“Not a word.” He raises a hand to stop her.
Her face is scarlet, a small vein in her forehead ticking visibly, but she shuts up. Cedric turns to me and Lucas. “I’m terribly sorry for the offense. I’m sure Elle didn’t mean anything by it.”
I pat Lucas’s forearm. “Of course. Everyone makes mistakes. It’d probably be better, though, if we didn’t run into each other so much.”
She stiffens, but Cedric smiles, all decorous and proper. “It does seem as though that would be for the best. We’ll try to avoid such encounters in the future.”
“Excellent. You’ll hear from Rachel later this month,” Lucas says, then leads me away.
After a couple of steps, I can’t help but look back. Elle and Cedric are arguing. Well, “arguing” isn’t quite the right word. It’s more like him leaning in, clearly furious at her, and Elle looking like she’s about to cry.
I feel slightly bad about the whole thing, but glad that it’ll mean an end to our unpleasant confrontations, especially if we’re going to be in the same city and move around in the same social circles.
“Seen enough?” Lucas says.
Flushing, I turn away. “Yes.” I clear my throat. “How did you know?”
“I could see both of you from our table. I knew something was up from the way you were holding yourself.”
“I’m that transparent, huh?”
He squeezes my hand. “Nobody has the right to upset you—no one. You’re mine, Ava, my top priority. You’re up here”—he stretches his arm way above his head—“and everyone else is here.” He drops his arm.
Suddenly, I can’t help myself. I’ve never been anybody’s most important priority or felt like I truly belonged to someone the way I do with Lucas. I give him a tight hug. “But why did Cedric back off like that? It was amazing…like you had a string tied to his tongue or something.”
“More like his wallet.” He presses his lips to the top of my head. “Cedric’s a lawyer, and Elliot and I are responsible for a big chunk of his firm’s billables.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
* * *
Lucas
I have the limo take Ava, her parents and Mia to the apartment, and then I return to Blake’s penthouse. My oldest brother hasn’t been around since our brunch with Elizabeth. If I could be certain he wasn’t coming back for a while, I’d move Ava in here.
Although her parents are fantastic cock-blockers, I am glad that Ray seems to be softening a bit. He was pretty hostile—without being overtly rude—at Ava’s apartment at first. Not that I blame the guy. If some shithead made my daughter cry the way I did Ava, I’d hire a hit man.
My belly full of good food, I lie on the couch and put the phone on my stomach. I’m hoping she’ll text me once her parents are settled in. I offered to put them up in a hotel—which would be more comfortable than Ava’s small apartment—but they categorically refused. The only reason I managed to pay for dinner was by slipping my credit card to the server before anybody noticed.
My phone buzzes, and I grab it instantly. But the message isn’t from Ava.
Got a small problem, Ryder writes.
I frown. Don’t tell me you’re canceling. Darcy’s dying to meet Ryder. Every woman in the world loves a movie star, and Ryder’s one of the hottest leading men at the moment.
No. Lemme call you.
A second later, my phone rings. “What’s going on?”
“My idiot assistant screwed up,” Ryder says.
“I thought Paige quit.”
“Not her! She would’ve never messed up like this.”
“Okay, so what did she do?”
“He.”