Without Doubt (12 page)

Ava sits down on my lap once we reach the
living room. She cups my face and kisses me softly on the lips.
“Today was amazing. Thank you.”

“
Thank you for letting me
meet her. I know that’s a big deal for you and I appreciate you
trusting me enough.” I kiss her again before rearranging her on my
lap so she’s lying down across the couch with her head on my lap.
“She really is great, Ava. Coolest kid I’ve met, that’s for
sure.”

“
So it really doesn’t
freak you out then?”

“
Really doesn’t freak me
out.”

Ava

We’re on our way to Las Vegas. Declan hired
a full time nanny, which was totally unnecessary, but he disagreed.
He told me that he wants someone available that we can rely on
consistently, because Marla isn’t available all of the time. He
researched all night after meeting Harper and set up several
interviews for the following day. I had class in the morning but
when I got home he met me there and was prepared for the interviews
with files on each candidate.

It was the last girl we met with that had an
instant connection with all three of us, so he hired her and put
her on a nice little salary to be at our beck and call. She was
around Monday through Friday for the last four weeks getting to
know Harper and us. She went everywhere with us for those 35 days
and I felt much more comfortable leaving her for the weekend. I did
ask Marla to be around just in case, but I may have accidentally
forgotten to mention that to Declan.

“
You did book me my own
room, right, Dec?” Macie asks as we drive through the desert,
literally the desert.

We’ve been on a long, straight road for what
seems like forever. The road has dirt and tumble weeds on either
side of it, the occasional billboard advertising Vegas shows and
rare sightings of rest stops or a mom and pop restaurant.

“
Actually, I didn’t. I
just got a double queen room for you and Greyden.”

“
Declan! You promised me
you would get me my own room! I’m not staying in a room with him.
He’s going to be having sluts come in at all hours of the night,
and what if I found a guy I want to hook up with huh? What am I
supposed to do? Go to his room?”

“
NO!” Me, Greyden and
Declan all yell at her.

“
Macie, don’t say stupid
shit like that,” Greyden says, patting her knee and giving her a
friendly smile. “I’ll get another room if I find a
girl.”

“
They’re all booked,” I
remind him, not really wanting to burst his bubble.

“
Well, then I’ll figure
something else out,” Greyden says as Declan’s phone starts
ringing.

Declan reaches down to the console and
tenses before silencing it. I grab it from him as he tries to
protest, but I’m way too damn curious to not look at what he’s
hiding from me.

I unlock the screen and go
to the call log.
Rachel
. Rachel called him. Why is Rachel calling him? Right before
I turn to ask him that very question a text comes
through.

Rachel-
Please call me when you get back from LV. I need
to talk to you.

This time I do look over at him and see him
watching from the corner of one eye. “Why is she calling you?” I
ask in an eerily calm voice, a voice that is completely masking the
inner mayhem I’m experiencing.

“
I don’t know. I didn’t
answer,” he replies skeptically.

I hand him the phone and he takes it, but
before I release my death grip on it I tell him to call her
back.

“
I’m not calling her, Ava,
you can forget about it,” he dismisses me as he looks back to the
road.

“
Um, yes you are,” I grit
sternly through my teeth, “and how the hell does she know you’re
going to Vegas?” I’m swiftly losing my mask of calm.

“
Sunshine,
everyone
knows
we’re
going to Vegas.
Don’t be mad, I don’t talk to her,” he says in a soothing voice as
he rubs my bare thigh gently.

Greyden and Macie sit quietly in the back
seat, obviously embarrassed to have witnessed this whole
discussion. I should probably feel bad about the way I just
reacted, but I don’t. I’m new at this relationship stuff and it
pissed me off, so I thought it best to confront it.

“
Ava, did you tell Mace
about Harper’s latest joke?”

I’m still trying to get over being pissed,
so I just shake my head no. Declan sighs before glancing to the
back seat to make sure they’re paying attention.

“
Ok, so why was the boy a
bonk head?” He waits a beat before continuing when they obviously
aren’t going to answer that ridiculous question/joke. “Because him
bonked his head on the door!” Declan finishes, laughing
wholeheartedly.

His enthusiasm for Harper makes me smile.
Apparently while our friendship had taken its one week break,
Declan had confided in Greyden about the fact that it was possible
that I had a kid. He said that it was Greyden that convinced him
that it wouldn’t matter if I had an alien, there was no way
possible he would be able to walk away from me. I am forever in
debt to Grey. Then slowly, over the next couple of days, after he
and I had made up and I had met his mom, he told Keegan and Luca in
the way guys typically talk about that kind of thing. He and I told
Macie over lunch one day; she cried and begged to meet her,
promising to treat her as her own and be the best auntie in the
world. Then Declan told his parents at the last family dinner that
I didn’t go to. I guess it didn’t go nearly as smoothly as he had
anticipated. They, of course, were very concerned about all of the
possible drama it could bring into his life. It would be a big deal
if he chose to date a single mother who actually birthed her child
and didn’t have a birth father out there anywhere. Instead, here I
am, a single mother with sole custody rights, with not only a
flighty birth mother out there somewhere but also a birth father
who has no idea he has a kid. What happens if he finds out about
Harper?

Declan was irritated with their concern. He
wanted them to welcome us with open arms, no questions asked. After
meeting his mom, I wouldn’t expect anything less. They have valid
questions and concerns, concerns that I deal with on a daily basis
and had considered for Declan before I agreed to date him. Well,
dating him was inevitable, there was no stopping it by either of
us, but those questions, concerns and possibilities are what
delayed the inevitable.

“
That is the worst joke I
have ever heard, dude.” Greyden sounds completely disappointed and
I kind of want to laugh at that—was he expecting a good joke from a
three year old? But my amusement passes as my heart melts over
Macie’s reaction to Harper’s silly little toddler joke.

“
Oh my gosh! How cute!
Shut up, Greyden. Please can I meet her when we get
back?”

“
Yeah, I think we’re going
to have family dinner at my place on Sunday and have the guys over
too. You still game for that, Sunshine?”

“
Yeah, that sounds like a
good plan.” I don’t want to lose this; I don’t want to lose him.
I’ve never felt this much happiness at once and it freaks me out
that I could lose it all, that Harper and I can lose it all. Declan
reaches back over and grasps my hand, giving me his heart-stopping
smile.

Our discussions lighten up and we talk about
anything and everything for the rest of the drive. We sing along to
the music on Greyden’s iPod and Macie and I dance in our seats like
we’re the greatest rock stars to ever live. We laugh hard at stupid
stuff and my heart swells at the opportunity to act like a 23 year
old. Soon enough, we pull up to the Paris Hotel and I am in awe.
I’ve never stayed in anything even close to this nice. The circular
drive and the large columns in front of the gold outlined glass
doors are breathtaking. I just gawk. My door is opened and a young
very good-looking valet attendant extends his hand to help me out
of the car.

“
Good evening, Miss,” he
says politely as I straighten my cramped legs. He has perfect white
teeth that are showcased in his dazzling smile. He releases his
hold on my hand only to place it on my back and guide me to the
sidewalk off of the circular drive. I kind of think this may be
inappropriate, but like I said, I’ve never stayed anywhere this
fancy before. Maybe this is protocol or something?

“
Ava, come here,” Declan
says sternly from the trunk of the car where he’s instructing
another attendant on what needs to be taken inside.

My heart plummets; this apparently is not
typical of the valet attendants. The good-looking blond man quickly
drops his hand from my back and I walk briskly to Declan’s
side.

“
Two minutes. We have been
here for two minutes Ava, and you already have guys after you.”
He’s talking in a hushed tone but I can tell he’s really bothered
by this.

I notice Greyden and Macie talking over by
the entrance and I’m curious their take on Declan’s reaction to the
valet attendant touching me. Is it normal for him to flip so
quickly that way, or is that just a reaction with me?

“
He was just walking me
off the road, Dec, you’re being dramatic,” I say as glance over to
the poor guy I left behind over by the sidewalk. He’s keeping his
eyes busy with something in his hands.

Declan takes a deep, calming breath before
handing attendant number two a tip then grabbing my hand. “This is
hardly a road, Ava. Just stay by my side until we get up to the
room so I don’t break that guys’ hands for touching you.”

I really need to learn all of his quirks
already so we can avoid these instances. He’s being possessive, not
dramatic. I grab his face and kiss him deeply before offering,
“Okay.”

His strong hands go automatically to my
waist and hold me firmly as he joins in on my passionate PDA. He
quirks his eyebrows. “Okay? That’s it?” he asks doubtfully.

“
Yes, that’s it. Now can
we please go to our room? I really want to get you alone,” I
whisper in his ear and feel him tense against my body.

He takes a step back and pulls me over to
the young attendant who is waiting for direction. The guy gives him
a tag and tells him our bags will be delivered to our room. I don’t
really understand why we can’t take our own bags to our room, but
this is clearly a different world and so I won’t question it; this
weekend I’m just going to roll with it.

Once we get inside, it takes my eyes a
second to adjust because it’s a dim room with neon lights
everywhere. It’s a lot colder than it is outside, too, and the
smoke-filled air is suffocating. “The air isn’t nearly as bad here
as it is in the older casinos. You won’t notice it too much soon
enough.” Declan says to me as we walk over to the registration
desk.

We step into a large, all white marble room
with several huge gold and crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. I
stay very close to Declan’s side, my hand still in his, but I can’t
keep my eyes from inspecting everything. We pass a very long line
of eclectic people that leads to several receptionists behind an
extremely long white marble counter that extends the length of the
room.

As we reach the end of the line, Declan
pulls me into his arms and against his body so I wrap my arms
around his waist. “Thank you for bringing me,” I whisper into his
chest. “This place is incredible.”

“
You’re welcome. You
haven’t seen anything yet. You’re going to love the room.” His
words skim the top of my head, which is resting against his warm
chest.

It was a really long car ride and I’m very
tired, but his hard body is doing things to my own traitorous body.
Maybe I don’t want to take a nap after all. “Have you stayed here
before?” I ask him quietly.

“
Yeah, we usually stay
here when we come. It’s Mom’s favorite and it’s in a good location,
within walking distance to just about everything.”

“
Excuse me, Mr. James?” I
hear a man ask from behind me.

I break away from Dec’s chest and turn
around, but Declan pulls me back into his chest, only facing out
this time. In front of us is a good looking man in a suit and tie
who looks to be in his early forties.

“
Declan,” he corrects.
I’ve learned that he refuses to be a “Mr.,” especially when
referred to it by folks older than him. “What can I do for you,
man?” Declan responds in a cool and casual manner.

The guy turns total fan girl on him. His
smile kicks up about ten notches and he shakes his head in
disbelief as he reaches out his hand to Dec. “I’m sorry to
interrupt you, Declan. I’m a huge fan. You actually fought my boy a
few years back in San Francisco and I’ve been following your career
since.”

“
Thank you. I remember
that tournament. It was the only one I’ve done in San Fran, what’s
your son’s name?”

“
Zach Ryan.” I can see the
amount of pride pouring from this father as he says his sons name
to the famous Declan James.

I hate fighting. I hate Declan’s career. But
I will admit, this is a very cool moment. I feel Declan’s chest
rise and fall behind me as he chuckles at a memory.

“
I definitely remember
fighting Zach Ryan,” he says, more that politely. “He was good,
almost had me. I haven’t heard anything from him since, though.
How’s he doing? Still into MMA?”

The man gives a sad smile and again shakes
his head a little. “No, that was his last fight, actually. He got
into a car accident and did some damage to his brain so they
recommended that he not return.”