Page 26 of The Little Black Rose

I stare at her for a moment, considering the possibility, then shake my head with a sigh. “You’re wrong, Zo. He doesn’t want to be close to me. He wants to be close to the babies.”

“It’s the same thing at this point, isn’t it?” she shoots back, raising one eyebrow.

“Ava,” Sophie says, and my gaze flicks her way. “You should give it a shot. It doesn’t have to be permanent if things go bad. But think about it––what if you discover that youdohave feelings for each other? What if you’re able to tear down each other’s walls and realize you’re meant to be together?”

A small bit of hope trickles through me as I try to picture Zeke and me as a real couple. Two people who love each other, raising children together like a solid, unbreakable family. I quickly squash the idea and push it out of my brain.

“That’s not going to happen. Zeke doesn’t want it, and neither do I. We don’t have to be in a romantic relationship to be a real family.”

“Of course, you don’t,” Sophie says in low tones. “But wouldn’t it be nice if you were?”

“Why are you pushing this?” I ask, feeling my hackles rise.

“Because I want you to be happy,” she says, then glances at Zoey. “We both do.”

I could argue some more, but, honestly, I’m tired of trying to convince them, and myself, that I wouldn’t welcome a possible relationship with Zeke. Hell, they already confirmed they knew I had feelings for him all those years ago. And now this pregnancy only confirms some of those residual feelings still remain. At least, on my end, they do.

“He doesn’t want a relationship with anyone,” I say shaking my head. “He’s made that abundantly clear over the last ten years, or so.”

“He finally admitted to me what happened with Samantha,” Zoey says, and both Sophie and I snap our attention toward her. “I won’t share the details. It’s not my story to tell. But I will say my brother is a stubborn ass who got hurt and doesn’t want to take the chance of feeling that way again. He thinks he can’t trust his feelings or those of any woman. Youcouldprove him wrong, Ava. You could show him how things could be with someone who really cares about him.”

She’s wrong, but I don’t have the energy to correct her, so I pick up my fork and twirl it through my pasta as I think about her words. Maybe I had a crush on Zeke all those years ago, but I’m older now. Maybe not wiser, hence the unplanned pregnancy, but I do know Zeke’s request to move in with me is based on being present for every stage of these babies’ development. He doesn’t want to miss anything, and I totally understand that.

But that doesn’t mean he has feelings for me. Not romantic ones, anyway.

But she and Sophie aren’t completely wrong. If Zeke moves in, we would learn to be more comfortable around each other. We might even become real friends. And a friendship would make co-parenting exponentially easier. Less stressful.

And as these babies grow into little people, they’d see what a real, solid partnership looks like.

I drop my fork and frown. What if this whole thing backfires, and Zeke and I end up truly hating each other? We could royally fuck up these kids.

Shit.I just don’t know what to do.

“I can see your wheels turning,” Sophie says, pulling me from my dark thoughts. “Just go with the flow, Ava. You might be surprised.”

Yeah. Go with the flow.

Easy, right?

Chapter13

Welcome Home, Roomie

Zeke

Me: How’s everything going today? Granny Smith and Red Delicious behaving themselves?

Ava: Please don’t call them that.

Me: How about Gala and Honeycrisp?

Ava: Stop.

Me: McIntosh Fuji Brown-Beckett has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Ava: Zeke.

Me: Fine. But how are Gwen and Reed, really?

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