Without Doubt (9 page)

Declan

I was being stubborn when I refused to call
Ava for the last seven days, but it worked, and almost exactly the
way I wanted it to. The only thing that didn’t go as planned was
the time frame. I was hoping she would cave and call me maybe a day
or two later, not seven. I was beginning to think that I was going
to have to come up with a different plan.

At the time, I wanted to kill Jackson for
holding and kissing Ava. I wanted to bring Rachel back into the bar
and let her do her worst to me to show Ava exactly how it felt. I’m
glad I didn’t. Distancing myself from Ava for a week allowed
something to happen that she clearly wasn’t going to let happen
previously; she realized that I meant more to her than she was
aware of. There was no way I could have convinced her that we would
be good together if she didn’t have the time and space to come to
that conclusion on her own. I gave her all of my attention whenever
I wasn’t fighting or training over the last couple of months, built
a great friendship with her (albeit with a few lies on her end),
and I knew that she felt for me what I felt for her. The difference
was that I was ready to explore the next level of our relationship
and she was too scared.

Over the last week, I tried to tell myself
that Harper was maybe her pet. I hate to say it, but I kept
picturing a little dog even though I knew it was her daughter and
that’s why she wouldn’t move forward with me. I’m not naïve enough
to think that dating a girl who has a kid is going to be no big
deal. I’m pretty sure it’s a huge deal, but I’m also certain that I
won’t be able to walk away from her anytime soon. Having a kid in
the picture is just going to change the plans I had for us.

After I leave Ava in my bathroom, I go back
outside to find everyone staring up at me with curiosity written
all over their faces. My sister is the first one to speak up when I
don’t ease their inquisitiveness quickly enough.

“
Where is she?” Macie
asks, sounding a little angry, like all of this has been my fault
and I just did something to make to make it worse. She and my mom
have been telling me since last weekend that I needed to be the one
to call her and when I refused, they would hang up on
me.

I move to sit down at the patio table and
everyone’s eyes follow me. I’ll agree this is pretty big news,
since I haven’t exactly been friendly this last week. They were all
hoping we would ride off into the sunset, or some shit like that,
instead of me reappearing alone.

“
She’s fixing her makeup,”
I say shortly. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

“
Fixing her makeup? Did
you make her cry, Declan?” my mom scolds.

“
I didn’t make her do
anything. I actually didn’t say anything at all when she started
crying,” I tell her nonchalantly as I relax back in my chair and
fold my arms behind my head.

“
But she’s fine now?”
Macie asks, concerned. She’s really taken a liking to Ava, and I
know exactly how she feels.

“
Yes, she’s fine
now.”

Everybody gives a bunch of exasperated “Oh,
thank God” and “Geez, it’s about time” sighs. They thought they had
it bad—they should have tried to put themselves in my shoes.

Just then, I see Ava walk out of the dining
room through the large windows in the family room that look out
onto the back patio.

“
Oh honey, she’s
beautiful,” my mom whispers in her loving motherly
voice.

I walk over to the back door and close it
behind me just as I step inside the family room, and right before
she reaches me. I know that everyone can see us and they’re all
taking advantage of that by watching us closely, but I don’t care.
“Hey, Sunshine, did you meet Bailey?” I ask as I wrap her up in my
arms and hold her.

“
Yes, she’s lovely,
although you should have told me you’re crazy famous and need a
publicist.” She pulls her head back to look me in the eye, her own
eyes twinkling with humor.

“
I’m not crazy famous, but
I have been getting certain requests that I just don’t know how to
deal with, so when Talon told me about Bailey, I figured it
probably wasn’t a bad idea. And are you sure you want to start the
whole ‘you should have told me’ game?” I realize that was low, but
I needed to get it out of the way so we don’t have anything heavy
between us anymore. It worked, since she gave me her loud extremely
happy laugh.

“
I want to kiss you. Can I
just kiss you when I feel like it now?”

God, she’s cute.
I press my lips firmly to hers, still completely
ignoring the fact that we have an audience on the other side of the
glass door. “You can kiss me even when you don’t feel like it,
Sunshine.” I smirk and wink as I reach for her hand.

“
Oh good! I was hoping
that would be allowed,” Ava teases and rolls her eyes.

“
Here we go, Sunshine,
brace yourself.” A quick glance tells me I just made her nervous,
but I’m already stepping outside by the time I notice.

“
Oh shit, Ave!! You look
hot as hell!” Greyden calls.

My free hand clinches with automatic
irritation at his observation to Ava’s new look. And “Ave”? What’s
that all about? I cut my eyes over to him, trying to rein in the
ferocity, but I don’t have to worry about taking care of it on my
own.

“
Watch that mouth,
Greyden!” my mom chastises him as she swats the back of his
head.

“
Sorry, Mrs. James,”
Greyden mumbles, rubbing the back of his head.

Ava’s head snaps towards me as she stands by
my side, still holding my hand. I look down at her and realize
springing my mom on her like this probably wasn’t the best idea
I’ve ever had.

“
Mrs. James?” she asks
quietly, mostly speaking through her teeth and trying to keep a
smile on her face. Her lips are barely moving.

I don’t have the words for her. I don’t know
what to say to make this better because I never even thought of it
being awkward for her. So I give her my best charming smile and a
wink. She takes a deep breath.

“
The reason why I’m
looking like this today,” I whisper. I lean down to kiss just above
her ear; Ava’s eyes close for a brief second as she sucks in a deep
breath that I don’t think has anything to do with my mom being
here. Then I hear my mom gasp.

“
Declan James, you better
tell me that you told her I was here!” My mom raises her voice a
bit, but like always, it’s comical because she’s so tiny that she
just sounds like a pissed off elf.

“
No, ma’am, he sure
didn’t!” Ava replies good-naturedly. After she throws me under the
bus, she lets go of my hand to shake my mom’s. “Hi, I’m Ava. It’s
nice to meet you.”

My mom shakes her head and sighs loudly in
disappointment at me. “Call me Nancy, dear,” she says to Ava as she
pushes her chair back and grabs Ava’s hand to pull her into a
hug.

Ava is tall, I’m not sure how tall, but if I
had to guess, I’d say probably around 5’9” or so. She towers over
my petite mother, but I kinda like seeing the two of them so
friendly with one another. This is a first for me—the first
girlfriend meeting mom moment. Hopefully it’s the last.

* * * * * *

The rest of the evening goes amazingly well.
I had no doubt that my mom would love her. Ava knows no strangers;
it’s one of the things I adore about her. After hanging out for a
couple hours, everyone helps clean up and then heads out. Keegan
and Macie leave first, and then my mom goes home shortly after.
Greyden showers and then he and Luca go out; Bailey goes to bed
fairly early after everybody else leaves.

Now Ava and I are sitting out back by the
pool. She’s cuddled into my side, looking up at the stars, and I
don’t think I’ve ever been so content. I’m a mover, a complete
busybody. It’s the main reason my dad got me into MMA when I was
little. My parents had the idea that if I was properly trained on
ways to release aggression, then maybe I could I use it to get out
some of my energy without wrecking my mom’s orderly house all the
time. It worked, somewhat. But, sitting here relaxing, holding this
amazing girl, I have no desire to even twitch my foot. I’m
completely content.

“
Dec?” Ava whispers as if
she might stir the wildlife hiding on the outskirts of my
yard.

“
Yes?” I whisper back
because it seems appropriate.

“
Your mom doesn’t come
across the type that would force you to be someone you’re not. Why
do you change your appearance when she’s around?”

“
She’s not the type at
all, you’re right. She’s always allowed Macie and me to be whomever
we choose, including how we look. One day she sat me down and she
wanted to talk. That’s not abnormal for her. She likes to have
one-on-one chitchats all the time, and during this particular
chitchat, she explained to me that I could tattoo every inch of my
skin or dress in drag and she would love me all the same, but she
would like for me to see myself through her eyes. I tried, but I’m
a guy and I couldn’t come up with what she wanted.” I chuckle a
little at the memory of my mom throwing her tiny hands up and
telling me to forget it!

Ava laughs too. “Declan, are you
serious?”

“
Yeah. I didn’t know where
she was going with it, so I told her to just spit out what she
wanted from me.”

“
Your poor mom,” she says,
shaking her head and grinning.

“
Anyway, she said that
when she was pregnant with me she envisioned who I would become and
what I would be like. She pictured raising a respectable surgeon
like my father, a well-groomed preppy young man, not a tattooed,
pierced, baggy pants-wearing fighter. So she kindly requested that
I play the part, just for dinners with her. No piercings, proper
clothing and combed hair.”

“
So you play the part,”
Ava says, stretching languorously against me.

“
Yeah, I mean, I guess.
It’s just another side of me now that I’ve been doing it for so
long. I don’t feel like it’s a role or anything. It’s something
that makes her happy and it doesn’t bother me at all. She never
says anything when I see her unplanned and I just look like me.
It’s not even a discussion; never has been.”

“
That’s sweet of you. I
really like her, Dec. Once I was old enough to be self-sufficient,
I didn’t have that motherly figure anymore. You can see the love
that your mom has not just you and Macie, but for the guys too. I
don’t think she could change that if she tried.” Ava takes in a
shaky breath before continuing. “How do you think she’ll feel about
me after she finds out about Harper?”

I will never understand how Ava’s mind
works. She is single-handedly the most selfless, amazing, loveable
woman I have ever come across and she doesn’t see it.

“
Sunshine, she’s going to
love you even more than she does right now. You have a heart the
size of Texas and she’ll know it the second she understands who you
are exactly. I know you need to keep Harper’s story discreet for
her protection in the future, but I think it’s important for my
family to know you and to know you is to know about
Harper.”

“
Ok,” is all she says. Or
whispers; she still hasn’t raised her voice above a
whisper.

We continue to lie there under the stars and
I let my mind wander to a place it’s never entertained…a
future…with a female. A smokin’ hot, irritatingly responsible,
courageous, beautiful female. My Ava.

I can’t stop thinking about her sitting at
the table earlier with all the people that mean everything to me,
with the exception of my father. I can’t wait for her to meet him;
he’s going to absolutely adore her. I’ve never allowed my thoughts
to go down the path of a future with any of the girls that I’ve
“dated.” Now, looking back, I know exactly why; they were all
superficial. They were a good time, and that’s about it. Ava, on
the other hand, is the whole package. Her body is built to
perfection and her face is that of an angel, but those aren’t even
the best parts.

“
Can you stay with me
tonight?” I ask, feeling her snuggle a little closer and rub her
face against my chest.

She breathes deeply before letting out a
little hum. Did she just fall asleep?

“
You awake, Sunshine?” I
can’t hide the amusement in my voice. I’ve never seen anyone fall
asleep so quickly.

“
Mmm hmm,” she mumbles.
“What did you ask?”

I can’t stop the stupid smile on my face
from the contentment of knowing she’s comfortable enough with me to
fall asleep. “I asked if you can stay here with me tonight.”

She looks up, trying to blink away her
confusion. Her hair has fallen down to stray into her face; I brush
it off her cheek and push it behind her ear. Ava reaches up and
kisses me softly.

Looking in my eyes, she seems to be
pondering something. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asks.
“We’ve really only been ‘together’ about three hours. That doesn’t
make me look very good,” she says with a sheepish smile.

I pull her over onto my lap so she’s
straddling me and take her face in both my hands. I can’t ignore
the way my body feels with the weight of her on me. Incredibly
sexy. Impossibly perfect. She runs her hands up my arms to rub over
my head and grips the back of my neck. I pull her face to mine and
kiss her sweet lips. I press my tongue to her lips and she
automatically opens for me. I glide against her in practiced
measure and am rewarded with a small moan of pleasure from my
girl.