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“David, seriously I’m not sure what you can say to me. You’ve created drama where there shouldn’t be any. You made Ava upset, and that upsets me. I’m also aware that you have been bad mouthing me.”
“Can you just talk to me in the hall? I prefer not to have this discussion around other ears.”
“I’m going to humor you because you’re Ava’s family.”
He followed David out of the room and down the hall to an upholstered bench. He sat down and waited to hear what he had to say.
“Ava loves me; I know she does. Just because she accepted your proposal doesn’t mean, she lacks feelings for me.”
“You’re delusional. What would give you the notion that she loves you?”
He leaned in close to Xander.
“Because she kissed me yesterday. Did she tell you that? I told her to kiss me, and she did. When you walked in and I said everything was fine, we had just finished.”
Xander turned crimson. He kept his composure, but he started to feel his anger rising. He had once told her she was morally bankrupt and maybe she still was.
“I don’t think so, and what’s more I don’t want to continue this conversation. This is Sam and Robert’s day.”
He stood up and walked down the hall back to the reception. He tried to process the information he was just given. Though he knew he should wait, he needed to question her. He frowned at Ava as he took his seat.
“Where were you?”
“Do you care?”
“Xander, what’s wrong?”
His answer was cut short as they announced the entrance of the bride and groom. As the music played and they had their first dance, Ava felt a lump in her throat. Everything was going great, and now Xander was angry with her for what, she had no idea. She suspected it had everything to do with David since she saw him walk out the door with Xander following.
As the music continued and other couples joined on the dance floor, they were left alone at the table.
“I want to know why you’re angry at me? I don’t want to spend the whole reception wondering.”
“Why did you kiss David and not tell me.”
Ava’s face became ashen, and she looked down at her hands as she knotted her fingers together.
“I didn’t kiss him; he kissed me.”
“I am having a hard time believing you.”
She looked at him incredulously. “If I always need to explain myself then maybe we shouldn’t be engaged. You still don’t trust me, do you?” She didn’t wait for an answer and continued, “Remember what happened with Ashley years ago? How upset were you when I accused you of kissing her?”
He thought back to his old assistant. In the very beginnings of their relationship, his assistant had kissed him. Ava had seen it happen and instead of allowing him to explain, she jumped to a conclusion. He was doing the same thing. He looked up at her, and she was chewing on her cheek. She only did that when she was nervous.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He reached for her right hand and kissed the finger that held her engagement ring.
“I’m so stupid. I should have known he lied.”
“Xander, are you ever going to trust me again?”
“I trust you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
He looked at her and saw the sadness in her eyes. If she wanted to cry, she was doing a poor job hiding it. He needed to put the hurts that they had inflicted on each other aside if they wanted their relationship to work.
The rest of the night went without incident. Ava became cheery again as they danced, ate and circulated the room. She avoided looking at or talking to David. She was going to have a hard time when it came to family events when he was invited. She had made a mistake by sleeping with him, and she couldn’t undo that.
Later in Xander’s bed, the intensity with which he made love to her made any residual anger fade away. After they were done, he curled his body around her, holding her tight against him. In the morning they were in the same position, having barely moved during the night.
