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“Please have a seat, Ava,” Will said, holding a chair for her. As soon as she sat, both men did.
“I’ve been telling Zach about last night. All of it was a miracle. Everything Caroline did—her talking and joining in. She ate a good dinner. She reads well, far better now than she used to. She initiated a game with us, then wanted us to watch a movie with her.”
Zach smiled at Ava. “You really are a miracle for this family. You may get tired of hearing that, but I know how hard Will tried before he found you.”
“I think a lot of credit goes to a little puppy,” Ava said.
The brothers both shook their heads.
“Each one of those things is a miracle—all of them together—this change blows my mind,” Will said, sipping his coffee. He turned to Ava. “We’ve finally gotten letters from Dad’s lawyer that we’ll have a reading of Dad’s will in two weeks. Zach and Ryan will both be here. There won’t be any surprises, unless Adam’s wife gets her hopes up, which she should know better. Dad never liked her after she and Adam began having trouble.”
“I suppose Mom will be there,” Zach said.
“I can’t imagine her missing this. I’ll call her, but she’s on the same list we are.”
“She’ll fly in, hear what she already knows, take us to lunch and go. Heaven knows when we’ll see her again.”
“Think she’ll come see Caroline?” Ava asked.
“She’s not the doting grandmother. I seriously doubt it. The plans now are to read the will at his office.”
“Will, I can’t imagine,” Ava said. “Is Caroline going to miss her when she doesn’t see her?”
“No. They aren’t close—surprise, surprise,” Zach said with a cynical note in his voice. “My brother may not have told you, but marriages in this family have not worked out well.”
“I don’t think Lauren will show. I think our ex-sister-in-law will send her attorney,” Will said with a cold tone in his voice that chilled Ava. “Dad told me he left her the token one dollar so she can’t declare she was forgotten. She won’t come and she won’t want to see Caroline.”
“I still can’t imagine. Such a precious child,” Ava said.
Zach glanced at his watch, finished his coffee and stood. “I have to go. Both of you, stay where you are. Ava, it was great to meet you. Endless thanks to you,” he said, shaking hands once again with her.
As Will left to walk out with Zach, all Ava could think about was the Delaney family—and how glad she was that Caroline had wonderful uncles who cared deeply about her.
Ava had another productive day with Caroline. After lessons ended for the afternoon, she had business to take care of, and when Rosalyn arrived to replace her, she summoned a limo and left the mansion.
It was past six o’clock when she returned, but it wasn’t until after Caroline went to bed that Ava saw her opportunity to talk to Will. She found him in the downstairs family room.
He had changed to jeans and a T-shirt, his legs stretched out comfortably on the sofa.
“You said you wanted to talk. I’ve been curious all evening what this concerns. Come sit here by me. I don’t bite hard,” he added with a faint smile.
She moved to the far end of the sofa and he gave her a mocking look.
“Will, I plan to work with Caroline all summer as we agreed.”
“So where is this going?” he asked, sipping his cold beer.
“That means I will work every weekday with Caroline until six. Then Rosalyn will take over or you’ll be here. Today I leased a condo near here for the rest of the summer.”
His expression didn’t change as he looked at her intently. “Why?”
“I think you can figure why. I’ve told you from the start, I can’t handle an affair. I also have found that I can’t say no to you, so I’m moving where temptation will not be as great. It won’t affect my work with Caroline at all.”
“I don’t want you to go,” he stated, and the words twisted her heart. She wanted to scream at him that she didn’t want to leave, either, but she had to, or else see her heart broken far worse later. “This place is big enough—move into the other wing and we’ll never see each other after six if you want. I’ll take care of your lease.”
“No,” she said, trying to hang on to patience. “I’m not moving to a different part of your house.”
“This will set Caroline back.”
“No, it won’t. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow, and if it seems in any way to upset her, then I’ll rethink my plans. I think I can put it to her so she won’t mind and she’ll never notice. I’ll stay for dinner sometimes if I’m invited, and into early evenings with the two of you, but I’ll have my own place to go to and we will not have a repeat of last night.”
“And that was so terrible?”
“You know it was not,” she said. “That’s the problem. It was wonderful.”
“Ava, damnit,” he said, moving beside her and slipping his hand behind her hair. “You can’t tell me our loving was wonderful and you’re moving to get away from me in the same breath.”
“You’ll break my heart. I can’t deal with a casual affair. Or even a serious one. I’d want marriage. There isn’t a future for us.”
“I’m not asking for a future. Just a day at a time in the here and now.”
“That’s the problem, Will. Can’t you see? I’m not a ‘day at a time’ person. I want it all. I want commitment. I want your love for all time. I can’t give you a day at a time, and I’ve told you as much from the first.” She stood. “Now, in the interest of keeping this a professional relationship from here on, I’ll say good-night.”
He came to his feet to wrap his arms around her.
“Will—”
He kissed away the rest of her words. His hands were everywhere, caressing her back, her bottom, unfastening her slacks and pushing them away.
She pressed lightly against his chest. Continuing to kiss her, his hands went beneath her blouse to cup her breasts and he played over her nipples, stroking her, destroying her rising protests. She couldn’t say no. In seconds, her hands moved over him while she caressed him and he picked her up to carry her to a bedroom, closing the door.
Later, when she lay against him, held tightly in his arms, she ran her fingers through the mat of curls on his chest. “This is exactly why I have the condo.”
“It won’t change things except be more inconvenient sometimes for you,” he predicted. “You’ll see.”
“Will, you’re not listening to what I’m saying.”
“Of course, I am. It’s just ridiculous when this is what you want.”
“Don’t push.”
“This is the best, Ava. The very best,” Will said in husky tones. He pulled her closer and kissed her lightly. Her heart sank. It would be so difficult to move, and in spite of her cheerful front with Will, she hated having to tell Caroline that she was moving.
“I can’t do this, Will. I really can’t.”
“I think you do it supremely well,” he said, nuzzling her neck and she gave up talking to him about it, turning to kiss him instead.
She was still moving, though.
The next afternoon after she was finished with teaching, Ava was stretched on the floor with Caroline as she worked on a puzzle.
“Caroline, I love being here with you and your uncle Will, but I’m going to move into my place nearby.”
Caroline looked up and worry clouded her brown eyes while her brow furrowed. “You’re moving away?”
“I’m moving very close by. I will still be here when you get up in the morning, and I’ll stay until dinner time when Rosalyn comes. Sometimes I’ll spend the evening until you go to bed. I don’t think you’ll notice much difference.”
“I won’t?” she asked.
“No. And then you’ll have a place you can come visit and stay with me all night,” Ava said, the words popping out before she had even thought them over.
“I can stay all night with you?”
“Yes.”
Tears welled up in Caroline’s eyes and she stood, running the few feet to Ava. She threw her arms around Ava and clung tightly. “Don’t go.”
“I’m really not going except late at night and very early in the morning before you’re awake,” Ava said, holding the frail little girl. “Don’t cry, because you won’t notice the difference, and if you do, I promise, I’ll move right back in here.”
“You promise?” Caroline asked, leaning back to look into Ava’s eyes.
Ava pulled out a clean tissue to wipe away Caroline’s tears. Her heart was in knots and she had a lump in her throat. “Absolutely. If you don’t like it, I do promise to move right back here, so don’t cry. If you’re not happy with where I’ve moved, I’ll come back. It will be up to you. You know I’ll be leaving when the summer is over, but if I have this condo, you’ll be able to come visit when you want and I can come visit you every day if you want.”
Caroline studied her intently and then nodded her head. “Will you show me where you’ll live?”
“Yes, I will. You can come this week and help me arrange my things. How’s that?”
Caroline thought for a few long seconds. “I want to do that.”
“All right. I’ll ask your uncle,” Ava replied. “Now a smile.”
Caroline smiled and Ava hugged her again, feeling torn in two.
She had fallen in love with two Delaneys—Will and Caroline. She didn’t want to move away from either of them. She loved them both, and she hurt. As much as she loved them, she couldn’t possibly settle for an affair with no sense of a future. Will would eventually end it. It would be devastating to watch him walk out and later see him going out with someone else.
Ava hugged Caroline lightly again and wiped her eyes swiftly. Caroline scooped up Muffy and returned to where she had been sitting on the floor, with the little brown bear beside her.
When Rosalyn arrived, Ava left, driving to her condo. Silence overwhelmed her in the empty place and she longed to be back at Will’s mansion with Will and Caroline. This empty condo was going to get more empty and lonesome by the day, because she missed them terribly and didn’t want to move away. She leaned against a blank wall and cried. This wasn’t what she wanted in the least.
Two weeks later, on the last Friday in July, Will prepared for the reading of his father’s will, dressing in his charcoal suit with a tailor-made white shirt. As he moved around, his gold cuff links glinted in his French cuffs. His mind should be on the reading, seeing his mother and dealing with Lauren’s lawyer, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Ava.
He hated that she lived elsewhere. She filled most of his waking hours to the point of distraction. She had not shown him her condo yet, and he tried to keep her at his home every night. He had to admit Caroline was doing all right, but that was because Ava stayed until Caroline went to bed a lot of nights.
He knew Ava still kept some things in her suite at his place for Caroline’s benefit.
“Damnit,” he swore while trying to get his tie just right. He missed Ava far more than he had expected to, something that surprised him. They had barely had much intimate time together, hardly what anyone would call an affair. He should not give her moving a thought. Instead, he missed her—more than missed her, he hated having her gone. He had never missed anyone before. Usually, he was all right with the parting, but then he was usually the one who walked out of the relationship. With Ava it was so different. He missed their long talks, the companionship with someone who cared about Caroline and understood Caroline’s problems and her development. Ava seemed as happy as he and his brothers had been over Caroline’s blossoming. And making love with Ava—it had been the best he had ever known.
He gritted his teeth and tried to concentrate on his tie and forget Ava, but he couldn’t. She would not have an affair—which left marriage. Something he had always planned to avoid because of his parents’ marriage and his brother’s. Yet Ava was not materialistic the way Lauren had been, nor was she as socially driven and vain as his mother. Maybe he should not base his own life on his dad’s and his brother’s.
Was he in love enough for a total commitment?
He yanked the tie free to start all over. He saw Ava about half as much as before. They swam with Caroline, ate dinner with her. The difference was he wasn’t alone with Ava. She always had Caroline with her. This was the end of July; in a few short weeks, her job would be over and now, thanks to him, she was financially independent. She would go out of their lives. He needed to talk to her about how that would affect Caroline. And he didn’t want her to leave, either.
Finally dressed and ready, he headed to Caroline’s room. When he stepped inside, Ava sat on the floor with the girl. Ava’s hair was caught behind her head in a clip and she wore a simple sundress and sandals. He ached to go pick her up, carry her back to his room and peel her out of the dress.
Desire burned and he clenched his fist, trying to think of something else. Muffy ran up to greet him and he gave the dog a perfunctory pat. “Good morning,” he said, his voice deeper, with a husky note he couldn’t keep out.
Caroline smiled at him. “We’re playing a game before we read.”
Ava smiled. She looked cool, remote and he wondered if she was happy living away from his place.
“You look very nice,” she said. “Are you on your way to the attorney’s?”
“Yes. Zach and Ryan will come back with me and stay tonight. Garrett will join us for dinner. And Caroline can read for them. If you want to,” he added and she smiled and nodded.
“Good girl.” He walked over to pick her up, swinging her up in his arms and kissing her cheek. “You look very pretty this morning in your pink shirt and shorts. Muffy’s pink collar just matches.”
“Muffy had a bath yesterday and she smells good,” Caroline said.
“Good. I’m not picking up Muffy in my dark suit, though.”
Caroline laughed and he set her down, looking at Ava and meeting her gaze. Desire flared in her green eyes and his heart missed a beat. She was not as cool and remote as she appeared. His pulse speeded. “Will you stay for dinner with us and meet Ryan? He wants to meet you because of your work here.”
“Yes, thank you,” she said.
“Great,” he said. “I’ll leave you two to your fun. I’ll be home with the guys as soon as we can get loose.”
He left, his pulse beating faster. She still responded to him. Moving out hadn’t changed much except to make her less accessible. How could he get her back? And keep her here when summer ended? He wanted her back because he could see desire in her green eyes and she was as responsive as ever to him. She should try an affair—for all either one of them knew, it might lead to a long-term commitment. Affairs didn’t have to be short.
He swore under his breath. Reasonable or not, he wanted her back in his house and in his bed at night. He missed her in too many ways. He missed holding and kissing her. He missed talking to her. He missed her teasing and laughter. Her concern for Caroline.
“Damnit, Ava,” he said in his empty car, “come back home to me.”
At twenty minutes before two, Will reached the attorney’s office. He was greeted by the receptionist and shown to a room where he could wait. In minutes both Zach and Ryan arrived. He shook hands first with Zach and then turned to his youngest brother, whose dark looks most resembled his own.
“It’s good to see you both. The others should arrive anytime now.”
“I saw a limo pulling up as we walked into the building,” Zach said.
“It could be Mom or it could be Lauren,” Ryan added.
“It’s probably Mom,” Will said.
Zach studied Will. “What the hell’s happened to you, Will? Business deal gone sour?”
“Not at all. What are you talking about?”
“You look like hell,” he said, and Ryan laughed.
