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He sat down on the couch with his coat still on.
“So you accuse me? Why, because I’m in love with you? I want you Ava, but I would never do such a disgusting thing. If you want me, then you’ll come to me. I’m not going to gather information to use against you. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He got up and left her on the couch pondering what she had done. She had accused her stepbrother of something horrible, and now he was so angry with her. She was making a disaster of all the men in her life. Now she had narrowed it down to two people, Luca and Tim. Luca was dating someone from his office. She barely saw him because he was so busy. Maybe it was Tim. He was a computer geek after all. Could he really have done that to her?
He could and probably would do stuff like that if meant he could get into her life. If she asked him, he was going to deny it. She would have to figure out a way to trap him into telling her. It could also be the reason why he was trying to get up to her apartment. He was probably looking for another way to reinstall the software so he could track her. She wracked her memory trying to think of when he would have done it. When had she left her phone for some period of time where he could have access to it, and she wasn’t paying attention?
Then a thought popped into her head. There was a time several months ago when she went running with him. Her phone had condensation from the Camelbak, and she asked Tim to hold it. He had it in his backpack when he went to use the restroom, and he had been gone for the better part of twenty minutes. Could he have done it then? If so then he knew everything she had done from that time until the software was removed.
He knew all the texts she had sent and who had sent to her as well as what they contained. Did he know about the horrible email from Xander? He might even know that she had sex with David and Luca. Her face started to feel hot as she realized how much embarrassing information he could have seen. There was only one way for her to find out the things he knew: manipulation.
She went to bed that night with so many things going round in her head that she couldn’t sleep. At 2:00 AM she got up to watch TV and fell asleep on the couch with the boys snuggled up next to her. She woke up with a terrible crick in her neck. It was Thanksgiving, and in a few short hours, she would be seeing her family. Sam’s family would be there, too. She needed to make amends with David.
She got up to bake a couple of pies. Everyone brought a dessert to lighten the load on Aunt Mavis. She usually took care of all the main dishes and sides. Ava was hoping that Natalia sent a sweet potato pie and an apple strudel along with her father. Even if they ended up in pieces, she would eat them. They were both her favorites.
While her pies were baking, she took a quick shower and let her long auburn hair air dry while she studied. Even though it was a holiday, she was sure that Jacob would take the opportunity to quiz her. But it was not only him, but her father and Uncle Daniel might also join the game. Lucky for her, Michael wasn’t there or else she would have four attorneys bombarding her with questions. Her brother, sister and their families stayed in Georgia for the holiday. They would be coming to New York for the wedding in June.
She dressed and prepared herself to face David. She was ready for the awkwardness that she had created by accusing him. She needed to apologize to him first thing. She owed him that. If he didn’t forgive her, she would be heartbroken, but it was her fault.
She petted the boys with promises of returning with turkey tidbits. They purred and rubbed against her as she put on her coat and slipped the pies into a bag.
When she arrived shortly before 2:00 PM, everyone was there. Sam’s two brothers, Nico and Stavros, had brought their girlfriends. She avoided looking Nico in the eye because he knew what she did at his club. She was embarrassed and hoped he didn’t tell anyone. He was kind, and he hugged her tightly, kissing both cheeks. Sam’s father, Alkandros, was there also and gave her a bear hug letting her know that he missed seeing her.
She hugged and kissed Felice and her father along with the rest of her family. David was nowhere to be found, and when she asked, she was told he was watching football in the living room. She went to see him and when she entered he only glanced at her, ignoring her greeting.
“Please don’t be angry at me,” she whispered as she sat down next to him.
“What do you want me to be? Do you want me just to forget what you accused me of?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Ava, leave me alone. I don’t want to discuss it.”
“I do want to discuss it. Can’t you at least let me apologize?”
He said nothing and the conversation ended there when Jacob and Robert came to join them. Jacob reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stack of cards. Ava groaned.
“It’s a holiday. Can’t you give me a break for once.”
“Absolutely not. I am determined to give you the tools to get the highest score possible.”
He slapped the cards against his hand and withdrew one. David got up and went to the kitchen. She felt nausea starting to creep up into her throat. She wasn’t listening to Jacob because she thought of nothing else but how she had hurt David.
“If you don’t answer the question then I am going to tie you to the chair in the dining room and drill you until you pass out. Think of it as study water boarding without the water.”
She answered his question and several more before her father told Jacob to give her a break. She excused herself to find David. He was upstairs in the room that Rachel used to occupy.
“What part of I-don’t-want-to-discuss-it, don’t you understand, Ava?”
“I can’t have you angry with me. It hurts too much.”
“Really? How does it feel when you don’t get what you want?”
“That’s a low blow. I never promised you anything.”
“And I’m not promising you anything. Please leave me alone.”
She turned to leave just as they were called to dinner. She left the door open and went downstairs to eat with her family. David wouldn’t look at her through dinner and dessert. She didn’t eat much even though her aunt had cooked some of her favorites. Everyone chattered on about the upcoming party, and she kept to herself.
