Page 28 of Accidentally Checked By My Brother's Best Friend

“Yeah, Aunt Ava,” I tease, raising a brow. “Are you coming?”

Ava’s brows lift before she gives me a smile that makes my heart stutter. That stuttering heart immediately slams to a halt when I remember I need to tell David and Scarlett that Ava and I are in a ‘relationship.’

“Didyoujustsayyou’re a couple?” David’s hands stop mid-air as he grabs a chicken breast from the plate in front of him, his mouth nearly hitting the table.

“Yay!” Scarlett cheers. David narrows his eyes at his daughter. She sends him an innocent look. “What? I think it’s great. My favorite aunt and uncle are finally together.”

“We’repretendingto be together, Scarlett,” Ava says calmly. She takes the serving dish from David and looks from his eyes to the serving fork and back. He plates the chicken breast and hands the serving fork to her. Plating a chicken breast for herself, she puts the dish with the chicken back in the middle of the table and picks up the salad bowl. “Just until this whole thing with Nathan gets under control.”

Scarlett puts on her special ‘That’s not cool’ face, and I can’t help but smirk.

“Wait, what?” David asks, beyond confused, if the look on his face means anything.

Ava and I share a glance, and I nod my head toward her, letting her know to take the lead.

Ava tells David what happened today—starting with both of our agents suggesting that we take advantage of the gossip surrounding the two of us from last night’s game, and Nathan showing up at my house unhinged.

“You’re okay with this, Dunc?” David turns his gaze to me, his eyes full of concern. We’ve never talked about my feelings for Ava but I am pretty sure he knew how I felt.

“After what I saw today, yes.” I lift a shoulder to my ear. He stares at me hard, like he’s trying to find answers to questions he’d rather be asking in private. He’s not the only one asking those questions. I am, too. But the one thing I’m sure of is that helping Ava is the right thing to do.

As if seeing what he wanted, he nods, looks at Ava, and then back at me. “So what do Scarlett and I need to do?”

“Don’t act surprised when we do ‘couple’ things,” Ava responds, an adorable hint of pink staining her cheeks.

“Like kiss?” Scarlett asks, a bit too excitedly. All of us whip our heads in her direction.

I narrow my eyes at her, and she gives me an impish grin. I bite the inside of my lip to keep from grinning at her. I swear, this niece of mine is too much.

“What? You and Mom used to kiss all the time,” she says, pointing her fork at David and then back and forth between Ava and me. “Why wouldn’t they?”

Heat creeps up my neck as her words sink in, and I swallow hard. Glancing at Ava, I find her looking down at her plate and pushing her food around.

With all the thoughts I had about saying yes to this ‘fake dating’, I didn’t think about the kissing aspect. In fact, I’ve been doing everything in my power tonotthink about kissing Ava. Which of course,isn’tworking.

As if feeling my eyes on her, Ava's gaze lifts to mine, and my gut clenches.

“You’re right, Scarlett,” I say, not breaking eye contact with the woman across from me. “Couples kiss.”

Ava’s eyes darken and I can see her swallow hard.

“Just like in the movies,” she says before glancing at Scarlett. “And what do I say about movies and kisses?”

“That they’re fake.” Scarlett’s shoulders droop, and her excited smile falls.

“Exactly,” Ava says, not meeting my gaze. “Uncle Duncan and I are playing a part. You need to remember that, okay?”

Scarlett looks at Ava and then back to me. “Uncle Duncan, you aren’t an actor. How will you feel about fake kissing?”

My eyes pop open at her question, and my mouth goes dry.

“Okay, that’s enough questions, Scarlett,” David says, pushing his chair back and getting up from the table. “Time to get ready for bed. Grab your plate and put it in the sink, please.”

David gives me one last glance before he heads to the kitchen. Ava picks up her plate and the salad bowl, following David and Scarlett.

“Scarlett, do you want help getting ready for bed?” Ava asks. “I can braid your hair for you.”

“Yes, please!” The brightest smile crosses Scarlett’s face as she skips toward Ava.

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