Ava
Darcy and I go shopping. I’m not really in the mood, but Ray insists that we go have “some girl time,” shooing us out the door and promising to watch Mia for the duration.
The malls are packed, every store overflowing with people. Darcy and I snag a few deals after fighting hordes of sale-crazed shoppers, then—thank God—manage to grab a table at Starbucks and get some coffee. I don’t know about her, but my feet are killing me, even in sneakers.
“That was fun,” Darcy says. “At least I’m done with Christmas gifts for this year.”
“A woman with a plan.” I smile. She doesn’t need to shop Black Friday bargains to be able to afford presents. “And thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being sweet. If I’d stayed home, I would’ve been moping all day.”
Darcy sighs. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t realize Ray asked you to keep it from Lucas. That was…shortsighted.”
“He wants to protect you.”
She nods. “But Lucas has the right. I’m not going to lie and say that if he decides to take her from us, it won’t hurt. It will. Unbearably. But the truth always comes out, and it would have been much worse if he found out later. I much prefer having it out in the open, and then we can make our case for why he should honor the adoption.”
I reach out and take her hand. Darcy is always so levelheaded.
“I hope you make up with him,” she says.
“I… Yeah. I don’t know how.”
“Maybe you two could talk…?”
“I don’t think he’s going to want to hear me out. He was really, really angry.”
“When you went upstairs at Ryder’s house, you didn’t have enough time to tell him everything. Maybe you should, from the beginning. How what he did hurt, how it left you no choice. If he’s the kind of man who deserves your heart, he’ll understand you did the best you could in the situation, Ava.”
I hope so. But she’s right. No matter ho
w nervous the idea makes me, I need to talk to him. I can’t just…give up like this.
My phone rings. Probably Ray calling for us to come back. As lovely as Mia is, she can be a handful to—
“Ava.”
My mouth dries at the sound of Lucas’s voice. I take a quick swallow of my coffee. “Hi.”
“Are you busy today?” There’s no inflection, nothing in his tone to indicate his mood.
“No. Well, it depends on when. I should be free in about three hours.” That should give me enough time to go home and change. I don’t want to see him in these old clothes.
“Then is about five thirty good?”
“Yes. Perfect.”
“I’ll send you a car at four thirty.”
“Okay,” I say, my voice shaky.
He hangs up. No teasing tone, no “I love you”—and I realize how much that hurts.
“Who was that?” Darcy asks, but she already knows.
I meet her eyes, hoping for some kind of sign. “He wants to talk.”