Always Loving You (Danvers #6)(58)
Chapter Nineteen
“Wow, who are all these people?” Ava asked as she looked at the cars parked in her brother’s driveway.
“I recognize Jason’s and Gray’s cars. I believe that’s Brant’s. Did Emma mention coming over tonight?”
Shrugging, Ava said, “I barely saw her today. I had meetings all morning, and she was helping Brant this afternoon since his assistant quit.”
Mac chuckled, shaking his head. “So another one of Brant’s assistants bites the dust, huh? I thought he was a little more relaxed now that he has Emma.”
“Oh, come on.” Ava laughed. “How relaxed do you think it’s possible for Brant to be? Of course, from the huge amount of oversharing I get from Emma on a daily basis about her and Brant, the poor thing probably walked in on them having sex on Brant’s desk.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with that, baby.” Mac smirked, wiggling an eyebrow. “I’ve had a few thoughts of you on my desk as well. Like at least once an hour.”
Ava stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. “Only once an hour? I must be doing something wrong.”
Mac gave her a sexy smile in return, running his hand up her leg. “Honey, you’re doing everything right, but Dom and Gage might get the wrong idea if I walked around with a boner all day.”
Ava felt her face flush, still not used to sexy wordplay with Mac. It might embarrass her a bit, but damn, it felt so good. Just being with him made everything almost effortless. She didn’t feel the need to disappear into her surroundings or walk with her head down. She wanted to embrace life, and she actually looked forward to each new day instead of dreading it. All because of the man beside her. Instead of making a teasing reply, she said simply, “I love you, Mac.”
All at once, the smirk left his face, and his eyes seemed to glow. Even without his next words, she could see the love he had for her. “I love you too, baby. You don’t know how long I’ve dreamed of that. Of hearing you say those words without prompting or hesitation.”
After pressing a soft kiss on his mouth, she gently brushed the hint of lipstick that she had left behind on his soft lips. “I always thought them to myself when we were together. I’m just sorry it took me so long to say them out loud.”
Mac had started to pull her across the seat and into his lap when a loud knock on the window brought their heads up. Emma stood at Mac’s window with her face pressed against the glass. “All right, kids, we’ve been waiting on you to get out of the car for ages. Either you get out now or I’m hitting the video button on my phone and posting it on Facebook!”
“Oh my God,” Ava moaned, mortified to see Brant standing behind Emma looking decidedly uncomfortable. Beside her, Mac chuckled as if he found the whole incident highly amusing.
“Come on, baby, I don’t want to star in the next viral video. We’d better go.” Ava opened her door and walked around the Tahoe to take Mac’s proffered hand.
One good thing about all the people gathered here was that it took the pressure off them to offer to babysit. Apparently, this time they wouldn’t need to run through their checklist before offering their services. Emma walked up to her and threw an arm around her shoulders, effectively pulling her away from Mac. “So, what exactly was going on in that vehicle? I tried to get your brother to keep quiet so I could watch, but I guess the whole watching-your-sister-make-out thing is a bit weird.”
“No, really?” Ava said sarcastically.
“I know, go figure.” Emma laughed.
When they rang the doorbell, Suzy pulled it open, doing a little dance in place. “Hey, skinny, skanky skank!”
Emma turned to her, hands on hips, and asked, “She is talking to you, right?”
With her voice lower than Suzy’s booming one, Ava replied in kind, “Hey, whore queen!”
Emma, finally realizing that they were joking about all the names that Ella had called them while she was in labor, doubled over laughing.
Mac gave her a questioning look as he came up behind her. “You women are a little rough on each other, aren’t you?”
Ava knew by the pink of Ella’s cheeks when she walked over to greet them that she had heard Suzy. “I can’t believe I called you guys those names,” she moaned, dropping her head in her hands. “I even told Declan that I was going to cut off his penis and stick it in a paper shredder. I swear he held his hand over his pecker the whole time I was in labor! Even worse, when my parents came back to see me, my mom was lecturing me about using bad language, and I told her not to let the door hit that stick in her ass on the way out!”
That was it. Everyone collapsed back against the wall laughing over what Suzy dubbed the “labor and delivery: bitch edition.” As they were all trying to compose themselves, Declan walked over carrying the new Stone family addition. Little Sofia Grace seemed to be staring out at them from her daddy’s arms in fascination. In truth, Ella said that she couldn’t actually see much other than shapes yet. Considering their earlier conversation, Ava hoped she couldn’t hear or decipher words either.
Ava was busy grinning like a besotted aunt when Declan plopped the baby in her arms and within ten seconds, both he and Ella had disappeared. “Oh crap.” She looked around in alarm.
Suzy held her hands up, walking backward. “Yeah, you’re on your own. Hermie has already wiped his nose on my shoulder, and Chrissy stuck her dirty little hands on my butt. I’ve had my quota for tonight.” With those words, she took off toward Gray, walking into his arms and never looking back.