And trust me. I’m not crazy.
I stop before telling Ava any of the sexy details, and she stares at me like I’ve just deprived her of something she needs to live. “And? You two had sex that first night? Was Maia right?”
“Should you really be asking that about your brother-in-law?” I ask, teasing her.
“Yes! Why not? Marius has always been such a sexual person. Now I’m supposed to pretend he’s not? So was she?”
I nod but stay mum on the specific details for the moment.
Ava squeals and falls back on the pillows. “I knew it! I could’ve guessed the answer since I know what Matthias is like. Still, I love that for you. Marius is gorgeous, has the equipment a man needs to satisfy a woman, and he’s loaded. He’s the perfect man I’ve always wanted for you!”
“Yeah, except he wanted to keep us a secret. Not exactly perfect anymore, is he?”
All the happiness drains from her face. She sighs and answers, “Well, maybe things can be fixed. Do you love him? Like love him enough to work things out?”
Again, I nod. I do love Marius.
“Then everything will be fine.”
Typical Ava. She never fails to believe good things are going to happen to those she loves.
“It’s up to him now,” I say, unsure if he’s going to do what he has to so we can be together again.
And that’s the terrifying part.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Marius
So now youknow what a fucking mess I’ve made of things. In case you’re having a hard time keeping up, I have a woman I adore who loves me, and I completely fucked up. Now she wants to divorce me, and I’m sitting outside my brother’s house smoking a cigar and trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to save my marriage.
I told you I didn’t hate love. I never lied. Not to you and not to Eden.
Still, I’m bright enough to know that’s not going to help me now with her. No, I’m going to have to figure out how to win her back.
I think it can work. She loves me. I know that. I’ve never doubted how much Eden loves me. That she’s doubted me hurts, but I know we can come back from that.
So, I just have to decide how.
Matthias and Ronan disturb my peace out here with the tiki torches when they return to the patio. The two of them sit down at the table but don’t say a word at first.
After a couple minutes of the three of us looking around like we’re strangers waiting for a bus, I figure I should speak. “Nice end-of-summer party, Matthias. Where’s Kellen?”
“He and Salem had to go back to the city. She’s got some athlete who can’t stop fucking up,” he explains.
“I’m sure Kellen is happy he’s not the guy in need of a reputation rehab this time,” I say with a laugh.
We fall into another strange silence again until Ronan says, “So what are you going to do?”
It all comes down to that, now doesn’t it? What am I going to do?
The answer is simple. How I’ll actually do it is an entirely different story, of course.
I stand up and face my brothers. “Win her back. Show her that she doesn’t want to divorce me.”
My two brothers look surprised to hear me say that. Or maybe it’s the casual way I said it, as if it’s a fait accompli, which if I’m being honest is the opposite of what making Eden want to stay with me is. Still, I figure it’s good to come out of the gate with a winning attitude.
“Right now, though, I need to clear my head. That calls for a game of pool,” I announce before heading into the house without waiting for them to say a word.
