Page 56 of Keeping Ava

“Yes,” she moans out, eyes rolling back when I tilt my hips, changing the angle of my thrust. “I don’t want to wait either.”

“Tonight.” That’s all I say before getting lost in my fiancée’s touch. In her scent. Her love.

Because the next time I take her, she will bear my name.

She will be my wife.

* * *

Ava

Two Year’s Later...

I’m nervous.

Excited.

Scared out of my mind in the best possible way. The room around me is abuzz with people talking and eating, enjoying the fruits of my labor, and still I can’t focus on the task at hand.

I’ve been standing at this counter for twenty minutes now watching the door and waiting. Sure, I give the occasional smile or make small talk with those perusing the display case, but I’m on autopilot, just repeating what flavors are new, the weather, and the latest trends of tourism.

Tourism—something that when you live near water changes with each season. You go from snowbirds to internationals to convention season in the blink of an eye. We get them all, and I’ve come to love each one.

It’s made my eight months in business a challenge, yet fun. My menu changes with them, and I’m known around here for the eclectic yet posh little tastes of heaven my shelves sell out of each day.

“I need three servings of you with extra sugar,” a voice I’m all too familiar with whispers against my neck before placing a kiss there. His strong arms encircle my waist and pick me up, turning me toward his handsome face. “Hi.”

My smile matches his. Cheesy and goofy. “Hello, handsome. Long day?” And like every day Elijah comes in, I find myself lost in those beautiful eyes and the way his broad shoulders feel beneath my fingertips as I smooth his dress shirt.

He’s my hot detective. Mine.

And now I’m going to gladly share him with someone else for the rest of our lives. Someone that will grow and learn and know that they’re loved unconditionally by us.

“Any time away from you is hard.” He punctuates this by subtly pressing his hard length against my back. No one pays us any mind, especially not my staff or the regulars who know I belong completely to this wonderful man. “How are you feeling today? Have you eaten yet?”

“She hasn’t had lunch yet,” Margot, one of my baristas, calls over her shoulder as she walks toward the coffee machine.

“Is that right?”

“Waiting on you,” I say, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.

“Hmmm.” He gives a mock sigh and then I’m airborne, being carried toward my office. “Let’s get you fed.”

“Aren’t we heading in the wrong direction for that?” Looking behind us, I lock eyes with his mother and smile. Outside of Elijah, she’s been my rock in the aftermath of Jason and his obsession. Has become a second mother to me and a confidant—understands without judgement.

She held my hand during the trial and sentencing of my ex best friend and their accomplice. They got a life sentence, and to me, that still isn’t enough. Not after how many lives were destroyed due to their sickness.

She hugged me as I fell a part due to the stress and then celebrated when it was all over.

It’s because of her that I was able to process internally what happened. She’s the reason I wrote that tragedy out in the form of a book that I’ll never publish, but the process was cathartic. I was able to get my emotions and thoughts down on paper. Admit and deal with the survivor’s guilt that still lingers, but I know and accept now that the blame isn’t on me.

I’m a victim. I’m a survivor. I’m alive.

Nodding, she does an excited jump/shake while giving me two thumbs up.

“We’ll use the office delivery service,” Eli grumbles, a little bit of impatience coloring his tone. “Need my woman alone for a bit.” It’s hard to not roll my eyes or smile at his mom when he says that, but I do, and it’s a good thing because within seconds we’re inside my office with the door closed. The last thing I want to do is ruin this surprise. I want him completely caught off guard.

Elijah walks around my desk and sits down with me in his lap. He also doesn’t say anything at the two plates with dome lids already atop them.

---