Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“No, of course not.” He didn’t realize he’d been glaring, but it was mainly at Brick for disobeying him.
Would you have preferred Ava to carry the baking dishes on her own?
No, he wouldn’t have, so being pissed at Brick wasn’t going to help.
Ava reached out for Umberto, and Smokey released his son. He watched as Ava pressed her face against his head and then kissed him. “I missed you. How was he today?”
“Perfectly fine,” Smokey said. “Barely a peep out of him. Until he crapped himself and then he let the whole club know that daddy was cleaning shitty diapers.”
Ava chuckled. “Oh my, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. He’s my son, and he’s a joy to have.”
“Ava brought cinnamon rolls,” Brick said, calling out to everyone.
Like a stampede, he saw the guys rushing toward the kitchen. Brick had already taken two large rolls and was currently stuffing them in his mouth.
“I hope I made enough.”
“Probably not, they’re like vultures.”
“Can I come inside, or would you like me to leave?” Ava asked.
Smokey wanted her to come to his office, to sit with him, but any work he had could wait until tomorrow.
“Come on, let’s head out. There’s no reason to see them looking like animals.” Smokey opened the main door, and he saw Ava’s shoulders slump.
“Sure, you’re right. Let’s head home. I’m going to be cooking some dinner. Yes, I am. I’m feeling a little tired, so I think some pasta with tomato sauce, what do you think?” She continued to talk in a baby voice as they got to her car.
Smokey took Umberto and secured him in the car seat.
Ava was always worried when they traveled, so she took the seat beside their son, and Smokey climbed behind the wheel.
“Do you think you’re going to get some decorations for the clubhouse?” Ava asked.
“I don’t know. I had to throw the last ones away because they were burnt and covered in alcohol.”
“Oh, how did that happen?”
“The guys thought it would be funny to have a food fight at the clubhouse while the decorations were still hanging.”
Ava chuckled. “You don’t sound very impressed.”
“Trust me, I wasn’t. It pissed me off.”
“From what I heard, that’s not hard to do.”
He looked at Ava in the mirror, and she winked at him and had this huge smile on her face.
How could he have thought for even a second that she was guilty? Ava had proven time and time again that she was loyal. She hadn’t deserved what he did. He was a fucking monster, and he sure as shit didn’t deserve her now.
****
Smokey didn’t fuck her anymore. Not that she was complaining or anything, even though it sounded like it, but he didn’t. No, he always refused to.
They made love all the time, and Ava loved it. He was an expert in making love. In fucking, in being together, but he never went too far. He was always careful with her. The sex was amazing, but she knew deep down he was holding himself back.
Again, just another reason to be a little more annoyed.
Smokey treated her like fine china. She wasn’t going to break so easily if he just had a little fun with her.
Ava rolled out of bed without waking him and made her way down toward Umberto’s room. Her son was fast asleep. He was a good kid. She loved him so much, but she checked the time and saw it was a little after five. She wasn’t going to break her son’s routine or patterns.
Ava walked down toward her kitchen and grabbed the coffee pot, getting it ready with the beans and then putting it to work.
It wouldn’t be long before Smokey woke up. Years of waking up early had gotten her into a routine where she was alert by five most mornings, if not sooner. Only when she was sick did she sleep in late.
With the coffee pot on, Ava checked her fridge. She needed to head to the grocery store soon. She grabbed a pen and started to make her shopping list, which also included a few items that would get her ready for Christmas.
She loved Christmas.
Her previous partner had hated it, and they had often fought over it. He’d always told her that Christmas was an excuse for her to get even fatter than before. That all she did was eat, and he would describe her as a cow in a field of grass.
Shoving those memories to the back of her mind, she reminded herself that he was an asshole, which was why she’d divorced him. Once she had left him, she had promised herself that her Christmases would be filled with joy and friendship. They had never invited friends around because he’d told her how embarrassed he was for anyone to see her.
“Stop it, Ava. Stop it.” She didn’t need to remember that kind of crap. It was all negative and all in the past.