swimming too! I’ll be right back. Just give Theo a little push if he stops swinging or starts crying.”

Before I can stop her, she runs off, leaving me staring at Sabrina as she makes her way toward where I’m sitting. With a smile, she gives Theo a tiny push before turning to talk to me.

“So you knew Ronan back in the day?” she says, instantly annoying me.

Back in the day? I’m twenty-four. How back in the day could it have been when we dated between the ages of seventeen and twenty?

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