Unavoidable Chance (11 page)

“Ava,” he groans in my ear with his own release.

“What was in the ketchup?” I ask panting.

He chuckles at the timing, then places his forehead in the center of my chest. He kisses between my breasts, then looks in my eyes.

“How about if you come to the restaurant tomorrow and I give you a tour? I’ll show you how I make my ketchup.”

“You make your own ketchup, from scratch?” I ask surprised.

“We make pretty much everything from scratch,” he says. He picks me up off his lap and places me in the seat next to him. “And before you can tell me you’re too busy, that answer is unacceptable. You can come to the restaurant for an hour. You’ve been working a lot of hours lately, and you need a break.”

“How do you know I’ve been working a lot of hours?”

He puts a smirk on his face, while he deals with the condom and his pants. He’s not going to give up his source.

“Is it Reagan? I’m going to kill her!” First Gus, then Dave, now Reagan, who’s next?

He leans in and gives me a kiss, backs away, then smiles at me and hands me my clothes. I get dressed and we exit his beast. My briefcase is still sitting by the front tire. Swedish Fish are scattered around on the ground and on his vehicle. He backs me up against the driver side door and kisses me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at ten. I can show you around and show you how to make a few things before the lunch rush.” He takes my hand and the shoulder strap to my briefcase, then walks me to my car. He holds open my Prada top-zip briefcase for me to retrieve my keys. He reaches in and snags the bag of Swedish Fish.

“Hey, I need those!” I object.

“I’ll replace these with something healthier tomorrow at the restaurant,” he promises.

I unlock the car with a groan, he opens the door and holds it open for me and I slip into the seat. I pull out of my spot and head out of the garage. I eye him in the rearview mirror, then it hits me. My Prada bag was on the dirty garage floor and I never gave it a second thought.

Jax

I watch Ava drive away in her little red car. I climb into my vehicle excited knowing I’ll see her again in only a few hours. I pop some Swedish Fish in my mouth and wonder how in the hell can she eat these things. I drive home and enter my house like I do every night. As I enter the kitchen, I see Quinn walking up the stairs. She was waiting up for me again. What the hell is her problem?

I head straight to the basement, knowing my bed and sleep are just not going to happen. I drop and start with pushups. I alternate between standard pushup, one arm pushups, then finally handstand pushups. The next set, I switch up and do the other arm for the one arm pushups. I use pedestals to do the inverted pushups and by the time I’m done, my arms are burning. I head to the weight bench and hit it hard until my entire body is screaming for mercy. I hit the shower, and then climb the stairs. I peek in the girl’s room, and then head to my own where I fall into bed and instantly to sleep.

The next morning, I’m woken by the house phone ringing. I look at the display and see that it’s Scarlett’s parents. I answer on the second ring so it doesn’t wake the rest of the house.

“Good morning, Ruth,” I answer.

“Good morning, Jax. I didn’t wake you, I hope,” she says worried.

“No, I’m up, I was just making the girls breakfast, and then I’m heading into the restaurant early today,” I partially lie.

“Oh, good. Hey Mark and I were wondering if we could have the girls this week and next?” she asks. Every summer since we moved back, Scarlett’s parents get the girls over summer vacation for two weeks. Ruth and Mark spend their summers at their cabin on Lake Stevens. The girls love spending time with their grandparents.

“Yeah, that will work out great. I’ll drive them to you tomorrow. They’ll be excited to hear the news.” It’s about an hour drive to the lake and I usually spend the afternoon with them then leave after dinner.

“Wonderful! Mark and I will hit the grocery store and stock up. See you tomorrow, Jax,” she says, and hangs up.

I peel the covers off and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I rub the heels of my hands in my eyes and mentally tally another day to the growing number of days that Scarlett’s been gone. First, it was single numbers, and then it grew to double digits. The day it grew to a triple digit, I broke down and cried. You can push your problems and sadness temporarily aside. You can go for a run and leave your baggage at your doorstep. But the loss of a loved one is like your shadow; it’s always attached to you. That’s one reason I like to run at night sometimes after a hard workout. By then I’m exhausted and in the dark there is no shadow. I get dressed and head downstairs to make everyone breakfast.

Quinn and the girls are already in the kitchen and she’s made them oatmeal. I head to the coffee pot and instantly think about Ava. I’ve never met someone who loves coffee as much as she does.

After I fill my cup, I turn around, rest my butt against the counter and face the girls. “Girls, Nana and Papa just called asking if they could have you for the next two weeks.” The shrieks and shrills coming from two little girls who are beyond excited to spend time with their grandparents, could shatter eardrums. Both girls ditch their oatmeal and run upstairs to start packing.

“I’ll be up in a little bit to help you guys. We’re not leaving until tomorrow morning, though,” I yell up the stairs.

“You could have at least waited until they finished their breakfast to tell them that,” Quinn snaps.

“You don’t want to go toe-to-toe with me, Quinn,” I warn.

She walks to the sink and drops her bowl inside. Her spoon rattles around in the bowl from the force. “I’m going to stay at a friend’s house for the next two weeks,” she says, and starts to walk away.

“Wait a minute. What friend?” I ask.

“I’m twenty years old Jax, I don’t need to tell you where I’m going or with whom,” she says to the stairs in front of her.

Seriously, if I had the time this morning, I’d rip her a new one. She lives in my house and she does owe me explanations. Instead of getting into it with her, I finish my coffee and head up to the girls’ room to help them pack before they pack everything they own. Maybe Quinn and I spending some time apart from each other will be a good thing.

After I have the girls mostly packed, I give them a kiss and walk by Quinn’s room. She’s sitting on her bed listening to music, thumbing through a magazine. Her eyeballs pop up and instantly roll in the back of her head. When she gets back from her friend’s house, she and I are going to sit down and have a little chat.

I refill my coffee cup and head to the restaurant. Gabrielle arrives minutes after I do. I head to my office while she preps the dining room. I print off today’s lunch and dinner specials, then head out to the dining room and give them to Gabrielle so she can put them in the menu holders. I head into the kitchen to help Parker prep today’s food. I glance at my watch; Ava should be here any minute.

I lose track of time and the next time I look at my watch, it’s eleven and the lunch rush will be starting soon. What the hell? Why didn’t she show up? I walk out to the front to find Gabrielle.

“Did a woman stop by for me? I forgot to tell you I was expecting someone.”

“No, no one stopped in this morning,” Gabrielle answers, looking me in the eyes.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about that now. I need to help Parker finish and then it will be nonstop crazy in here until closing. The weekends are usually a madhouse. And I’ll be taking off all day tomorrow to take the girls to their grandparents, so I need to get as much done today as I can.

As expected, the restaurant was packed, which is great for business, but I really wanted to find out why Ava was a no show. After the restaurant closed, I locked myself in my office to close out everything for today and do everything I can for tomorrow to make it easier for Parker and the rest of the staff. I don’t get home until after one in the morning.

I haul my tired ass downstairs and hit it hard. Showered and drained and barely able to function, I head upstairs and fall into bed. I’m asleep even before I can pull the covers up.

Sunday morning my eyes pop open to the girls standing over me fully dressed and ready to go to Nana and Papa’s.

“We’ve already eaten, can we go now?” they ask in unison.

I glance at the clock and it’s not even six. Today will run on three hours of sleep.

“Give your old man a minute to get up and have at least one cup of coffee, then we can hit the road.”

Squeals and shrills ensue, then they rush down the stairs yelling, “We’ll make you coffee.”

I rush out of bed downstairs before they make a mess in my kitchen. But when I walk in the kitchen, it’s already too late. There is an open box of cereal spilled all over the counter top and on the floor. The milk container is open and still sitting on the counter. Quinn is sitting at the bar top with her laptop, ignoring it all.

“Quinn, what the…” But I don’t finish the sentence. Both sets of the girl’s eyes come to me. Sky takes a breath in ready to repeat and scold me.

I hold up my finger at Sky and stop what I’d really love to scream in Quinn’s face.

I take a deep breath and bend down to Quinn’s level and raise my eyebrows at her. She ignores me, grabs her laptop and heads upstairs.

Chapter 8

Ava

This weekend has been a strange one. Saturday, I was supposed to meet Jax at his restaurant, and I was ecstatic to finally learn what the hell is in that damn ketchup. But when I got there and walked up to the hostess stand, there was a stunning blonde standing there putting menus together. I told her I was supposed to be meeting Jax, and that he was expecting me. She looked surprised and said, “Oh, I’m sorry he isn’t in just yet.”

I was confused and told her, “But that’s his vehicle in the back parking lot.”

Then she said, “Yes, it is, but he left.”

“Did he say when he’d be back?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t say,” she plainly stated.

To say that I was confused and a little hurt would be an understatement. After everything he said and everything we did, I would have thought he’d have at least told her to ask me to wait, or at least leave me a message or something. I wrote my name and cell phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to her. She took it with a disgusted look on her face, then plastered a fake as hell, full of attitude smile on her face. God, I hope I don’t look like that when I plaster a fake smile on my face.

So, I left a little hurt. I headed to my bomb-went-off-in-it-office and spent the remainder of the day organizing it and getting as much as I could done. I knew I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time as I’d like on Sunday because of dinner, so I stayed all day and into the night getting my opening statement just perfect for Monday. I went home not even sure what to do with myself. I went to bed and fell asleep slightly more than a little hurt that Jax didn’t call at all tonight to apologize for blowing me off.

Sunday morning I wake up and make my perfect, just-the-way-I-love-it coffee, and head out onto the balcony. Yesterday, I was able to clean up everything, and I have one killer of an opening statement prepared. I’m going to go into the office in just a little bit and do some additional research, then I’ll head to dinner at my mom’s. After dinner, I have to go to the grocery store. My supply of Pop Tarts is gone, and I need to replace the bag of Swedish Fish Jax stole from me.

As I sip my coffee while still in my pajamas, I curl up in the lounger and enjoy the warm morning sun on my face. I don’t get to enjoy many days like this. I finish my cup and place it in the sink. I still haven’t seen Savvy. On my way back to my room, I slowly and carefully open her door and peek in her room. Her back is turned to me and she’s still sleeping. She must have worked late last night at the bar. I wanted to ask her if she’s coming to dinner tonight with me.

I get in the shower and dress casual for the day. I love being able to go into the office and not have to wear a suit. I still rock a pair of jeans and an off the shoulder short sleeve t-shirt with high heel stilettos. That’s just how I roll. I wave at Gus on my way up, and smile at myself when I walk into a completely organized and clean office. This is exactly how I function, and it just makes my heart happy.

I work through the day, and at four I head out and straight to my mom’s house. When I get there, all of the family is already there. When I walk in the door, I’m hit with pleasant aromas and loud, happy conversations. The second I walk in though, Max’s eyes come to me and he makes a beeline straight to me. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the house and out into the backyard.

“Dude, what the hell?” I ask.

“You didn’t return my texts, or my calls,” he growls.

“I’ve been busy. I was going to find out what you wanted today at dinner. Why, what’s going on?” I ask concerned. I’m not sure if it’s my life I’m concerned about, or the fact that he’s freaking out. Max doesn’t do freaked out. Well, except when he thought he’d lost Chloe, but that’s a totally different story.

“Have you seen Savvy?” he barks.

“Savvy? Yes, I’ve seen her.” Then I think about it for a second. Other than seeing the back of her head in bed this morning, I really haven’t seen her. “Now that I think about it, no, I really haven’t seen her. Why?”

“Well, which is it? Have you seen her or not?” he hisses still holding my arm.

“Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on? And would you kindly let go of me?” I demand.

“She’s been calling off work for the past week and a half. She’s not showing up for work at the bar either, Garry called me worried about her, too. I’m going to put a tail on her if I don’t start getting some answers,” he says, letting go of my arm. He runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I only saw the back of her head this morning. She was asleep in her bed when I left to go into the office. Other than that, no, I really haven’t seen her. I left a note on her door before I left telling her I was coming to dinner tonight, and that I hoped to see her here. I just thought she was working a lot of hours at the bar. She doesn’t get in until late and she goes straight to her room. She’s working two jobs and goes to nursing school full-time; she’s probably just taking a well-needed break from work. You don’t think there’s anything bad going on. Do you?” I ask scared.