“Did she say anything about the two of you getting back together?” Ava asked in a very neutral, non-judgmental tone.
He’d never been her patient, but he could tell that she was very good at her job.
“She did. But I told her that I would always care about her but I wasn’t in love with her.”
“How did she take it?”
“Fine. She said she thought that’s what I would say but she had to try. She took it a lot better than Blake did.”
“Blake was there?” Ava’s eyes widened.
“She was upstairs and we thought she was asleep, but she woke up just in time to catch that part of the conversation and she thought I was turning Jenna down because of you.”
“She knows about me?” Ava asked.
“One of her friends heard Kelly ask Viv if anything was going on between us and I guess your sister smiled.”
“She smiled?” Ava repeated and shook her head. “She promised not to say anything.”
Obviously, this smile thing was some sort of secret girl language that Asher didn’t speak.
“How is Blake? Is she okay?” He could see the genuine concern brimming from Ava’s aquamarine eyes.
If Asher wasn’t already head over heels in love with the woman sitting beside him, he would have fallen right then and there. He’d just told her that his ex-wife was moving across the country and was going to live in the same town with them. And she was worried about his daughter.
“Blake’s okay. She got upset and ran up to her room crying but Jenna went up and talked to her. I would have been here sooner, but I didn’t want to leave in case Blake needed me. So, I waited. Finally, after about three hours, Jenna came downstairs and said that Blake knew about the affair for a year. That’s why she’d been acting out. She walked in on Bree and James and then felt guilty for not telling her mom.”
Ava just stared at him with the same neutral expression she’d had on her face when he’d told her that Jenna told him about the affair and a realization hit him.
“You knew, didn’t you? Blake told you about it.”
Ava’s facial expression didn’t change. “I can’t discuss that.”
She might not be able to, but he knew that she knew and she hadn’t said anything to him. She’d kept Blake’s confidence. He knew he shouldn’t be shocked, but he’d just felt so close to her that he was a little bit.
“I’m sorry but I can’t and even if I could, I wouldn’t tell you anything that Blake said to me in confidence.” He saw tears brimming in Ava’s eyes. “If that’s going to be a problem then—”
“A problem? You are just doing your job and you protected my baby girl by giving her a safe place to talk. If you had told me that would be a problem.”
A wide smile spread on Ava’s face and she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and told her, “Oh, and Blake knows who you are. Jenna told her.”
Ava reared back and looked at him, her face clearly was showing signs of worry. “She did?”
“Yep. And she also told her that me getting shot was not the reason we got divorced. It was because she was having an affair with James. Blake never knew that their relationship started before ours ended.”
“Is Blake okay?” Ava asked once again. He loved that she was always her first concern.
“Yeah.” Asher smiled. “She really is. She’s happy that her mom is moving here. And she actually thinks it’s romantic that you were the girl whose life I saved. Teenagers’ moods can really do one-eighties on the flip of a dime.”
“So can adults.” Ava reasoned, like the incredible mental health professional that she was. “You’re sure Blake’s really okay with us being together, or whatever we are.”
“We’re together,” Asher said in no uncertain terms. “Yes, she is. Now it’s your turn. What did Ian want?”
Ava exhaled. “Well, apparently things with him and Kylie didn’t work out.”
“No?”
“Nope. She ate a plum and left the pit on a paper towel on the counter.”
