Blown Away (17 page)

Brent looked at
her, trying to remember if those big, brown eyes and flawless olive
skin ever made him feel anything comparable to what he felt when he
looked at Ava.
Never
. “I wanted you to be happy too. I was
trying to make you happy, but I guess I wasn’t enough.”

“Sleeping with
him again was a mistake. It never should have happened. But when we
got into that fight, I went to Eli to talk.” Her voice broke. “One
glass of wine led to another and before we knew it--”

“I don’t need
to hear the details,” he said, stepping back. “It doesn’t matter
anymore.”

“It matters to
me.”

“Why? Because
I’m all those things I vowed I would be one day? I finally have
enough money to make you happy, so you’re back and claiming that
you made the biggest mistake of your life betraying me?” He rolled
his eyes. “Sorry, I’m not buying it.”

“Why do you
assume your money is the only reason a woman could love you?”

Brent didn’t
want to believe his success had anything to do with what he and Ava
shared. He wanted to believe she saw the man beneath the expensive
suits and custom jewelry. The guy who loved her. “I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”
She ran her hand down his arm. “But there’s so much more to you.
There always was.”

“Why did you
come here today? Tucker probably didn’t know about our connection,
but when he gave you the address, and presumably my name, why
didn’t you tell him you couldn’t work with me?”

“Because I want
to work with you.” She reached under her arm and withdrew drawings
from her leather portfolio. “This is the house you dreamed about.
No way could another architect capture this.” He was stunned by her
rendering. She was right. It was exactly what he wanted. “No other
architect could possibly understand you the way I do. What you
want, what you’re trying to build here.” She gestured to the land
around them. “I know how much this means to you.”

He couldn’t
deny they’d spent countless hours talking about his vision, and
she’d portrayed it exactly as he described. “I need some time.”

She rolled up
the drawings and handed them to him with a business card. “Take
these. Study them and let me know what you think. I’ll be waiting
to hear from you.”

***

Ava threw her
office door open, gaining some small measure of satisfaction when
it bounced off the doorstop. She didn’t hesitate at the
receptionist’s desk as she headed toward her friend’s office.

Oreo bounded up
from her spot in the sun, wagging her tail when she saw her
mistress. “Hello, baby,” Ava cooed, rubbing noses with her furry
friend.

“I think she
likes me better,” Tara said, barely looking up from her computer.
“I give her cookies when she stays with me and not the organic
garbage you feed her.”

Tara had taken
Oreo home last night because Ava was out for the evening. Ava hated
leaving her home alone, and Tara loved the little dog almost as
much as Ava did.

“Okay, what’s
got you so worked up?” Tara asked before saving and closing the
file she’d been working on. She twisted in her swivel chair to face
Ava. “I can tell something’s bothering you.”

“He lied to
me!” She held Oreo close when the little dog whimpered. “Can you
believe that?”

“Who are we
talking about and what did he lie to you about?”

“Brent. He told
me he’d never been married or engaged. I don’t know why I didn’t
think to just Google the guy. Stupid me for thinking I could trust
him to tell me the truth.”

“He’s been
married?” Tara’s mouth fell open. “Are you sure?”

“Not married.
Engaged. I met her today.” Ava sighed. “You should see her, Tara.
She’s every girlfriend’s worst nightmare.”

“Is that what
you are now, his girlfriend?”

“I don’t know
what the hell I am.”

Tara gave her
sympathetic smile. “I’ve known you a long time, hon. I witnessed
your little infatuation with him in college, remember?”

Ava winced over
her juvenile self trying to catch a glimpse of him in the campus
coffee shop. She wasn’t interested in dating during college because
no one could compare to him. Damn him for messing with her mind. “I
got over him once. I’ll get over him again.”

She stroked
Oreo, wishing it didn’t hurt so much to think about moving on
without him. She’d allowed herself to hope. That was her biggest
mistake. Men like Brent were ruthless opportunists who trampled
people to get what they wanted. She was just another casualty.

“Why don’t you
take the rest of the day off?” Tara said. “Go to the spa. Get a
mani/pedi, maybe even a massage. Trust me, you’ll feel like a new
woman.”

As enticing as
that sounded, Ava had to catch up on the work she’d missed. “You
don’t have to worry about taking that client meeting for me. I’ll
take care of it.”

“Maybe you
should talk to him, give him a chance to explain why he didn’t tell
you he was engaged.”

“I’m not
interested--” Before Ava could finish, the front door slammed and
Brent’s voice drifted down the hall. Her assistant put up a good
fight, but he was determined. She didn’t stand a chance. Ava set
Oreo down on the chair with a sigh. “I better go and rescue her.
Can you keep an eye on Oreo while I deal with him?”

“My pleasure.”
Tara winked. “Go get him, girl.”

Ava stormed
down the hall, ready to throttle him. “This is a place of
business,” she said through clenched teeth. “Kindly keep your voice
down.”

He shot one
last parting glare at her assistant before ushering Ava down the
hall toward the offices. “We need to talk.”

She narrowed
her eyes when he closed her office door behind him. “I need to
work. You need to leave.”

“I know you’re
upset I didn’t tell you about… Jasmine. I’m sorry, I should have.
It just didn’t seem like the right time to get into it.”

Ava claimed the
seat behind her desk to put a barrier between them. “You’re not
obligated to tell me anything about your past. We had sex. End of
story.”

He fisted his
hands on the opposite side of her desk and leaned in. “Don’t do
that. Don’t act as if what we shared meant nothing. And it’s not
over. I won’t let it be over.”

“She still has
feelings for you.” Ava tried to pretend she was focusing on her
computer screen. “Anyone can see that.” Ava had no desire to get
caught up in a love triangle with
that
woman.

“I don’t care
how she feels about me.” He rounded the desk and knelt down in
front of Ava. “I care about how you feel. Tell me this hasn’t
changed anything, baby.” When she said nothing, he sighed. “I
haven’t seen or thought about her in years. You’ve got to believe
me.”

She looked at
his handsome face, wishing he wasn’t so compelling. “How can you
just forget about someone you were engaged to?”

“Asking her to
marry me was a mistake. I know that now. She did me a favor by
cheating on me.”

“She cheated on
you?” Ava couldn’t deny she was shocked. What woman in her right
mind would cheat on a man like Brent?

“Yeah, with her
ex.” He shrugged. “It was a blow at the time, but--”

“That’s why
you’re so paranoid about women cheating on you, isn’t it?” She slid
her chair back so he couldn’t touch her. “It’s not all about your
mother. Your issues have everything to do with Jasmine.”

“That’s not
true. I--”

“Don’t insult
my intelligence.” Ava wasn’t angry he’d been engaged. He was
entitled to a past, but the fact that he didn’t trust her enough to
be honest was something she couldn’t ignore. Honesty was a deal
breaker. If she couldn’t trust him, she couldn’t let herself fall
in love with him. The little voice in her head told her it was too
late. She’d already taken that leap.

Brent lowered
his head, looking angry, frustrated, and just a little desperate.
“I admit it stung when she cheated on me. I’d planned a life with
that woman. I thought I loved her.” He stood when Ava got up and
crossed the office to get a bottle of water. “I was wrong.”

“It’s easy to
say
you never loved her,” Ava said, twisting the cap off the
bottle and bringing it to her lips. She wasn’t thirsty, but she
needed to put some distance between them. “But I know what I saw.
There’s still something between you two.”

“No, there
isn’t!” Brent raked his hands through his hair. “Damn it, I don’t
care about her. It’s you I want.”

Ava wanted to
believe him, but she couldn’t trust her heart. She needed time to
process everything before making a decision she might regret. “You
need to go. I have a meeting to prepare for.”

“Ava…” He
stepped forward, running his hands over her hair before resting
them on her cheeks. “Don’t do this. Don’t let this ruin our chance
at a future. We could be great together, I know we could.”

“I need time to
think. Please, just don’t push.”

His hands fell
to his sides. “Do you know how hard it is for me to sit back and do
nothing? Knowing that you’re questioning everything is killing me.
I want to prove to you that you can trust me and what I feel for
you, but I can’t do that if you won’t give me a chance.”

“I need to sort
this out on my own, Brent.”

Ava knew he
could be persuasive with gifts and grand gestures, nothing would be
out of the realm of possibility, but she couldn’t be swayed by
that. He lived to conquer obstacles. The unknown variable was how
he would feel once he’d won her over. Would she be another Jasmine,
relegated to the back of his mind, someone he thought he’d loved
once upon a time?

“About
tonight…”

“I can’t go
with you, I’m sorry. I have that meeting.”

The muscle in
his jaw flexed. “I thought you said Tara could handle that.”

“That was
before.” She reached for the door handle. “I’ll talk to you
later.”

“When?”

“When I’ve had
a chance to think and to figure out where we go from here.”

He kissed her
softly. “I love you, Ava. Think about that.”

***

Ava was shocked
when she walked out to the reception area to meet her client. He
was striking. He had cropped dark hair and dark skin, he was tall
with an athletic build, but his mesmerizing green eyes were what
caught her off guard. “You must be Eli,” she said, offering her
hand and trying to put her professional mask back in place.

“I am.”

He grinned a
bright white smile that made her heart go pitter-patter.
Wow.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” They’d
corresponded by email and voice mail several times to arrange the
meeting, but Ava hadn’t had the time to look him up. “So, you’re a
friend of Aiden’s?”

“Teammate and
friend, yeah.” He smiled. “I was playing in New Jersey, but I just
got traded. Being back in my hometown is kind of weird.” He
chuckled. “I’m still trying to get used to being around my family
again.”

“You don’t get
along with your family?” she asked, holding a clipboard against her
body like a shield.

“I do, but
they’re on me all the time about getting married and having a
family.” He winked. “That’s where you come in.”

Ava sat on the
edge of her assistant’s desk, grateful they were alone. “So Aiden
suggested you give me a call?”

“Uh, yeah.”

He didn’t seem
certain, but Ava decided to let it go. She had a lot of high
profile clients--professional athletes, musicians, and successful
business people--and all were a little apprehensive in the
beginning. “Okay, well why don’t you fill this out and then we can
get started.”

“Okay,” he
said, accepting the clipboard. “I’m really looking forward to this,
Ava.”

She smiled,
hoping to reassure him. “Me too.”

Ava occupied
herself in her office while she waited for Eli to complete the
intake questionnaire. Part of her questioned why a man who looked
like that and earned a good living had trouble finding a woman, but
she’d been in the business long enough to know those often made
figuring out who was interested in them for the right reasons
difficult.

Eli tapped on
her door.

“Come in,” she
said, standing to greet him. She took the clipboard and gestured to
one of the chairs across from her desk.

Oreo jumped up
on his leg as soon he sat down. Eli grinned and scratched the
little dog’s chin. He obviously liked animals, a point in his favor
as far as Ava was concerned. “So, Aiden tells me you’re seeing
Brent Armstrong. What’s that like?” he asked.

Aiden was Ava’s
over-protective uncle, and he had an opinion about all the men she
dated, which was why she hadn’t told him about Brent. She wasn’t
surprised he knew. Nick and Aiden were close. He’d probably told
him about Brent after their beer together at Jimmy’s.

“I’ve… uh…
known Brent a long time.” She smiled, trying to pretend she was
unaffected. “Since college, in fact. He’s a nice guy, but we’re
just getting to know each other again. We’ll see where it goes.”
She didn’t feel comfortable discussing her personal life with a
client, but because of Eli’s connection to Aiden, she felt she owed
him a polite answer.

“Is that
right?” he asked, leaning forward. “What was he like in college?
Intense, I bet. He seems so driven.”

Ava was
confused by his curiosity, but she didn’t let it show. If she was
going to date someone as high profile as Brent, she had to get used
to questions. “He was… is… intense, that’s for sure.” Anxious to
get the meeting back on track, Ava turned her attention to the
clipboard on her desk. “So tell me about you, Eli.”

“Well, there’s
not much to tell,” he said, lacing his hands in front of him. “I’ve
been playing hockey most of my life. Given the travel, that doesn’t
leave time for much else.”