On His Desk by Mia Faye
Chapter 35
AVA
I hear voices coming from Miley’s apartment as I knock on the door. Deep male voices. They make me miss Michael. An ache comes over my chest at the way we parted.
As he’d said, I found him gone when I got out of the shower. I’d hoped for a text message by now. I glance at my phone one more time but it’s annoyingly quiet.
The door flings open and Miley stands there smiling with her face flushed. She has a glow to her, something I haven’t seen in a long time.
“Come here,” she says and pulls me into a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I know,” I tell her and sink into her warmness. “I’ve missed you.”
“Come in and meet Alec’s brother. You’ll like him,” Miley says and winks.
I groan inwardly. When I enter, both men stand up. Alec steps forward and takes my hand into his.
“It’s nice to see you again, Ava,” he says. “I always tell Miley to say hello. Does she?”
I throw Miley a look.
“I do,” she says. “When I see her.”
Alec drops my hands and propels his brother forward. “This is my brother, Philip. He’s an attorney so for your sanity’s sake, don’t get into an argument with him.”
I giggle at the introduction. They could be twins, except that Philip is slimmer. Their features are almost identical.
I take the hand he offers. “It’s nice to meet you, Philip.”
His grin is charming, and he has an open friendly face. I compare it with Michael’s unreadable one.
“Likewise,” he says. “It's nice to be in the company of civilized ladies. I worry about spending too much time with this Neanderthal. Whatever he has might be contagious.”
They tease each other back and forth. Miley and I laugh. Philip is clearly as good-natured as his brother. In a perfect world, Miley and I would be in love with the brothers and we’d have a double wedding. In reality, I can barely keep my mind from straying to Michael.
I pour myself a generous helping of red wine. Maybe alcohol will help numb the pain in my chest. We sit in the living room and chat, though to be honest, I do more listening than talking.
“Isn’t that true of all people Ava,” Miley says.
I snap back to the present. I have no idea what she’s talking about. I mumble a response. My face grows heated. Philip probably thinks that I’m an idiot. I don’t blame him.
“Dinner is just about ready,” Miley says. “Ava, do you want to help me set the table?” Miley says.
“I can help,” Alec says.
Miley silences him with a look.
I jump to my feet. “Sure.”
In the kitchen, Miley shuts the door and turns to me. “If I knew you’d be in such a terrible mood, I wouldn’t have invited you.”
“Sorry,” I tell her, guilt flooding me. She’s right. I’m making no effort whatsoever. I’m your nightmare dinner guest. The one who broods all evening and you wonder why they didn’t stay home.
I notice the bottle of water she’s holding. I haven’t seen Miley with a glass of wine all evening. “Are you sick? You’ve been on water all evening.”
The annoyed look goes from her face and is replaced with a soft look. “I didn’t want to tell you now. I wanted to wait until the guys left and it was just the two of us.” She rests her hand on her flat tummy.
“Alec and I are pregnant, Ava.” She jumps up and down. “Can you believe that? I’m going to be a mommy.”
“Oh, my goodness!” I’m dumbfounded. Miley pregnant? She’s never spoken about wanting kids before. If anything, I’m the one who has gone on about a family over the years.
“Say something else!” Miley says and I realize that I’ve been staring at her open mouth.
“I’m so happy for you,” I tell her. “Wow! How does he feel?”
She giggles. “He’s happy. He says he knew that he’d marry me the first time he saw me. He was giving me time to warm up to the idea. The baby gave him the perfect excuse to propose to me.”
My eyes widen until I’m afraid they’ll pop out of my face. “You’re getting married?”
“Yes,” Miley says.
“That’s wonderful!” I tell her and then pull her into a hug.
“Of course, you’re going to be my maid of honor,” Miley says. “We’re going to have a small ceremony with just a few people. We want it fuss-less and fast before I start showing.”
My head spins from the speed at which things are moving. I’m happy for Miley. No one deserves all this more than she does, but a part of me can’t help but feel sorry for myself. I wonder if it will ever happen to me.
Miley places her hand on my arm. “Hey, you’ll find the right person too. How’s it going with Michael?”
“Let’s not spoil the evening,” I tell her.
“That bad, huh?” she says. “Never mind. Things will work out. I promise.”
I hope she’s right. Right now, my life feels like one big mess. I feel as if I jumped from the fire to the cooking oil with Barry and Michael. I push away the depressing thoughts from my mind. “Do you want a boy or a girl?”
Miley and I used to like talking about our future children when we were younger. She was always adamant that she wanted little boys.
“Either to be honest. I’m just praying for a good pregnancy and birth,” she says.
“It will be. Alec is a doctor.”
Miley rolls her eyes. “Alec is a cardiologist.”
I giggle. “I just wanted to make you feel better.”
Miley has made lasagna for dinner, and a side dish of mixed steamed vegetables. I carry the food to the table and Miley follows with crockery and cutlery.
The guys stroll into the dining room and Alec goes to Miley and wraps his hands around her waist. She leans her head on him. They haven’t known each other for long, but they’ve found something special. Philip and I glance at each other and burst into laughter.
It’s awkward for us.
“Let us in on the joke,” Alec says.
“You don’t want to know,” Phillip says.
After that, it’s easier to converse with him. I find out that he’s a hotshot corporate lawyer and a very nice man to boot. Regret comes over me. Why can’t I fall for an uncomplicated man like Philip? Why do I have to gravitate toward a man who has no emotions and whose sole purpose in life is to make money and chase pleasure with no strings attached?
Philip is a good listener and is interested in hearing all about my hometown and my family.
“Don’t you miss them?” he says. “I ask that because we’re all in New York, including my parents.”
“Yeah? How many of you are there?” I ask with a laugh. I can’t imagine more of Alec and Philip.
He leans into my ear. “Five brothers and none of us are married. Mom is going crazy with desperation for grandkids.”
I bite my tongue back as I don’t think Alec and Miley have told anyone yet.
“I miss them, but I used to travel a lot in my former job and me kind of got used to seeing them once in maybe two months. But yes, I do miss them.”
“You have to come to my folks’ place for dinner. They love guests and you’d get a dose of family life,” Philip says.
“Thank you, that sounds like fun.” I don’t know why I agree except that I’m tired of hanging around waiting to hear Michael’s plans before making my own.
That and the wine. I feel tipsy and careless. I should give myself permission to live a little. I glance at Philip. He’s not bad at all. Perhaps I had been too quick in dismissing him. I could easily fall in love with him. I need a man like him. A man who has no commitment issues.
Alec overhears. “You may live to regret saying yes.”
Maybe I’ve drunk more wine than I should have. I notice several glares coming from Miley. I laugh longer than everyone else. The boys leave a little later and I try leaving at the same time, but Miley keeps a vice-like grip on my arm.
She homes in on me as soon as the front door shuts. “Why the sudden interest in Philip?”
I push out my chin. “I like him and I think we could be friends.” The floor makes a sudden movement and I grab the wall for support.
“Your drunk!” Miley says sounding surprised.
“Something you did quite often until you got a bun in your oven.”
She propels me toward the bedrooms. I try to dig my heels in, but Miley is a lot stronger than I am at this moment.
“I want to go home.” My words slur even to my own ears.
“Nobody is going home,” Miley says firmly. “I want you to sleep here so that you can call Philip first thing and look for an excuse to give him. He’s my future brother in law Ava. Don’t mess him up.”
I collapse gratefully on the bed and then adopt a hurt look. “Why would you think that badly of me? I’m no sexy vixen.”
Miley stares at me. “No? the only reason why I’m not afraid to have you around Alec is that you’re my best friend and I trust you. But make no mistake. Men find you irresistible.”
She grabs my legs and swings them onto the bed. Unprepared, my head flops back to the pillow. She proceeds to strip my clothes off.
“Are we going to have sex?” I tease.
She doesn’t bother replying.
I fall asleep somewhere between Miley popping the buttons of my blouse open and slipping me out of it.
When I wake up, it’s to a pounding headache and confusion as to where I am. The events of the previous night come to me and I groan loudly.
I hear footsteps and the door flings open. “About time you got up, princess!” Miley says.
“How can you be so cheerful at this time of morning?” I whine. “Don’t open the curtains.”
She pushes them open and sunlight floods the room.
“For your information, it’s already noon. Only billionaires and professional prostitutes sleep past noon and since you’re neither of those, I suggest you wake up.”
“You sound like my mother,” I tell her.
“I’m practicing,” Miley says.
I’d forgotten about the baby. My eyes fly open and I grin at her. “Can you believe that? You’re going to be a mom!”
She jumps on the bed. “I know!”
“We have to go shopping for baby clothes!” I shriek. “They are so cute and tiny.”
“I’ve looked at a few online,” Miley admits.
“Please don’t go without me.” There’s nothing that melts the heart more than tiny newborn clothes. I can’t wait for Miley and Alec’s baby. I’m going to spoil her rotten.
