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Here in his silent room, his hand casually cupping the fullness of my swollen belly, his breath bathing my breasts in sweet warmth, I think it could’ve been possible. Maybe if we both tried a little bit harder, it would have been possible for us to stay together. To explore this whole thing together .

Or maybe not. Because he is different. There were layers of phony Ethan I used to have to press through to get to the real Ethan. Those layers are gone without a trace tonight. What’s left seems so real, I can’t imagine why he kept it hidden .

Chapter 43

ETHAN

I hear a whole parade of footsteps on the porch, but I give it a few seconds more before opening the door. Quietly, I stand on the other side, just listening. Aden sounds hopeful, but a little nervous. It sounds like he’s bargaining for the release of hostages .

Bea is sassy, yet holding back. She’s trying to be reasonable, to move everyone forward .

Aden says something to his mother, and I hear her murmured response. She’s not yelling, so that’s good .

After a few more moments I hear that unmistakable grunt. Ava’s father. I’m not sure what to make of that sound, at all .

I open the door, pretending that I haven’t just been standing there eavesdropping. I couldn’t hear the words, but I was right about the tone. They all start talking immediately and turn toward the door, plastering smiles on their faces that vary in degree of sincerity .

Ava’s father Bert doesn’t bother. He’s not planning on smiling .

“Come in! Please come in,” I say, stepping aside and opening the door with a flourish .

Aden shrugs as he walks past me, making a face like he tried, but failed. He was supposed to butter them up, so they’d get here hating me slightly less. I guess it didn’t work .

Bea just rolls her eyes instead of saying anything to me. I guess I have to work on that too .

But Ava’s mother Evelyn is as polite as ever. Even if she’s little cold, she is still a lot like Ava. She never entirely gives up .

“Here, let me take that for you,” I offer, lifting the bags from her hands .

“You have a beautiful home,” Evelyn says politely, looking around .

“He better,” Aden announces. “He’s been working on it day and night for the last three and a half months .”

Evelyn’s eyebrows go up. “Is that so? Well, it shows .”

I can’t help but smile. It’s nice to get a little bit of affirmation, especially after so long .

“Well, we better get started,” Bea announces as she heads down the hall toward the kitchen. “Holy cow! Evelyn! Come look at this !”

Evelyn smiles fondly. “I guess I need to go look at the kitchen,” she sighs apologetically, leaving the foyer .

Bert looks at Aden, and Aden glances at me. We stand there uncomfortably for a few more seconds, wondering how the hell we’re supposed to get through this .

“So, who wants to get drunk?” Aden finally asks .

“It sounds a great idea,” I admit .

Bert just grunts .

We sit in the parlor, drinking bourbon even though it’s not even noon yet. It’s just a bourbon kind of day. Bert scowls at everything in the room, piece by piece .

“So, when are your guys getting here?” I finally ask Aden .

He takes a nervous swallow. “I’m catering this shindig,” he explains to his father. “Remember Danny? The chef? I got rid of him. I have a new chef. You’re gonna love it .”

Bert just grunts .

Aden looks at me, rolling his eyes. This is a little bit more difficult than he was anticipating, I guess .