Without Doubt (3 page)

She doesn’t step away from my close
proximity, but stiffens her stance and narrows her eyes just a bit.
I swallow hard to fight the urge to kiss away the scowl on her
face.

“
I’m going to get to you,
Sunshine, I promise you that. And when I do, you won’t be able to
able to deny me. Not only that, you won’t fucking want to.” I bow
my head closer to her and her eyes close, undoubtedly of their own
accord, and I gently kiss the corner of her eye where her long
eyelashes meet and tangle. I don’t say another word before backing
out the door and heading back to the table.

Everyone looks at me as I sit down but no
one says anything. I’m irritated, that’s for sure, but what Ava
doesn’t know is that she just lit a fire under me. I’m not letting
her win this battle.

Ava

Last night after Declan left me in the break
room, I ate my “nasty” noodles and allowed myself to fantasize
about a future with him. Total fantasy, of course; that’s not a
road I can afford to travel, no matter how hot I am for the guy.
Feeling him so close to me and smelling his cologne had me a bit
dizzy. When I looked up into his eyes, my heartbeat took off and I
almost lost control of my breathing, but I managed to not embarrass
myself… I think.

When I went back out into the bar, his group
was just gathering their things to leave. None of them said
anything to me or even looked my way except for Declan. He looked
over his shoulder just as he was walking out and made eye contact
for just a second before turning his blank expression back around
and walking out the door.

I was more than a little annoyed after
discovering they didn’t even leave a tip. Not even a five was left
on the table. After having to listen to the giggling idiots and
dealing with the girl who couldn’t keep her hands off of Declan,
they should have left me a killer tip…but nothing? It just pissed
me off.

That was last night. Last long night. Now
it’s Friday, typically a busy night, and I’m prepping the bar to
open…exhausted. I didn’t sleep at all, had class all morning and
study group online all afternoon prior to coming here. I’m just
finishing cleaning the tables and resetting them when I hear a
knock on the door.

Drying off my hands, I unlock the deadbolt
before pulling open the heavy door to find a beautiful girl who
looks to be about my age. She doesn’t belong here. She’s dressed in
a pressed, white, long sleeve blouse tucked into black slacks and
pointy black heels. Her long black hair is blowing in the wind and
she smiles brightly at me as I come into her view.

“
I’m sorry, I haven’t
opened yet.” I say kindly, still holding open the heavy
door.

“
Are you Ava?” the
beautiful girl asks, even though I can tell by her bright eyes that
she knows exactly who I am.

“
Yes, I am.” Now she has
me a little nervous. I keep a pretty low profile. If you don’t
frequent Max’s, then you don’t know that I work here. I’m not
ashamed of my job; it’s just not anyone’s business what I do
outside the other areas of my life.

She reaches her hand out to shake mine. “I’m
Macie James, Declan’s sister.”

What is she doing here? Declan said he was
going to get to me—was this his plan? Sending his sister over to
convince me? I snap out of my inner monologue and return her
handshake, inviting her inside.

“
No, thank you. I’m in a
rush. He just asked me to drop something off for you,” she says
with a smile as she reaches into her big handbag and pulls out an
envelope.

“
Oh. Well, thank you,
Macie. It was nice to meet you,” I say, taking the envelope from
her.

She waves goodbye as she walks up to her
little silver convertible Audi. The car definitely suits the
girl.

I open the envelope as soon as I lock the
door, before curiosity can eat me alive. Inside, I find a $100 bill
wrapped in a note.

Ava~

There was a miscommunication between us guys
on who was leaving the tip. We all threw in a little extra in hopes
you won’t stay pissed at us and spit in our beers next Thursday.
Have a great week.

~Dec

I don’t even know what to think. How do I go
about responding to this? I know I shouldn’t accept that ridiculous
tip, but I’m not sure how to return it either. As I finish prepping
for the Friday night crowd, I spend time thinking about this whole
Declan situation, coming to the conclusion that I just can’t decide
whether or not this is part of him “getting to me” or if it really
was just an honest mistake. Nevertheless, it’s a kind gesture and I
can’t help but smile.

The next few hours go by with me daydreaming
about the guy who just stormed into my life and is now not leaving
my mind. I’m annoyed, mostly that I don’t want to do anything about
my annoyance because I totally enjoy the feeling I get every time I
envision Declan so close to my face. I can still smell his minty
breath.

I sweep through the bar, making small talk
as little as possible with my regulars. I’m not interested in
stopping my stalkerish ways of obsessively thinking about Declan.
Declan, whom I’ve only met one time—last night.

My thoughts are interrupted by a tap on the
shoulder. I spin around and am surprised to see Greyden standing in
front of me with a big beautiful smile on his face.

“
Hey, Greyden, you do know
it’s Friday, right?” I say teasingly. “Don’t you guys only come in
on Thursdays?”

He chuckles and switches a brown bag from
his right hand to his left. “Yes, Ava, I know what day it is. I
have a delivery for you. Not sure when I turned into a damn
delivery boy, but here ya go,” he says gruffly, extending the large
brown bag towards me.

“
I didn’t order anything,”
I protest, eyeing the bag with a confused glance.

“
No, you didn’t. And I’ve
gotta go, so take this from me,” Greyden says with another happy
smile on his face.

I don’t know what he’s playing at, but I
have to admit that I’m intrigued. I take the bag from him and smell
an intoxicating aroma that makes my stomach instantly want to
devour whatever is inside.

“
Hey, Greyden!” I call out
just before he reaches the door and spins around quickly to make
eye contact. “Thanks for the tip from last night. But just so you
know, I would never spit in your guys’ beers. It was just too much
money, so next Thursday, first round is on me.”

He looks at me like I have two heads and it
confuses me, but he doesn’t say anything. Greyden eventually gets a
knowing smile on his face and just shakes his head. “Have a good
weekend, Ava,” he says before walking out the door and leaving me
confused and curious.

I walk towards the back just as Max comes
out to relieve me for my break. Setting the bag on the table, I
look inside and can’t help but laugh.

Ava~

You said going to dinner was considered a
date,

But having dinner delivered, you did not
mention.

Please eat it in substitute for your nasty
noodles; it’ll make me feel better.

Have a good night, Sunshine.

~Declan

I pull out chicken and
broccoli penne pasta with Alfredo sauce, a green salad and garlic
bread, placing everything on the table.
Are you kidding me?

“
Whoa Ava, celebrating
something tonight?” Dustin laughs as he enters the break room.
“What happened to your noodles?” He pulls up a seat next to me and
grabs a piece of bread. He’s really a hot guy in addition to being
a great friend. His brown hair needs a good cutting, but it’s
styled to not look styled and it works for him. He’s tall and lean
just like his mom; the opposite of his dad.

“
I honestly don’t
understand everyone’s issue with the dang noodles! They’re good and
they’re an easy dinner for when I’m at work,” I complain as I
finish removing the lids from the different tin pans.

“
Everyone?” he asks with a
curious eyebrow arched.

“
Your whole family and
Declan.” I say Declan’s name without thought at first, but halfway
through it begins to fade out as I realize it would have been a lot
less trouble to just leave his name off the list.

“
Declan James? Is that
where this food came from?” He looks a little pissed, so I just nod
my head a couple times. “Ava, I thought I told you to stay away
from him?” Dustin sounds like he’s scolding a child for not
listening; I hate when he talks to me that way.

“
You did and I did. Or I
am, I guess. He came back here last night and asked me to dinner; I
told him no. He was disgusted by my noodles and then had his friend
deliver this food to me tonight. End of story,” I say dismissively
as I dig into the food, which is as delicious as it
smells.

“
Wait,” Dustin says as he
looks intently at my face while I chew.

With anybody else, this kind of scrutiny
would make me uncomfortable, but I’ve known Dustin for such a long
time he may as well be my brother. So I continue to enjoy myself,
slurping up the superior noodles.

“
He asked you to dinner?
Like a date?”

“
Yup,” I answer around a
mouthful of bread.

“
And you told him no then
he left?” Dustin looks like he’s really considering everything I’m
saying to him as if this is a life or death matter; it’s not, not
at all.

“
Sort of. I told him no
and he wanted to discuss it.” I laugh a little at the memory of his
face. He was trying to be controlled but I could see that it
definitely took great concentration to discuss the matter without
telling me all of his feelings on the situation. Yet another reason
to like Declan James.

“
Ava, I’ll admit that it’s
interesting that he’s actually making an effort for a date, because
that’s not his style.” Dustin pauses and scowls when I narrow my
eyes at him. “I mean, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s
you
he decided to make
an effort for, but my opinion still stands. Your life, the way it
is, does not need to have him thrown into the mix. He doesn’t know
about Harper, right?”

“
No,” I grit out through
my teeth, “he does not and will not, Dustin. Nothing is going to
happen between us, so there’s no need to mention Harper.
Understand?” For so many reasons, my blood is boiling. I’m pissed.
I’m upset at the cards I’ve been dealt and the fact that even if
there was another way, I wouldn’t choose it.

“
Yeah, I understand, Ava,”
he says desolately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, really.
Life sucks and you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. I
wouldn’t be able to just sit back and watch him hurt you.” He
stands and kisses me on the forehead before walking out to the
bar.

Not having the stomach to eat anymore, I
pack all the food away and stuff it into the refrigerator. Tonight
is going to suck. Chances are sleep won’t find me yet again.

Declan

A last minute fight landed me in New Jersey
Thursday afternoon. I missed my Thursday night beer at Max’s that I
had been looking forward to all week long but the fight went well.
I was able to hang out at my aunt’s Hamptons’ house with the guys
and my cousins for a couple days, which was cool, but I hated that
Ava wouldn’t leave my mind. All day and all night she resided front
and center of all my thoughts. It didn’t help when my cousin,
Talon, asked me about having a girl. Since Ava was already present
in my thoughts, his question just drove me a little crazier. I
didn’t have her phone number and I was pretty sure calling Max’s
would be considered stalking, so I ixnayed that idea real quick. I
had already sent two people to her as a form of communication so I
thought a third or a random call would be no good. Unfortunately.
Any other girl I would do what I wanted, damn the consequences.
Then again, any other girl wouldn’t have me considering calling her
work just so I could check on her.

Greyden, Luca and Keegan hounded me
relentlessly over my “obsession” with Ava. I wouldn’t call it an
obsession—infatuation maybe—I’m not obsessed. Regardless, if one of
them hadn’t said something douchebaggy within the hour, someone
else picked up the slack before the sixtieth minute hit the clock.
Good times.

We are just arriving back in San Jose and
all of us are shuffling out to the airport parking lot where my
sister should be waiting for us. It’s been about 45 minutes since
the last bout of laughter at my expense, so I know another dig is
coming soon.

“
Dude, I keep forgetting
to ask you about something,” Greyden asks seriously, causing me to
check my watch—he’s right on time.

I shake my head before responding. “I’m
done, Greyden, we’re back in Cali, it’s somebody else’s turn now.”
I try to pick up speed as I spot Macie in my parents’ Escalade, but
they all catch up to me, laughing. I swing open the back door and
start hurling our bags in, jumping into the front seat as the guys
pile in the back.

“
Hey, guys! How was your
trip?” Macie asks with clear amusement on her face.

The guys continue to laugh and I continue to
ignore them.

“
Seriously, Dec,” Greyden
clears his throat, trying to gain control, “I dropped off that bag
to Ava and she said something interesting. I didn’t get it at
first, but I think I may have pieced together her cryptic
message.”

Dammit.
I didn’t count on Ava talking about the tip I
sent her.