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Her eyes were shut tight as she felt the soft fibers of terrycloth brush against her fingertips. She grabbed the towel and patted her face dry. When she opened her eyes, she was relieved to see that it was free of any purple remnants. She bent over the sink to get a better look in the mirror as she touched her cheek.
She knew that it was probably just a placebo effect, but she would swear that her pores were smaller, her skin felt as soft as silk, and the large bags that had been camped out beneath her eyes since her great escape on her wedding day, had shrunken considerably.
Placebo or not, she was going to take this fresh face as a win and enjoy it. Fresh face. Fresh start.
She’d just started applying her night serum when her phone rang loudly. She grabbed it quickly so it wouldn’t disturb Jacob who was sound asleep in the next room. Thanks to her mom wearing him out today at the bouncy house gym, Avery had managed to get him to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight.
“Hello,” she answered quietly, realizing she hadn’t even bothered to check who was calling. She just assumed it was Suzanna or Sabrina. It wasn’t.
“What are you doing?”
When Avery had first met Jude, she’d thought his accent was so sexy. But sometime over the past decade that she’d known him, it had lost its appeal.
“Just getting ready for bed.”
“Have you thought about what I said?”
Jude had said a lot of things since she’d called off the wedding. Some had been civil, others not so much. She couldn’t quite get a read on the temperature of this call yet.
“Can you be more specific?”
He sighed indicating her request was tedious. “About next week.”
“Next week?” She had no clue what he was talking about.
“I told you I’m going to be in Chicago on business for ten days. I want Jacob.”
He hadnevertold her that. Jude coming to Illinois and taking Jacob forten dayswas definitely something she would have remembered.
“You want him the whole ten days?” she clarified. He’d never even had him by himself overnight. The most time Jude had spent with Jacob alone was when he’d taken him to an L.A. Galaxy game last year. Jacob had come home from that outing in tears because Jude had gotten upset at him for calling it soccer instead of football.
“Yes. All ten days.”
“If you’re going to be working, how are you going to watch him?”
He sighed again. Apparently, this phone conversation was really putting him out. “Obviously I’m bringing Celeste with me.”
Was that obvious?Avery thought to herself.
“I’ve made myself clear. If you won’t let me have access tomyson, I will take you to court and get fifty/fifty custody.”
Avery hated that he was basically holding her hostage with his threats. She knew that this arrangement was not sustainable. He couldn’t just call and demand time with him anytime he wanted. Jacob needed stability and a routine. At some point, they would need to work things out legally. But for her and Jacob’s sake, she needed to get her feet under her before she did that.
“Fine,” she agreed.
“I’ll be there next Monday at six.”
“A.M or P.M.?”
“Avery,” he said her name in a warning tone as if she was testing his patience.
“I’m serious. Are you going to be here in the morning or evening?”
“Evening. I want him packed and ready to go.”
“Yes, sir,” Avery said sarcastically.
“And Avery, please don’t make a scene. The staff are still talking about that little stunt you pulled.”
