Page 88 of Consuming Logan

Chapter 32

Ava glared at her nemesis. Since she and Maribelle Master’s first meeting, the woman resented Ava’s relationship withherson. She wore her signature St. John’s knit, complete with a double-breasted jacket and brass military-style buttons. Commando Barbie looked battle-ready.

Not today, soldier.

Now, with the decision made to leave Logan to his precious career, she saw no reason to confront his mother on anything.

Maribelle’s blonde mane, usually coiffed to perfection, looked a step above bedhead. A smudge of eye makeup shimmered on her cheek, and her blue eyes looked cloudy, like a window that had gotten too much salt spray. Ava lifted her gaze to her in-law’s face, uninterested in whatever conversation Maribelle could start up. She was tired and ready to go home. Then she remembered she no longer had a home.

“Maribelle. I don’t want to argue with you. Logan and I are no longer together. So,” Ava sighed to camouflage the sob threatening to escape, “so…there’s no reason for you to be here.”

Nudging Tyson with an elbow, the ice-blue commando said, “You can stay.”

Tyson pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s my father’s wife. She’s my father’s wife,” he muttered.

Ava almost laughed at the big man struggling to hold his tongue.

“You’ll have to do that a lot,” Ava offered in sympathy. And then she picked up the cup of coffee and handed it to him. “Here, you’ll love it.”

Tyson laughed, taking the cup and drawing a long pull of the contents. Admiration for Logan’s brother had her smiling back. Wow, how many siblings wished for a brother like Tyson? She had Aron and Logan had Darwin, but Tyson and Max O’Connor were more than worthy to join the Masters family. She hoped Logan acknowledged the truth before it was too late.

He raised a brow in surprise. “Hmm, that is good.”

“Told you so,” Ava said, glad someone else could appreciate Ash’s skills with the brew machine.

There was a levity to Tyson that reflected the balance in his life. Strong, but gentle; demanding, but compassionate; stern, yet loving. He’d make some woman’s heart go pit-a-patter one day. But, Ava’s stupid-in-love heart belonged to Logan.

“I disagree with you, Ava,” Maribelle sniffed. “I can be flexible once you get to know me.”

Ava and Tyson spoke at once. “We know you.”

Five years. Five, long arduous years and she was just as cantankerous as day one. In typical Maribelle fashion, she pressed forward with her agenda.

“You’re carrying my grandchildren, Ava. I have every right to fight for their future.” Reluctantly, she looked at Tyson. “And, I suppose you and I will have to work something out so Robert Lee can come to his senses.”

Ava could hear the uncertainty in Maribelle’s voice. It sounded as if she was extending an olive branch, shaky, but still an offer of peace with Tyson. To echo Robert Lee’s words, was she done with making everything worse? Too battle weary to assume anything, Ava looked from a contemplative Tyson to Logan’s mother. Peering closer, the older woman’s eyes were puffy and red.

Too afraid she’d misinterpret; Ava chose the direct method. “What is it that you’re trying to accomplish here, Maribelle?”

“Do you love my son?”

She did. “How does that matter now?”

It was never a question of whether she loved Logan. The question was, did Logan love her enough to let go of his past and trust that she wouldn’t hurt him? He would probably see it differently since she was the one to walk away.

“Has Logan ever told you about Brooke Tyler?”

After what had happened between her and Logan, could she bear to hear about Logan’s former fiancée? She knew the woman had cheated on Logan. Ava understood that a lot of Logan’s control issues stemmed from Brooke’s betrayal.

“She was never right for him,” Maribelle began.

Maribelle had said the same thing about Ava in the beginning. Obviously, no woman was good enough for her son.

“When Logan first brought her home, when he announced that they were getting married, I knew he’d made a mistake.”

“Sounds familiar,” Ava drawled, trying to maintain a grip on her anger.

“When he brought you to the club… I knew the moment that I met you I had made a mistake by filing that complaint against you.”