Page 95 of Passenger Princess

"Really?"

"You always look perfect to me, Princess." That makes her big blue eyes roll, and I smile. Her hand lifts, the nail of her finger pressing into where I never really noticed I had a dimple, but Ava loves to point it out.

"You're so annoying," she says with a sigh.

"They're going to love you."

White teeth come out to bite her bottom lip while her hand plays with the collar of my shirt. "But what if they don't?"

"They will."

"But what if?—"

"Then they aren't the good people I thought they were. But I'm telling you, Ava, they're good people."

She lets out a long breath. "I'm nervous," she finally admits.

"No need to be," I say, leaning down and pressing my lips to her gently. "You're perfect, Ava. they're going to love you."

"This feels..." She looks around like she's nervous to say whatever she's about to say. "This feels real."

"Good. It is."

Another roll of her eyes, and my lips tip up in a smile once more as she shakes her head.

"You know what I mean. It feels...it feels like we're a normal couple, even if it's just for a night. Like we're going on a date to meet the people who are essentially your parents."

I'd told Ava how my parents didn't approve of my choice not to go to college, instead choosing to start working for Five Star out of high school. As soon as I was out of the house, they packed everything up and moved to Florida. If you were to ask me, I would say they never really wanted kids to begin with, the typical boomers who had a child because it was the “next step.” When I didn’t hit all of their big ideals for what a son would be, they stopped putting in the effort, and I’m not one to push a relationship either, so it mostly justfizzled out.

Over the years, Hank had not only become a mentor to me, but he and his wife became parental figures in a way. If something interesting happened in my life, it would be them I called first. While I see my family once or twice a year, it's nothing near the closeness or comfort I have with Hank and Janine. I even spend holidays with them if I’m not on an assignment, but my lifestyle means that, until now, having no real roots to hold me down was a good thing.

"We are," I say. Shifting, I move to sit on the couch, forcing her to straddle me as I do before putting my hands on either side of her face. "Ava. I cannot wait for this tour to be over so I can take you out and show you off everywhere we go. So I can make every man in a ten-mile radius jealous that you're mine. This, us? This is real. We're real. No matter how tonight goes—and Ava, Iknowit's going to go well—we are real, and we will stay the same. Do you understand?"

She stares at me in that way only Ava ever does, reading my face for untruths only she can find before she nods with a smile. "Okay, Jaime. I trust you."

And even though I fucking love it every time she trusts me with something, this time feels the most important.

"Ava," Janine, Hank's wife, says, holding her arm out to Ava as if they're long-lost friends and pulling her in for a hug. “I've heard so many great things about you!"

We barely pulled into the driveway when Janine came running our way, completely ignoring me and making a beeline for Ava. When she pulls back, Ava's cheeks are red, and her smile is nervous.

"Oh, my goodness, you're more gorgeous in person. Isn't she gorgeous, Hank?" Janine asks, turning to her husband, who puts a hand out to me, pulling me into a hug and clapping me on the back.

"Not going to comment on the beauty of Jaime's girl while he's right here, honey."

"Oh, stop it," Janine says, looking at her husband and hooking her arm through Ava's and leading us inside.

"Did you warn her how Janine is?" Hank asks, resting his hand on my shoulder as we follow behind them.

"I probably should have," I say under my breath.

"We're in for a long night," Hank says with a laugh as we follow the women into the kitchen, Janine chatting away at a hundred miles a minute. I'd never realized it, but Janine is a lot like Ava, so I should have known the two would instantly hit it off.

"Well, you know Hank and I met because he wasmybodyguard, right?" Janine tells Ava after she sets a plate in front of her an hour later.

Ava's mouth drops open, and she turns to me, slapping me on the arm.

"No, I didnotknow that. In fact, he spent almost the entire time we were on tour together telling me just how unprofessional it would be if we were together."

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