Page 27 of War

Since when do I find War hot?

I do not find him attractive. No, I hate him.

Only, that’s not entirely true. When I met him, I thought he was hot, but since then, nope, I haven’t given him a second thought.

If only that were the truth. Gah. I’m losing it. It’s the baby thing. Or the dad thing. It’s definitely not ahimthing.

“Ready to bring me up?” Josie asks, clambering out of her chair and saving me from my thoughts.

“Yup.” Standing, I push my chair in gently. Then I check in with Xander, even though I’m still irritated with him. I promised I wouldn’t forget him, and I meant it. “You okay with hanging out for a bit while I tuck her in?”

He pushes back from the table and nods toward the door to the deck. “Can we talk for a minute?”

Josie’s gaze bounces between us. So does Brayden’s.

Dory, bless her, calls Josie over. “What did you ask Santa to bring you?”

I smile at her, appreciating her willingness to buy us a few minutes, even if she’s only doing it for her son, and then slip away with Xander. The icy wind whips around us, blowing my hair into my face and instantly making me shiver. “Everything okay?”

“Why are you acting weird?”

Arms crossed, I tip my head back and glare at him. “What are you talking about?”

“What the hell was that with Tyler? Why did he call you vicious?”

Frowning, I sigh. “I have no idea why Tyler does anything he does. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Oh, believe me, I would love to ask him why he’s flirting with my girlfriend right in front of me, but the better question is, why were you flirting back?”

I swallow. I have no good argument. Though I wasn’t exactly flirting, I certainly wasn’t able to keep my eyes off him.

Fortunately Xander doesn’t seem to expect a response. He just launches into his next rant. “And what was that wholethese kids are enough for mecomment? They aren’t your kids, Ava. Josie isn’t your daughter.”

The words slice through me, cutting so deep I expect to find blood pooling at my feet. The worst part is that I’m not even prepared for them. Normally, I’m ready for the inevitable bad things. I expect them. It’s a defense mechanism built up over years and years. But I truly didn’t see his harsh words coming.

“W-what?”

“My dad’s right, Ave.” He softens his tone, though it does nothing to soothe me. “It’s time we take the next step. Moving in together, marriage, kids. It’s what’s expected of me.”

What’s expected of him? He wants me to have children with him because it’swhat’s expected of him? I’m so dumbfounded by his audacity that all I can do is blink as a wave of rage overwhelms me.

He’s mad because I’m close with Josie. He thinks that because I love her, I’ll eventually want my own kids. But if so, he hasn’t been listening to a thing I’ve said since we met. I couldn’t stop loving Josie if I tried, the moment I met her I was a goner, wanting to be close to her isn’t a choice, but it is a choice not to get pregnant and allow another child into my heart only to suffer another unimaginable loss.

“Go say good night to Josie, and let’s get out of here. It’s getting late, and the guys are meeting up for a drink tonight.”

He just lectured me about settling down, having kids, doing what’s expected, and yet he plans to go out for a drinkwith the guyson Christmas Eve? Make it make sense. I may be too passive in almost every respect, but when it comes to the little girl waiting for me upstairs, I’m surprisingly assertive. “I promised Josie a story. We can go after that.”

With that, I suck in a breath and shuffle inside.

ELEVEN

TYLER

Brooks: Merry Christmas Eve, guys. Love you all.

Aiden: Aw, duck. You’re making me emotional. I love you too, big bro.

Aiden: And you, Tyler Warren, my favorite captain.

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