A Promised Fate (5 page)

Ava is stubborn and tenacious, but she will do
absolutely anything for Max and for the little baby on its way. If
learning to swim will keep her kids safe, Ava will be able to swim
like a fish in no time.

I took her hands in mine. “Alright are you ready? I
am going to take this nice and slow.” She nodded, a bit scared, but
also finally determined to learn.

Ava gave in to my swim lesson for an hour or so and
slowly, she began to relax. She listened carefully and did exactly
what I said.

The pool emptied and everyone lounged around the
sidelines in chairs. Lauren sat flipping through magazines.

“OMG, Cameron Gallo’s a total hotty Mchotterson.”

Her friend leaned across the lounge chair to glance
at my sister’s reading material, “Adorbs.” She bobbed her head
enthusiastically. “That hair! I love the honey blonde curls.”

“For sure, and those baby blue eyes …
cutes-pa-tutes.”

Lauren gave her own eager nod. “For sure, I know,
right? I cannot believe he cheated on Dove. I mean, wow, she is
gorgeous.”

“She’s pretty, but he is too good to be true. He’s
like a god or something. Wow.”

“Wow.”

My eyebrow rose at Ava in question.

“Apparently he’s handsome,” she remarked with a
barely straight face.

“Did you ever tell your friends I was a hotty
Mchotterson?”

“For sure, I must have doodled “Ari Alexander” on
every page in my diary.”

“Really?”

“No, Ari. Not really. But I did you think you were
hot. Still do, actually.”

“Mmm,” I took Ava’s hands and glided her with me back
to the shallow end of the pool, pulling her in close to my chest.
“You think I’m hot?”

“Sometimes.” She shrugged, giving her best attempt at
nonchalance.

“I sometimes think you’re hot, too. Especially when
you do that one little dance move when you think no one is
watching.”

“I don’t do any little dance move!” She argued.

“Yeah, uh huh, Ava, you do too. The one that goes
like this,” I mimicked her little half twirl, head bob combo.

“I don’t dance like that!” She splashed pool water up
in my face again and I gave her a warning look.

“Don’t think I won’t dunk you, because I will. And
yes, you do too dance like that.” I pulled her in closer and spoke
into her ear, “Like I said, it’s cute. Makes me smile.” Her cheek
pressed against mine and the heat from her blush warmed my
skin.

Beads of water ran from Ava’s hair, down her neck and
then maneuvered over the curves of her chest, glistening against
her creamy tan skin. The hot sun dried her nearly as fast as the
drips ran. With my finger, I pulled ever so slightly at the string
between her chest that held her little triangle shaped bikini to
her body.

“There are some major advantages to having you in the
pool with me.” My finger slipped beneath the fabric of her swimsuit
and caressed the lower curve of her full breast. Ava’s skin flashed
hot and my lips began to nip at her ear lobe. Her head cocked to
the side granting me access to her neck and I pecked and sucked my
way down to the dip of her shoulder and then back up again to her
mouth. Ava’s tongue slid into my mouth, her hands ran up my back to
my head where she gripped fistfuls of my wet hair. Her body pushed
against mine, the water splashed at our sides from the quick
displacement. I smiled with my kisses, knowing that Ava had let her
guard down by accident and had forgotten where we were and that we
were not alone. Born without a shred of modesty, I didn’t care if a
hundred people watched on and I cupped her bottom tightly and
squeezed.

“Knock it off!” Andy shouted at us, startling Ava,
causing her to bite down on my tongue, hard.

“Christ!” I yelled at her sharp teeth.

“Oh, my God!” Ava squealed with embarrassment.

“You two need a bedroom,” My dad yelled again.

“We have eight bedrooms over there in our home and
they are therefore attached to this pool.”

“Ah, so it isn’t a room that you are lacking then,
it's decency?”

“Right.” I smiled a bit too cocky for his liking and
I knew the next sentence that was due to come out of his mouth by
heart.

“You are my son and I will never stop trying to teach
you to do the right thing.”

“Right, right, I’ll do my best to keep my hands off
her.”

“Please do. Let’s keep this afternoon rated G, shall
we? At least while the rest of us are here and sober.”

“He’s teasing,” I reassured Ava and rubbed my thumb
across her blushing red cheeks. “Come on, let’s get out.” Scooping
her up, I plucked her out of the water and then sat her upright on
the edge of the pool. “You did great. I don’t know what you have
been so afraid of, you’re a natural in the water. It won’t take you
any time to become a strong swimmer.”

“Well, you are a good teacher.” I eased in between
Ava’s legs and she leaned down to kiss me chastely on the lips. I
thought about the two of us running inside the house and slamming
the bedroom door.

Ava recognized the needy look in my eye and moved to
the lounge chair for space. “Don’t even think about it, Ari.”

“It’s too hard not to at least think about it.”

“Then don’t act on it.”

“I’ll try.” I made a weak promise to behave and
joined Ava at the pool side chairs.

“OMG!” My sister squealed and Ava shuddered in
annoyance. “Ava, you’ve been outed! Ari, look!”

She flopped the magazine open in my wet lap and
jabbed repeatedly to a grouping of pictures of Ava, Max and me.
They were right next to the story covering Cameron Gallo’s alleged
affair.

Ava and I had been successful until now at keeping
the news of her pregnancy on a need-to-know basis. Our little
secret, boy
or
girl, was harder to keep with each passing
week as Ava's belly grew more round. Media coverage of Ava’s
disappearance had simmered down over the course of year but her
popularity had only skyrocketed. She is beautiful and rich,
baio
is hot and she is the only heir of Margaux’s fashion
dynasty. She had never uttered a single word to the paparazzi and
she had never even remotely considered taking part in any sort of
social media venue, yet the press adores her and somehow claims to
know everything about her, including but in no way limited to what
she likes to eat for breakfast.

“
She’s Preggers!”
The caption exclaimed and
just below was a short cutline about the reporter’s predictions for
the baby. According to the journalist, Ava was thirty weeks along
in the pregnancy, we were having a boy and we were still arguing
over baby names.

Not entirely incorrect.

“A source close to the couple confirmed the pregnancy
and shared that after a few weeks of morning sickness, Ava is doing
well and the baby is healthy.”

Ava yanked the magazine off my lap but not before I
got a look at the photos. Featured on the glossy page were pictures
of us getting out of my SUV, another of us walking hand in hand
with Max through the open air market and then a third in which Ava
and I were sneaking a quick kiss. My hand was resting on her hidden
belly, pressing her baggy, oversized sweater down tight. Just
beneath my splayed fingers, was a soccer ball-sized bump for the
entire world to see. The hand to her belly proved that she was most
certainly expecting.

“I’m so sorry, Baby. I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t
have done that. I didn’t see the cameras.”

“It’s ok.” She smiled and it gave me some relief.
“Who wears a sweater in July anyway? I’m getting huge and they were
bound to find out at some point. We're just lucky the peace lasted
as long as it did.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice in the
matter.”

“Hmm. I really am sorry.”

“Who is their source?”

“I have no idea. Probably no one. I think that’s just
something they say so the article seems legit.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I mean there is no way they have a real
source. The only people who know are us and them,” I pointed out to
our family.

“Margaux knows, and my doctors, and your
assistant.”

“Margaux cherishes you. And she had very high hopes
of keeping the baby a secret until the fashion show. She wanted to
debut your bump along with the new
baio babe
line. I highly
doubt she’s the rat. Your doctors are professionals who are bound
by patient confidentially and Fauna respects us and is also bound
by a non-disclosure agreement – I trust her completely. I really
think the magazine was just making it up. What an easy thing to lie
about, just about every pregnant woman has morning sickness.”

“True.”

“Let’s go inside. Max could use a nap…” I winked, she
blushed and followed me into the house.

****

Dinner was followed later that evening at my parent’s
house.

“Ava! How are you feeling?” My mom talked quickly as
soon as we entered her home through the back glass door.

“Hey, I’m fine, how are you?” Ava greeted my mom with
a bright, happy smile.

“Did you get some rest this afternoon?”

She looked over to me and the tops of her cheeks
turned a shade darker.

“
Tsk
! Oh, forget I asked. I’m a little rushed
here, Ava—do you think you could help me out and make the
galaktoboureko? Gianna got caught up in something with Rory and she
was supposed to be here an hour ago to make it!”

“What’s galaktob…” Ava’s grin slid from her suntanned
cheeks.

My mom gave a heavy, overly dramatic sigh.

“I’ll teach her,” I offered. “We can make it
together.”

“Oh, thank heavens! Andy!!” She hollered through the
house and my dad popped his head up from the couch.

“Watch Max? These two are making the pie!”

My dad smirked at my mother’s theatrical kitchen
drama and Max scurried off with him in search of a flashlight for
later in the evening.

I began to pull the semolina, phyllo sheets and all
the other necessary ingredients from the cupboards. “Galaktoboureko
is a custard pie. It’s a Greek dish,” I spoke to Ava over my
shoulder from the refrigerator. “My mom has made it tons of times
before. It has that honey lemon syrup stuff. Tons of sugar! You’ll
love it, I promise.”

Thanks to her pregnancy, Ava had a sweet tooth and
Max and I were the beneficiaries – we were getting away with eating
more sugar and sweets than ever before. Grocery shopping with
pregnant Ava is a blast. She can’t fight the sugar craving she has,
and since she has never eaten sugary foods before, I have the
enjoyment of feeding her all of my favorite cookies, ice-creams and
cakes. And chocolate. Once, I gave her a peanut butter Pop Tart and
it may as well have been crack cocaine. She put the whole box away
in less than two days. Galaktoboureko was sure to become a fast
favorite of hers.

“You can teach me how to make it?” She shot me a
raised eyebrow of doubt.

“Of course. I know how to make every recipe that has
ever come from this kitchen by heart. I can teach you how to make
galaktoboureko with my eyes closed.”

“You’re pretty hot,” she said and poked my ribs.

“I thought I was only hot sometimes.”

“Now is definitely one of those times.”

I smiled crookedly at her and tied an apron around my
waist.

“You’re more than hot. This is sexy,” she tugged at
the apron. “Domestic suits you.”

“Yeah? What do you say I borrow the apron for later
tonight? You can find out what’s underneath…”

“That apron was a Mother’s Day gift from you to me
when you were eight years old,
Ari
!” My mom screeched from
the hall closet. “If you tarnish that memory, I will never forgive
you!”

I winked an eye at Ava and tried to whisper, “What
she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

“I can still hear you! Could you just make the pie?!”
My mother huffed. “I swear you two…” She continued mumbling to
herself about how the two of us could never keep our hands off one
another. Ava easily tuned out her chatter and helped me make the
custard pie.

“What’s going on with Rory that Gianna bailed on
you?” I asked my mom when Ava pulled the pie from the oven.

“She didn’t really say. Only that Rory showed up to
their house early and wanted to talk with her and Thais before the
end of the night. She made it sound like it was very important to
him.”

“What do you think he’s up to?”

“I honestly never know with him, Ari.”

“Me either.”

She shrugged and walked off in the direction of the
deck with a platter of fresh cheeses, fruit and vegetables, putting
an end to the conversation.

With the pie crisis averted, Ava and I went out on
the deck and grilled steaks and mahi mahi. I drank wine and we
visited with friends as they came up the path to celebrate and
watch fireworks from beach chairs. The galaktoboureko was a hit,
which annoyed my mother because she likes to be the one who gets
the kudos for making the best food. Ava was thrilled because my mom
was annoyed. My sister missed dinner completely because she spent
so much time getting ready and doing her hair and makeup in the
bathroom. She and Luke had plans to go to a friend’s party after
our family thing. Unable to resist, I told Luke I’d give him fifty
dollars if he threw my sister into the pool as soon as she came out
on to the deck with us.

“Oh, um, I dunno. Lauren wouldn’t like that.” He
said, but smiled as he deliberated my proposal.

“That’s the point, Luke.”

“Shit, fifty bucks? I’ll do it.” Rory jumped up from
his seat to be on the lookout for Lauren.

“Nah, I want Luke to toss her. Not you.”

“C’mon, man, I could use the cash.”

“Fine, I’ll give you fifty bucks to throw Jules in
the pool.”

“
Cha! Ari!”
Julia yelled at me and tossed her
hands up in the air.