14. Adrian

Chapter 14

Adrian

T aking a weekend of work off at short notice when we had an event on Saturday and Sunday wasn't my best move as CEO, but Lucas hadn't been able to stop shrieking about his excitement to go to the Hamptons when I'd mentioned it in passing, and I couldn't bring myself to break his heart after his plea for me to work less a few weeks ago.

But that didn't mean I couldn't bring some work with me to distract me from Ava.

In an effort to ensure that we weren't alone together, I'd invited Lucas' nanny, Grace, as well. At least if there were three adults on-site at a minimum, my chances of letting my cock think for me were slim.

I took up residence in the very back of the van I'd rented, with Ava and Lucas in the middle row of seats and Grace in the front with the driver. I did my best to focus on my laptop as I braved the two-hour car journey, but it was hard when Lucas kept asking question after question after question.

To my utter surprise, though, Ava had been quick on the draw for all of them.

"Why is it called the Hamptons?"

"Because it's made up of two areas named East Hampton and West Hampton," Ava grinned, leaning across the middle seat to show Lucas something on her phone. "I think I asked my dad that same question when he used to bring me out here."

"Oh, cool," Lucas chirped. His mop of black curls bounced as he turned rapidly in his seat, watching as a massive bird flew past the car window. "What's that?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but Ava beat me to it.

"Think it's an osprey," Ava answered. "Huge wingspan."

Her eyes met mine over the back of her seat, and for the briefest of seconds, I let myself take her in. She wasn't dressed for business today—in fact, she wore an outfit that reminded me more of how she'd looked when she'd been Lily . A mid-length, brown, flowing skirt and a cropped white sweater covered her slim frame, and her long auburn hair hung around her in waves. Her makeup was subtle, and as she looked at me, I wondered if it was possible to count how many freckles dotted her skin. How long would it take me, how many pieces of clothing would I need to remove?—

"You okay?" Ava asked, her voice low as she leaned over the seat.

I pulled my lips taut and nodded to her. "I'm fine. Thank you for entertaining Lucas."

"Of course, it's no problem."

But it was a problem. It was a massive fucking problem.

————

The car pulled into the driveway of the estate, stopping only for the driver to input the code for the gate to open. We rounded the neatly trimmed hedges, and the expanse of the property opened up wide, with the house halfway between the ocean and the road. Greenery climbed the outside walls of the brick building, and for a moment, I wondered if I should call out the landscaper and have them removed—but the longer I looked, the more it charmed me, as if it were some kind of mansion in a fairytale buried deep in the woods and covered in vines.

The sun bore down on us harshly in the cool autumn air as we got out of the van. Lucas immediately began doing laps in the freshly cut grass, and I helped the driver unload the small suitcases we'd brought with us.

Ahead, in the open front door, Mrs. Henderson stood in her apron, one hand resting on the ridge of her brow to shield her eyes from the sun. The other hand was clutching a wooden spoon. "Is that Lucas Stone I see?" she called playfully.

Ava stopped to watch as Lucas booked it across the lawn, running straight for the door. "Who's that?" she asked, leaning toward me when I took her suitcase out. I didn't bother giving it to her—I'd take it in.

"Mrs. Henderson," I explained. "Don't bother asking her for her first name, she won't let you use it. She's the cook."

"Does she live here?"

I shook my head. "No, she lives on the other side of town. She comes by each day when I'm here."

I stacked Lucas' bag on top of mine and headed toward the house with Ava, all three of our bags in tow behind me. All the other occasions I'd come here had been happy getaways—even when Lucas and I had come out here for two months after Jan's death to get away from the world. But this time…I just wasn't sure.

"Nice to see you, Mr. Stone," Mrs. Henderson said as we approached the door. Lucas' face was buried in a flour-coated portion of her apron as he clung to her. "Who's this?"

Ava stuck out a hand. "Ava Riley," she said, plastering a massive grin across her face. Mrs. Henderson shook her hand, offering her a warm smile in return. "I'm working on a project with Adrian, so he brought me along."

I snorted. A project?

"I'm sorry, I need to get through."

I turned, and Grace climbed up the front porch steps, her face white as a sheet in the blaring sunlight. She clutched her stomach as she trailed her bag behind her, and without thinking I took it from her grasp. "Are you okay?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," she said, slipping past the four of us and practically running into the estate.

————

An hour or so later, the smell of baking bread and searing salmon filled the living room, foyer, and kitchen. I lounged on the white sofa beneath the exposed beams of the living room, the fireplace roaring with life not ten feet from me, with my laptop on my legs and a cup of coffee in my hand.

Maybe David had a point. I did love it here.

Ava sat on the edge of the fireplace, her attention focused wholly on Lucas' puzzle that they were desperately trying to figure out together. They'd managed to get two of the four edges completed already, but they seemed to be running out of steam, either from hunger or exhaustion from the two-hour drive.

"Okay, look for one with another eye on it ‘cause mine only has one eye," Lucas chirped, spreading out the available options for pieces in front of him.

"Lucas," Ava laughed. "There are like, forty people in this puzzle. There are so many eyes."

Lucas giggled along with her and showed her his piece, and I watched over the top of my laptop. "Yeah, but this one has black hair, like me and Dad. So find one with one eye and black hair."

"Okay, okay," she chuckled, sorting through the pieces with him. "But let's be honest. Your dad's hair is like, half gray."

"Yeah, because he's old ."

"Forty-five is not old," I interjected. "You can call me old when I hit fifty. Maybe. "

Lucas nodded far too enthusiastically before turning back to Ava. "He's definitely old," he whispered, and Ava burst out into a full-bellied cackle.

"I can hear you, Luc," I said, pointing to my ear. "You'll be forty-five one day. You know that, right?"

"Will not," he pouted.

"You will. So will I," Ava grinned. She leaned in a little closer to him, her gaze snagging on mine as she whispered, "And we'll be old then."

"Oh my God," I groaned.

Footsteps padded down the hall, and what I thought would be Mrs. Henderson popping her head around the corner to announce that dinner was ready morphed into something much, much worse. Grace stepped just barely into the sitting room, her gray hair hanging loosely around her pale face.

"Oh, no. Are the meds not working?" I asked, setting my laptop off to the side and hoisting myself up.

"They are a bit," she sighed. "I think I might have some kind of stomach bug. I'm so sorry, but I don't think I can watch Lucas tonight."

"Please don't worry about that," I insisted, but the part of my mind that needed the presence of someone else to keep me from bending to what I wanted with Ava was screaming .

"I can watch him if Adrian needs to do some work," Ava called from behind me. "Do you want us to call the driver back? Maybe you should head home."

Grace shook her head. "As nice as that sounds, I don't think I can make it back to the city without coating the inside of the van in sick."

"You should go lie down, then," I offered. "Honestly, you deserve to relax anyway. I'll see if we've got anything else that can help you feel better."

As much as I was more than happy to take the responsibility of my son off her hands, I couldn't help but dread watching more of Ava's instinctual playfulness when it came to being with Lucas. They'd meshed the moment they met back at the bottom of the Darkwater building, and every passing second that they spent together seemed to only enhance their closeness.

I knew I should be grateful that he was happy to spend time with her when we'd be here for the next two days. But when I was actively desperate for someone who could do that with him and the person who ticked those boxes was directly in front of me in the form of Ava fucking Riley, it was my worst nightmare.

Keeping her out of my head when she wasn't around had only become slightly easier over the passing weeks, and I couldn't help but fear that seeing this unfold in real time would make everything that much harder.

In order of importance, my requirements went from taking care of Lucas and bonding with him, to someone I could freely enjoy the presence of, to someone who didn't need to be loved. And I knew Ava only ticked one of those—but it was the most important one. I couldn't freely be with her even if I wanted to, not with David around.

And she certainly needed, and wanted, to be loved.