Ava blows the air out of her lungs and nods. “I know more than you think. Remember, I was the one he refused to talk to after he left. He never answered any of my texts or my calls. You have no idea how devastated I was that he could cut me out like that.”
It’s been years since that happened with Matthias, Theo, and Ava, and still she tears up talking about him. He never did deserve Ava.
“Probably about as devastated as when I found out he slept with the girl I loved. There’s no deep answer to why he did what he did to you and me. It’s simple. Theo was selfish.”
Again she nods. After another minute or so of silence, she smiles and says, “Well, I wasn’t expecting this today. I guess we better start talking about that party you want us to have.”
My mind races with all the ideas I have for getting Eden back, but before I start asking Ava to help with them, I say, “Thank you for being in my corner on this. I know it isn’t easy, but I only want to make sure Eden knows how much I love her. I hope you believe that.”
Ava reaches across the table and tenderly touches my hand. “She loves you. I know that. I want her to be happy, so whatever it takes, let’s do it!”
I rub my hands together as I start telling her what I want to do. This is going to work. I know it.
This plan has to work.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Eden
My dayat work included enough frustration for me to want to scream, so I’m happy to be back home by just before six. I barely have enough time to shower and change for Ava’s little get-together that I suspect is some effort by Marius to make me forgive him. She wouldn’t tell me what the party is about, so I figure she’s hiding the real reason we’re getting together on a Monday night.
It's so typical of Ava to want to play Cupid this one last time.
So Marius has convinced my best friend to help him. He really is quite the charmer. Not that Ava is a tough customer. She’s a pushover when it comes to those King men. She has to be to let them crash at her house whenever they feel like it.
I pour myself a glass of wine and head up to the bedroom to get ready. It’s nearly October, but Mother Nature still thinks it’s summer. Ava should have put off that end-of-year party for a few weeks.
Setting my glass down on the dresser, I wonder if I should bring a bathing suit tonight. It will certainly be hot enough toswim, but I don’t think I want to. If the party moves outside, I’ll hang out on the patio while everyone else takes a dip.
I wish I knew what Marius had planned so I could know what to wear. Since I don’t, I walk over to my closet and start choosing from my favorite outfits. I should probably just go with a sundress since in warm weather they’re always a good choice, but I decide to check with Ava just in case what’s going to happen tonight doesn’t call for a dress.
Grabbing my phone out of my purse, I call her, and she answers almost immediately. “Eden, you’re coming, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t miss one of your parties for my life. It’s just that I’m unsure what I should wear. I’m not going to be doing anything strenuous, am I?”
She laughs at my question, which I guess gives me my answer. “Strenuous? Not that I know of, but if you and Marius make up, then what happens after might be considered strenuous.”
As she giggles at her comment, I think about sex with Marius. I should correct her about that description. Strenuous would be the least of what happens with us. Exhausting, mind-blowing, and intense would be better descriptions.
I don’t tell her that, though. I might not want to hide my marriage to Marius King, but I guess I’m a little like him in that I don’t want to share everything about us, even with my best friend. That’s the reason I can forgive him.
“Okay, so if I wear a sundress, that will be okay? This isn’t a formal to-do, is it?” I ask as I lift my teal blue dress with the cute black bows where the skinny straps meet the dress off the hanger.
“Yeah, that will be great. Wear the diamond necklace. I love that on you. You’ll be here in time, won’t you?” Ava asks, and I have the sense she’s hiding something big from me.
“You know that was a gift from Marius.”
She chuckles and says, “Now that I know you’ve been together for two years, I could guess that.”
As I hold the dress up in front of me and look in the full-length mirror, I ask, “Hey, you don’t have anything you want to tell me, do you? Ava, you know as well as anyone else in the world that I’m not a fan of people springing things on me. Marius isn’t going to do anything like that, is he?”
“You mean like jumping out of a cake and surprising you?”
“No, like he’s going to do something that scares me. I can handle a person surprising me, but I don’t want to feel like I’m blindsided.”
She doesn’t answer for a few moments, which makes me worry even more, but then she says, “Oh, Eden, it’s not anything like that. Marius just wants to make you see he loves you. That’s all.”
“So now you’re a big fan of that King? What happened to the woman who slapped him across the face?”
