No Denying You(35)

The weekend loomed long and lonely before her. That had never bothered her before, but with Brant gone and so much up in the air, it was hard to enjoy the thought of more time on her hands. She decided that she would stop at Walmart on the way home and splurge on some chick flicks and snacks. She would spend the weekend in style . . . on her couch . . . wearing pajamas . . . not brushing her hair . . . and not bathing. Solo girl time was just what she needed.

Emma’s shopping cart was full and she was trying to decide between The Proposal and Sweet Home Alabama when she heard, “Ahem, death by chocolate—how original.” Emma jerked her head up to see Brant’s sister, Ava, standing on the other side of her cart. She liked Ava, but she could have lived without the tall, beautiful blonde witnessing her descent into the Lonely Friday Night Syndrome. Ava was probably on her way to some swanky party and had stopped at Walmart for breath mints. It was obvious from Emma’s shopping cart that she was here to stock up for a long weekend.

When Ava picked up the king-size Cadbury chocolate caramel bar from her cart and lifted a brow, Emma grabbed it back. “Back off, that’s the last one and I’ll fight you for it,” she warned in a teasing tone.

Ava smiled. “It’s all yours. So . . . no plans tonight?”

Emma gave her a sarcastic smile in return. “What gave that away?”

Instead of answering immediately, Ava studied her for a moment before asking, “Do you want to go somewhere and have a drink? I was planning to buy a bottle of wine and head home, but I’d rather have some company.”

“Er . . . sure. That sounds good.” Actually, Emma was about as excited over the prospect as she had been over her root canal, but they both knew that she had no other plans. Maybe it would be better than going home and gaining five pounds in one evening. Like her brother, Ava was generally reserved, but tonight she looked as lost as Emma felt. There were cracks showing in her cool veneer, and Emma was just curious enough to want to find out what was going on.

Ava pointed to her cart. “Do you need to make your purchases first?”

Feeling guilty, Emma looked around to see if the coast was clear before she slid her cart against the wall on the next aisle. If she were lucky, it would still be there when she came back after her drink. There was no way she could unload a hundred dollars’ worth of food and movies in front of Ava. Luckily, other than the knowing grin that twisted her lips, she didn’t comment. “Should I just meet you somewhere?”

She really didn’t want this bonding experience to include a car trip together if she could avoid it. She could just imagine the look on Ava’s face when she saw the less than perfect condition of her car. It may have been a few months—or years—since she had cleaned it out.

“Charlie’s is just down the block. Why don’t we walk?” Even better, Emma thought to herself. As soon as things became too awkward between them, she could escape back to Walmart, grab her shopping cart and continue on with her miserable evening. Perfect. She was absurdly grateful that she hadn’t been home to change yet and still looked reasonably respectable.

Conversation was difficult due to the traffic rushing by, so Emma decided to forgo any small talk as they walked to the restaurant. When they were seated at a table and had ordered drinks, she found herself shifting uncomfortably under Ava’s curious gaze. “So . . . um . . . do you come here often?” Oh my God, did I really just ask her that? It sounds like I’m trying to pick her up. Why does she make me so nervous? Just think of her as Brant with a vagina.

Looking amused, Ava said, “No, not really. Mac and I usually go to a small Irish bar close to my place when we want a drink.”

“Was he busy tonight?”

Ava looked down, drawing circles on the smooth tabletop with her fingers. “He’s always busy now. I should know that life moves on, and it seems so has he.”

Emma wasn’t sure how to respond. The other woman seemed so sad that she felt compelled to offer some comfort. She reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, Ava. Were you . . . Did you break up?”

Ava looked surprised by the question. “There was nothing to break up. I never let us start dating. Mac is too good for that.”

Confused, Emma asked, “Too good for what?”

“Me,” Ava whispered. “He’s too good for me.” Emma was too surprised to comment. As she was thinking of a reply, Ava shook her head and locked her blue eyes on Emma. “So, you and Brant?”

Words of denial sprang to Emma’s lips at once, but then she dismissed the notion just as quickly. Why bother? She doubted that Brant was giving his sister a play-by-play of their relationship status, but Ava was far from stupid. She had to know that something was going on. Besides, it might be a mistake, but she needed someone to talk to. Blowing a wisp of hair inelegantly out of her face, she said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Ava surprised her again when she gave her a satisfied grin and said, “That’s good; I’m glad. He’s been alone for too long. He was never good at that, no matter how much he tried to convince everyone, including himself, that he was fine. Brant was meant to be married and have a family. He shouldn’t have been saddled with so much responsibility so early on. Our parents were irresponsible and the old man was a sadistic bastard.”

Despite herself, Emma was intrigued. Other than throwing out bits of information here and there, Brant wasn’t the type to disclose a lot of personal stuff. She knew that his parents were killed in a plane crash and that his grandfather had raised them afterward. She also knew that Declan had been the wild child and had enlisted in the military at eighteen. “So . . . um . . . your grandfather was tough on you?”

Ava’s laugh was devoid of any real humor. “He didn’t care enough to be tough. Yeah, he expected certain things . . . certain behavior, but mainly he just wanted us to stay out of his hair. His household staff raised us. Of course, we were all teenagers when we came to live with him, so it wasn’t like we were in diapers and dependent upon someone for all of our care. What we were was traumatized but he never considered that.”

Emma felt tears prick her eyes and hastily wiped them away, knowing that Ava wouldn’t appreciate the show of sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she offered, not knowing what else to say.

Ava looked at her blankly for a moment before draining the last of her drink and standing abruptly. “I’ve got to be going if you’re ready.”

Emma stood and followed her out. They made their way back to Walmart in silence. Emma had lost the urge to go back inside for her shopping cart full of sugar and movies. Suddenly this seemed more like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s kind of evening. When she stopped at her car, Ava turned and squeezed her shoulder. “I meant what I said. Brant needs you. Don’t let him push you away.” Then with those words, she was gone.

Emma drove home more confused than ever. Her cell phone started ringing just as she shut her apartment door behind her. She saw Brant’s name on the ID and smiled. Apparently, she was irresistible to the Stone siblings tonight. “Hey you,” she answered.

A moment of silence followed her playful greeting before Brant said, “Hey . . . Em.” Emma thought he had been close to using an endearment, but had settled for shortening her name. “Where are you?”

“I just attempted to gorge on chick flicks and chocolate at Walmart but was saved by your sister. I’m home now.”

Brant chuckled that sexy laugh that she loved so much. “I don’t even know what that means, but I’m glad you’re safe. So you saw Ava?”

“Yep, I ran across her in the store and we went for a drink. I . . . I don’t think she was having a good evening.”

“Why not?” Brant asked, concern evident in his voice.

“I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with Mac and his new girlfriend.”

“Shit,” Brant sighed. “I figured that was going to hit her hard.”

“I’m confused about that situation,” Emma admitted. “If Mac cares about her and she obviously cares about him, then why can’t they just admit it?”

“It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Mac has never made a secret of how he feels for my sister, but Ava hasn’t been able to accept it. I know you’ve heard enough to know that she had something happen to her when she was younger. She was . . . raped by her prom date. I don’t want to go into everything that happened afterward, but I will say that Mac found her and a bond was formed between them. My grandfather handled everything terribly and Ava has spent the years ever since then angry and grieving.”

“Oh my God,” Emma breathed. “She said that Mac was too good for her. She blames herself, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Brant bit out. “Everyone made damn sure of that. The bastard who did it never faced any consequences. I know regardless of what she says, Ava has done nothing but look over her shoulder since then. Luckily, Mac will always watch out for her even if he isn’t with her.”

They ended up talking for hours that night before finally giving in to the need to get some sleep.