Ever After (The Christmas Cottage - Book 2) (3 page)

Now he stood and walked slowly toward her.  “But I do know you, Ava,” he said smoothly, confidence lacing his tone. “You love to read and you’re excited about your education and your career.  You love to sing and dance to music from the 80’s.  You hate documentaries, love a good chick flick and cry at commercials.”

“How…how do you know this?” she whispered, mesmerized at the fact that
Brian was quite possibly the first man to really see her.

“I’ve been out with the two of you; I listen to you speak, I watch you as you interact with people.  You’re social and genuine and Mason doesn’t appreciate that.  He is looking for a partner but you’re looking for someone who’s as passionate about life as you are.  He’ll smother you; he’s already doing it, Ava.”  Brian stopped directly in front of her and reached out and touched her cheek.  “He’ll stifle your creativity and he’ll kill the passion that you have inside of you.”  His words turned to a mere whisper as he leaned forward.  “Don’t let him do that to you.”  His lips were a breath away from hers.  “You’ve got too much passion to give.”

And then his lips claimed hers.

Ava wanted to be outraged; she wanted to push Brian away but everything that he said was true and the feel of his mouth on hers was so perfect.  It had been a long time since Mason had kissed her with such tenderness, such emotion!  She was helpless; she had no choice but to respond.

The instant Ava went from being cautious to participating in the kiss, Brian took full advantage and wrapped her in his arms.  She went willingly, pressing closer to him until Brian thought he’d go crazy.  He deepened the kiss and it went on and on.  Ava’s fingers ran through his hair as his hands roamed her back; it was mindless and passionate and…wrong.  That thought hit him hard and he forced himself to let her go.

Brian looked down at Ava’s flushed face and smiled sadly.  “You can’t marry him, Ava,” he said sternly.  “Don’t marry him.”

Conflict marred her features.  Her whole being was in turmoil and this was the most unexpected turn of events she ever could have imagined.  “The wedding is tomorrow, Brian,” she said with more calm than she actually felt.  “Why didn’t you return any of my calls?”

“I honestly didn’t believe either of you would go through with this.  I thought that you’d surely see how wrong you were for each other!” he said angrily, raking a hand through his hair as he turned away to pace.  “I mean, it’s obvious to everyone around you!”

Now it was Ava’s turn to be angry.  “Well I don’t care who it’s obvious to!  Mason and I have talked and we’ve gone for counseling and we know what we’re doing.  How dare you show up now and try to ruin everything!”  She turned and walked over to the door and yanked it open.  “You need to leave now.”  Rage had her trembling and she only hoped that Brian knew that it was anger and not passion that had her voice shaking.

Slowly he stalked to her again and Ava had to grip the doorknob tightly to keep from flinging herself at him.  Standing before her, Brian reached up and grabbed the door and slammed it shut, his eyes never leaving hers.  “How dare you!” she hissed as she reached for the handle again but Brian was faster. 

“I’m not ready to leave yet, Ava.  One of you is going to listen to reason.  I thought that would be Mason but obviously I was wrong.  You can’t tell me that you’re going to be happy with him!”

Ava couldn’t answer so she
moved beyond him and further into the room.  She walked to the wall of windows and hugged herself.  For all of her arguments with Lacey and Ean and her parents, none of them had made as compelling of a case as Brian and if she allowed herself to even look at  him right now, he’d see his victory.

She saw his approach in the reflection before her and then his hands were on her shoulders, turning her around.  “Why are you doing this, Brian?” she cried.  “Why now?  Why couldn’t you just let us be?”

Ava was prepared for his anger or harsh words, she wasn’t prepared for tenderness.  Both hands reached up and cupped her face, his eyes softening as they scanned her features as if memorizing them.  “You deserve someone who loves you for who you are, Ava.  Someone who shares your passion and delights in all of the things that make you who you are; not someone who is trying to mold you into someone else.”

“That person may not exist,” she said weakly, mesmerized by his intent gaze.

“But he does,” he whispered.  “And he’s going to kiss you right now.”

And he did.

A knock on the car window startled Ava out of her daydream.  She turned to see her co-worker Julianne standing there waving.  Grabbing her purse and keys, Ava climbed out of the car feeling a little more aroused than she should be.  “What’s up, Jules?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were awake in there,” she said with a smile.  “Sorry if I scared you!”

“Just relaxing before heading inside,” was all Ava could say as they headed into the bookstore discussing their nightly to do list.

Brian McCabe was a patient man.  Sometimes that worked to his advantage while other times, like now, he wasn’t so sure.  Watching Ava walk out of the coffee house had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done; well, that and the night that he’d had to leave her at her hotel, unsure if she was going to go through with her wedding to Mason.

He’d waited, eight long months he’d waited to see if Ava would call him.  Sure he’d known that there would be a period of time where it wouldn’t have been appropriate for her to call; after all, she had ended an engagement on the day of the wedding!  To some people it might have seemed inappropriate to pick up the phone and call the jilted groom’s best friend. 

But that was eight months ago and Brian was tired of waiting.

The possibility of never seeing Ava again wasn’t an option.  Brian was exceptional at judging people and he knew that Ava had been just as attracted to him as he was to her and even having this ridiculous ‘accidental’ meeting at Starbucks, there was no doubt that she was still attracted to him. 

She just wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

The only difference between now and eight months ago was the fact that Brian wasn’t going to quietly step back and wait.  It was game on as far as he was concerned and he was going to wear her down until she agreed to go out with him.  He wasn’t quite sure how it was all going to play out but all he was sure of was the fact that he was in love with Ava Callahan and he was tired of hiding it.

Finishing his own coffee, Brian eventually left the s
hop and realized that he had nowhere in particular to go.  The sun was still shining bright in the late August sun and he felt momentarily at a loss what to do. There was always the possibility of going to the campus bookstore and trying to talk some sense into Ava but he had a feeling that would only serve to hamper his campaign to win her over.  No, he needed to let her have a day or two to think about how she felt about seeing him again.

He thought about his friendship with Mason and how his actions were going to affect them and then stopped himself.  When Mason had called him yesterday to tell him that he’d seen Ava and told her of his engagement, Brian had been shocked.  Not that Mason had called, they had resumed their friendship not long after the canceled Christmas wedding, but the fact that Mason had seen Ava and was actually telling Brian about it.  They had known each other too long to stay mad and Mason had admitted that Brian’s disapproval of his wedding was
a real eye opener to him.

It wasn’t until well-after the smoke had cleared that Mason figured out that Brian had feelings for Ava.  He never said whether he approved or disapproved
, but it was by silent agreement that she was never brought up in conversation.

Until yesterday.

Was his friend trying to tell him that it was okay for him to see Ava?  Date her?  Brian shook his head, unsure of whether or not any answer he came up with would be legit or a figment of his own inner desires.  Eventually they would have to talk about it because Brian’s ultimate goal was to have Ava fall in love with him and marry him.  He didn’t want his friendship with Mason to end but if he had to choose, he was choosing Ava.

Walking along the city street, his mind strayed back to the nig
ht he’d shown up at Ava’s hotel the night before her wedding.  It was never far from his mind, but after seeing her today, having her so close and not being able to do anything about it had his subconscious in overdrive.  That first kiss only solidified what he already knew; Ava was the one for him.  He was certain they’d been on the same page until she’d stopped him.

The windows were fogged from all of the steam they seemed to be creating with their kiss and if Brian had his way, he’d never stop kissing her.  He felt Ava pulling away but wanted to keep her close, scared of what she was going to say.

“Brian, we have to stop,” she said as he continued to kiss her cheek, her throat.  Carefully, she pulled out of his embrace and he could see her trembling.  “I’m getting married tomorrow,” she said weakly.

“Don’t do it, Ava,” he pleaded.  Hadn’t she heard anything that he’d said?  “Mason doesn’t love you the way you deserve.  I love you,” he began but she cut him off.

“You don’t love me, Brian, you barely know me!” she turned away from him and now it was her turn to pace the room.  “We hung out a couple of times and now you’re saying that you’re in love with me?  It’s not possible!”

“You ma
y not want to believe me, Ava, but it’s true!  I knew the first time we met that you and Mason were all wrong for one another.  You’re complete opposites!”

“Opposites attract…”

“That’s bull and you know it!  Can you stand here and tell me that you’re okay with giving up your dream of a career, a career that you’ve been working very hard toward, so that you can be a trophy wife?”

“That’s not what’s going to happen.  Mason is merely looking for…”

“A meek little wife who will host his dinner parties, schmooze his clients and make him look good.  Is that what you want?  Who you are?” he demanded.

“That’s not how it’s going to be!  Mason and I talked about it and I’m going to finish my degree and I’ll work!”

“At what, Ava?  How long do you think it will take before Mason’s going to need you to help him with something?  Before he’s asking you to back out of your commitments because his are more pressing and more important?  How long before you completely lose yourself and become whatever it is that he wants you to be?”

Ava stared at him incredulously.  “Isn’t Mason supposed to be your best friend?  How can you stand here and talk like that about him?  What kind of friend are you?”

“I’m the kind of friend who speaks the truth.  I’m not saying anything to you that I haven’t already said to him.  It may not be kind, it may not be pretty, but at least it’s the truth!”

“You’re horrible!” she cried
, contempt lacing her words.  “I can’t understand what you hope to accomplish by doing this.  Is it so important to be right that you would destroy peoples’ happiness?  Is your ego that big?”

“Baby, this has nothing to do with ego.  I hate seeing people mess up their lives and that is exactly what the two of you are doing.  You both deserve to be happy; it’s just not going to happen if you stay together.  Mason deserves a wife who has
the same goals and ambitions he does and you deserve someone who loves you.”

“Someone like you?” she asked snarkily

“No, not like me, just me,” he said confidently. 

“You’re insane, Brian.  I can’t possibly love you; not after this.  You ruined my wedding!  This was my dream!  My fairytale and you ruined it!  Do you have any idea how long and hard I’ve worked on this?  The amount of time, money and effort that went in to this wedding?  And because of your own selfish desire you swooped in and ruined it!”

“Seems to me you’re more concerned about the damn wedding than you are about the marriage.  Care to comment on that?”

“I don’t care to comment on anything else to you.  I want you to leave.  I want you to just go and stay away from us!”

He heard her words but there wasn’t as much conviction behind them as she thought.  Walking up to her, he smiled sadly.  “So you’re going to marry him?  You’re going to go through with this wedding?”

Tears welled up in her beautiful blue eyes and Brian cursed himself for putting them there.  As one lone tear escaped he reached out and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb; lingering for just a moment to caress her cheek.  Ava didn’t pull away and he took that as a good sign.  Not caring about the consequences, he leaned in and kissed her one last time.  Her resistance didn’t last long and Brian knew
she wasn’t as certain as she had been an hour ago about marrying Mason.

Reluctantly, he raised his head, wiped away one last tear, and walked out the door just as she’d requested.

It wasn’t until a week later that he’d found out that the wedding had been called off.  He’d been at a New Year’s Eve party when he’d seen Mason walk in alone.  Brian had frantically looked around for Ava, but it was soon blazingly obvious that she wasn’t there. That fact was confirmed when Mason approached him, beer in hand, and greeted him with, “Any eligible ladies here tonight?”  And just like that, it was as if the previous months had never happened.

That again only stood to confirm his belief that Mason and Ava had been wrong for one another.  Now he had to figure out how to convince her how right they could be.