Perfect Truth (3 page)

“And I don’t appreciate that every single Harrison woman is here except Ava. Is she not a Harrison? She is my wife after all.” He points to me and I step closer to him, his hand reaching for my own. Alex’s fingers enclose around mine, giving me a little squeeze, assuring me he’s got this.

“Oh dear, my mistake. I completely forgot about her,“ she states. I expect her eyes to meet mine but she doesn’t even acknowledge me.
Why am I surprised?

He lets out a harsh laugh causing my body to tense. “Mistake? It was a mistake? I don’t think so. This was quite intentional, Mother. You have never treated her as a member of this family.”

“My love, this is completely a misunderstanding. Of course I know Ava is your wife.” She purses her lips and turns, giving me a coy smile.

“Not only is she my wife, but she is the mother of my unborn child. Have you no respect for me at all?” He drops my hand and wraps his arm around my waist, uniting us.

“Alexandre.” She moves her hand toward him but he swats it away with his free hand.

“No, not this time. I’m sick and tired of the way you continually dismiss her.”

“I’m sorry for my misstep, but accidents do happen, dear. I’m only human.”

I want to laugh out loud because I know she doesn’t have an ounce of remorse.

“You don’t owe me an apology. Ava deserves an apology.” He tightens his grip around me.

“Alexandre, we don’t need to air our dirty laundry to the rest of the family. Please lower your voice.”

“You don’t want them to know how despicable you are? If they only knew your little secrets…” His mouth turns upward into a sly smile.

“Secrets? What exactly are you implying?”

“Oh come on, Mother. No reason to play coy with us. We know.” He smirks and I love him for it.

Her face pales. “And what exactly is it that you think you know, Alexandre?”

“Ava is an avid reader, Mother. I wonder how your “ladies who lunch” would feel about a book suggestion from her?”

Lenore’s face grows even paler, completely ashen. As I watch her reaction, I’m brought back to the words I’ve read, words that stand the chance of ruining this woman.

She treated me like a puppet, tried to keep me at her beck and call. Expected me to help bring her money, to lure in potential donors, using my looks and name.  As I drink my three thousand dollar bottle of Louis XIII, I smile to myself. I will bring down the ice queen. I will have the last laugh.

“Oh, what? You thought we wouldn’t find out? You thought that your little liaison would go unnoticed? That we wouldn’t put two and two together?”

“This is hardly something I wish to discuss in front of
her
.”

“She is my wife
.
She is the mother of my unborn child, and you will respect
her
. I am done with your behavior. This changes now.” The tremble in his voice was unmistakable.

I felt the feather-light stroke of his hand across my abdomen. I knew this was taking every ounce of his strength to stand up for me and I had never felt more love for him than at this moment.

“Enough, Alex. I don’t need her approval, and I don’t need her pity invitations.” I turn to Lenore, my eyes peering into hers. “You know where we stand now. If you want any part of this baby’s life, you will respect your son. I couldn’t care less about you, but this,” I gesture back and forth between us, “this hurts Alex, and he matters to me.”

“I—” Lenore starts to say, but I lift my hand in the air, stopping her. She flinches at my movement and then turns without a backward glance.

WE STOP BRIEFLY
on our way out of the apartment in his father’s library so Alex can sign the papers then hurry out. Once outside, Alex exhales.

“That went well.” He chuckles, running his hand through his hair.

I stop walking and he turns to look at me. “Thank you, Alex,” I say, lightly squeezing his hand.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For standing up for me. For standing up for our baby. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. So thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me. You two…” He places a soft hand on the curve of my belly, his voice cracking ever so slightly. “You guys are my everything. You are the last thought before I go to bed at night, and the first when I wake. You guys are the reason I breathe. You are my calm, my peace.”

The afternoon sunlight beams down on us as Alex pulls me tightly against him, his fingers skimming my jaw. His eyes crinkle, the light making them sparkle a majestic emerald green. “I love you.”

Lifting up on my tip toes, I place a delicate kiss on his lips. “I love you, too.”

T-MINUS TEN WEEKS
until D-day and I feel like I’m the size of a walking fucking house. Alex says I’m adorable but what the hell does he know? I have my own zip code. He laughs and says I’m all belly.
No shit, Sherlock.
I’m five foot two inches. Where else would it go? I swear I might tip over at any second.

I breathe out a huge exhale.
Calm down, Ava.
This is just the hormones speaking. The doctor said it’s completely normal.

Breathe.

Inhale.

Exhale.

This has become my regular routine. Apparently, one of the lovely side effects of being pregnant was mood swings. I am quite pleasant to be around…

Said no one ever.

So not only am I a house, but I’m also bat shit crazy.

God, it’s hot outside.
Okay not really, that’s my “hormones” again. It’s not even that warm yet. I can’t even imagine how hot it will be on D-day. Like a raging inferno. Great, just my luck. I’m starting to drive myself nuts with my incessant inner monologue.

Although the city isn’t sweltering, and the distance is only a few blocks, I still arrive at the café a bit breathless. When I step inside the air-conditioned room, I scan the space to looking for Alex and—

I stop dead in my tracks.

I’ve imagined this moment so many times over the last year. What I would do if I saw him. What I would say. But now that he’s here, all I can do is stare like a deer in headlights. His side profile is all I can see, but then his back begins to turn and I know the moment of collision is rapidly headed toward me.

And...

Crash.

There he is, Ryder Matthews. His crystal blue eyes lock on mine from across the room and his eyes widen but he rights himself quickly, blinking rapidly.

Then he smirks.

He’s taking long strides to approach me and I’m looking for an escape route…

No.

I won’t run.

I’m not the girl I was last time.

I have grown. Healed. Nothing he can say can alter that. Nothing he can say with make me falter.

As he approaches, his gaze moves down my face then slides like the reptile that he is lower and lower. His forehead furrows and a line pinches between his brows. A tremor runs through me and I protectively run my hands down my belly, protecting us from a predator.

His eyes bore into mine as he descends. “Ava.”

My muscles tense at the familiar sound of his voice, the sound causing bile to form in my mouth. The way his name slips from my mouth feels like venom.

“Ryder.”

I despise this man. I feel sorry for this man.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Curiosity keeps me grounded in place.

“You look as lovely as ever, Ava.” His voice is silky smooth, a smirk forming on his lips as his eyes gleam at me. This is a game to him, an addiction. Alluring one minute, lashing out the next. But this time, I won’t wait to be slain. I won’t be his perfect victim. I won’t allow the monster to appear.

I straighten my back and flash him my most perfect smile. He won’t win this round. “Thank you.”

My eyebrow arches as I clench my teeth. I want to rip his head off, but instead, I rise above and with my perfectly manicured hands I purposely rub my belly, showing him the pre–push diamond ring Alex had given me.

“Alex takes very good care of me.” I’m anxious as I speak. Afraid that my voice will give away my disdain, I force myself to smile even brighter. To beam up at him as if I was seeing a long lost friend.
A long lost friend, whose neck I want to slit.

He lifts an eyebrow as he observes me, trying to understand my behavior and that’s when I realize this is not what he expected when he crossed the room. He expected a wounded animal and my actions have him completely dumbfounded. This notion only strengthens my resolve.

His pupils are huge, his nostrils flaring slightly. “I’ve missed you, Ava. You’ve been hiding.” His brows rise suggestively. “We really shouldn’t go so long without a visit. My life isn’t the same without you.” His husky voice holds a challenge.

“So are you having lunch here? Or just a drink?” I ask and his mouth curves into a smile. He enjoys the cat and mouse game and my aloofness is pleasing him.

“Why, yes.”

His eyes scan the room until they find the destination they are looking for and I see her. Danielle. She’s looking down at her cocktail when her chin turns up and her eyes meet mine. They darken and become hard. I can’t bear the sight of her, but I will never let her see that. Lifting my hand, I give her a little wave and I can see her sudden intake of breath, obviously not expecting my action. She walks toward us and the silence that stretches out is unbearable. Anger ripples through me as I wait.

“To what do we owe this honor?” her curt voice lashes out. I feel my temper rising in response but I silently count to ten to calm myself.

“No need to be so rude to Ava, Dani. Doesn’t she look lovely?”

She shoots him a cold look, her eyes conveying the fury she has for his compliment toward me. “She looks large,” she responds and I can’t help but laugh. A fact that only minutes ago was making me angry was now causing me to laugh. I’m happy and they can never hurt me again. That’s my power and their weakness and I can’t help but revel in it.

“I am, aren’t I? But boy, am I happy.” I wink causing the color to drain from her face.

She shakes her head, trying to right herself as she thrust her left hand in my face. “We’re getting married,” she seethes.

My gaze turns to Ryder and he squirms a little. He looks like a trapped bird in a cage. I wonder what she has on him to bring about this type of commitment. I know he doesn’t love her. He’s not capable of love.
It must be huge.
That revelation makes my mouth turn up even further.

“That’s so wonderful. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. It’s been a pleasure seeing you.” I move to walk away but, before I go, I turn back to Ryder. My eyes pierce his one final time. “Ryder, thank you.”

His eyebrow rises in question. “Thank you for what?” he asks as I lean in close to them so only they can hear my words.

“Thank you for screwing me.” My eyes dart to Danielle’s before adding, “Literally.” I can see her gasp and my mouth curves into a smile. I focus my attention back on Ryder. “And thank you for hurting me. You gave me one hell of a story to publish. Oh, and Ryder? My novel was phenomenal, by the way." I wink before turning my back and walking away, swinging my big pregnant ass, hopeful to never see them again.

I locate Alex sitting at a table watching me intently. When I reach him, I lean over and touch my lips to his. Pulling away, he kisses the tip of my nose.

“Are you okay, Ava?”

“Everything is perfect.”
And
it is
.

Despite all the pain Ryder Matthews has caused me, my life is pretty damn
perfect
.