Page 17 of I Can't Help It

I don’t hear the rest of her question though.

I can’t hear the rest of her question.

I’m too busy gawking at Ava, who’s rolling a suitcase toward the front door. Seriously, if I were a cartoon character, I’d be the one with heart eyes popping out of my head because I don’t have enough self-control to keep myself from drinking her in.

Those cutoff jean shorts she’s wearing with that golden-tan jacket and plain white top underneath are almost too much to handle, and I remind myself to breathe—just in case my lungs haven’t been doing their job while I’m unraveling at the sight of her.

Dang, and I thought those wide-leg pants from the other day were bad.

Ava wearing shorts is next-level stuff.

How do I come back from this??

Like a scene from a movie, time stands still as those dangerous eyes land on me and the corner of her mouth tilts up in slow motion. “Hey.”

“Hi,” I manage to say, even though it sounds like I haven’t hit puberty yet. I clear my throat to hopefully fix that. “Good morning.”

It’s a miracle! He doesn’t sound like an eleven-year-old boy anymore!

“Good morning,” Ava echoes, her voice laced with amusement.

And then we just kind of stare at each other.

Snap out of it! You literally saw her at work yesterday!

Did I? That feels like a lifetime ago.

“Well, you two should probably get going before there’s more morning traffic.”

I almost gasp at the sound of Katherine’s voice.

Crap. How could I forget all about her? She’s literally been here this whole entire freaking time! There goes my good impression. Now I’ll be known as the guy who had no decency and ogled her niece right in front of her like some kind of scoundrel.

Okay, maybe “scoundrel” is a bit extreme, but I needed to emphasize my point.

“Yeah, I just need to slip on a pair of shoes really quick,” Ava says, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

She disappears down a hallway, and I brace myself for one heck of a lecture. But it doesn’t happen. Instead, Katherine jumps up from her chair and gives me an apologetic look. “Excuse me for just a moment, honey.”

While she scurries off after Ava, I decide to get her suitcase inside the car. I need to do something productive. Otherwise, I’ll just be sitting here and thinking about those shorts.

And the way her legs looked in those shorts.

Freaking amazing. That’s exactly how her legs looked.

Yet another noteworthy attribute of hers…

So, I roll her suitcase outside and pop it into the trunk with my own luggage.

“Sorry,” Ava apologizes, strolling up next to me, “my aunt just wanted to talk to me before I left.” She tilts her head to the side. “You didn’t have to get my suitcase.”

“I didn’t mind. I wanted to.” I rub the back of my neck, trying to ignore how close we are to each other. It’s only a matter of time before her usual fruity smell messes with my head. “Um, did you have anything else you’re bringing?”

She nods to the purse hanging on her shoulder. “Just this. I usually try not to overpack.”

“Same here.” I reach up to close the hatch. “The more I pack, the more chances I have to lose stuff, and that’s just too stressful for me.”

Unfortunately, saying that makes me think of Wy and his terrible habit of under-packing. Is Ava thinking about the same thing? They didn’t really travel a lot together, but I know they took at least one or two weekend trips while they were still dating.

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