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She went to sit in the living room after dinner and Sam sat next to her.
“What’s wrong with you today? You love the holidays.”
“Nothing, I’m tired. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Stop thinking of what is going to happen on Saturday. Everything will be okay. You can’t anticipate what will occur. Remember, he broke up with you in a most disgusting way.”
“I thought you didn’t believe he sent that email?”
“I don’t but you are my best friend, and I support you. Xander can take care of himself. I’m not going to be an advocate for him.”
Ava yawned and laid her head on the arm of the couch. She woke up to her father shaking her and telling her dessert was being served. She wasn’t even hungry for it. The sweet potato pie and strudel had survived the trip to New York, but she didn’t feel like eating either of them. She asked for a cup of tea instead.
When dessert was over, she said she had to leave. She was tired and wanted to get home. Her father asked if David could escort her, but he begged off saying he wasn’t feeling well. Ava looked at him as he went out the back door into the cold night air. She collected a small bag of turkey for the boys and got her coat on. She said goodbye to everyone minus David and took a cab home to her apartment.
She made sure to take a couple of plates of food home for the front desk staff. They worked hard and deserved something for being away from their families on the holidays. Gage and Jose were working and were thankful for the meal. She waved to them as the elevator doors closed.
The boys surrounded her like vultures when they smelled the turkey. She sat on the breakfast bar, and she fed them bits of turkey. When she was finished, they sat on the hallway carpet cleaning themselves then curled up to take a nap. She went to her bedroom to do the same but as tired as she was she could not fall asleep. She couldn’t get the image of David’s face out of her mind. He wasn’t going to forgive her.
* * *
Xander washappy to be on the East Coast. The weather was crisp and cold with a gentle wind. He pulled on his winter jacket as the plane disembarked passengers. Kaycee had complained that she would be losing her tan, but he told her it would be worth it to experience the holiday for a few days in New York.
They collected their luggage and caught a cab into midtown to his parent’s apartment. His mother was delighted to see him. His father called him into his office after Kaycee joined his mother in the kitchen for some baking.
“Alexander, do you think it’s a good idea to be screwing around with the attorney that is handling your sister’s case?”
“Dad, why can’t you just be happy to see me?”
“Because sometimes I need to question your choices.”
“Is this about me coming back to New York for good? I know you want me to come back to the firm.”
“Why, did your plans change? You were only supposed to stay there to take care of Lidia and Brett then come back. Now you decided to stay out there?”
“I just think I need a change of scenery.”
“I think that’s hogwash. Is this about Ava?”
“Why would you bring her up? We haven’t been together for years, and she is happy without me.”
“How would you know? Have you asked about her?”
“Can we drop this? Kaycee is in the other room.”
“You do know that she is going to be at the engagement party on Saturday?”
“I am well aware since she is Robert’s cousin and Sam’s maid of honor. I do communicate with Robert and Jacob.”
Gabby called them into dinner, and the conversation was dropped. During dinner, they talked about the drive to Suzanne’s house. Peter had a Volvo, and they would take that, but Xander would drive. Xander was looking forward to seeing his sister and her family. It had been some time since they had been together.
His father mentioned possibly selling the Lake George house. Xander did not agree that they should, but Peter said since Suzanne had her own summer home and he and Lidia were on the West Coast, there was no sense in keeping such a big house. They needed people to fill the bedrooms, and it was becoming harder to do that with his children scattered around the country.
Kaycee mentioned that she would like to go to the house but Xander said it was too cold, and it was better to go there when the weather was nice. In actuality, he didn’t want to bring another woman to the house. He had spent a wonderful weekend there with Ava, and he didn’t want to dirty that memory. It didn’t matter since they would be going back to LA in a few days.
He let Kaycee take the lead on the conversation as she talked about the case she was working on for Lidia and Brett. Peter liked that she wouldn’t accept the first offer by the trucking company. It was a pretty good settlement, but Kaycee felt she could get more. In fact, she said a second offer was due any day. She preferred not to go to court but was ready to do so.
Xander zoned out thinking about what Ava was doing and what she would be wearing on Saturday. He wondered how he was going to hide his attraction from Kaycee. Kaycee was very aware when he looked at other women, which he did very infrequently. However, when you were in California where clothing was limited to the warm temperatures, sometimes it was hard to resist. He tried to be respectful of her, but she did it, too, when it came to men. With Ava, he never would have done it. She was the only one he wanted to look at.
