Page 25 of Chasing his Ex

“I’m not getting pregnant,” I say. Wondering about that for a moment.

“Come back to my apartment and we can fuck until you are,” he says, running his palm over my arm.

I glance at his hand. “What is wrong with you?”

“Look, Ava, I’ve been thinking long and hard about us. And I don’t want to throw what we have away. We’re good together.” He hesitates as the server brings the coffees and a bottle of water. The server leaves, and he pushes his chair closer to me. “Finn doesn’t know he is a father, does he?” Jameson asks. His eyes skimming over my face, waiting for a lie.

“No.” I don’t quite know where this is going.

“You didn’t want money from him for her upkeep?”

I scowl and shake my head.

“I know this isn’t romantic and I’ll do it again another time when it is.” He wraps his hand around mine. Our eyes lock, my eyes zip to his lips the moment he opens his mouth.

“I’m a few years off forty years old.” He sighs. “It’s getting closer and I don’t want to wait any longer. I have everything and can give you whatever you want. I like you, and you like me, and I think it’s time for us to get serious. To do something about this thing we have that we are both scared to take out of the friendship zone.” He puts my hand to his lips. “Marry me, I’ll adopt Emmy. If he doesn’t know, we can leave the country once she is my child and you’re my wife.” His dark, deep eyes study me, determining my feelings.

“Jameson, we won’t work.”

“We will Ava. Everything was great between us until your ex came on the scene.”

I shake my head. “It was, and it’s you that changed. Our friendship was fabulous. You never asked for anything else from me. The moment Finn turned up, you want to marry me, get me pregnant, want to move me across the ocean, put me up in an apartment.”

“I was going to do all those things. I was already changing. We meet every day for coffee, not just twice a week. I wanted to see you more evenings than you would give me. It was already changing. I’d already fallen in love with you, but was too afraid to tell you.”

“Jameson Sterling is not afraid of doing or saying anything. You don’t love me. You’ve asked me to marry you, want to adopt my child, have your child, but not once have you ever told me you loved me.”

“I love you,” he says.

I shake my head. “Goodbye Jameson.” I push the chair out and rise from my seat. Jameson’s gaze is one of shock. I’m sure this is a man who has never been refused.

His hand grabs mine.

“I won’t give you up without a fight.”

Anger boils through me as I pass through the reception area of the office and towards Charlie. She’s on the phone and I clench my fists as I stroll away from her. She holds one finger up at me. I stop and stand, waiting for her call to end. She furiously clicks away on her keyboard, humming and erring into the receiver. “One moment I’ll put you through to Mr. Bryant.”

“You’ve got a visitor,” she sings, lowering the phone receiver to her shoulder. “Conference room,” she whispers and winks.

I head toward my office, pausing with my palm on the door handle, and glance back at her. “Who is it?”

“Finn,” she mouths and lifts her shoulders, telling me she hasn’t a clue why he’s there.

I drop my bag on my desk and take a slow walk to the office at the end.

Chapter 11

Finn

I stand waiting in the company’s large conference office, one large wooden boardroom table with enough chairs around to stop counting when I get to twelve. My butt is sitting on the window ledge and my long legs span and cross at the ankles. The incessant tapping of my fingers against the underside of the sill is annoying me, but my rage needs it to keep in control.

I know the company Ava works at employs more lawyers than my father’s company and, like me, she went into acquisitions and mergers.

A career that would serve her well if she ended up in New York.

But now I know there is a possibility she has a child that is mine, there is no way on earth that is going to happen.

The door creaks open and she smiles, appearing unfazed by my arrival, like she is expecting me. Though the last time we were together, everything was good ... too good. But as though she senses the storm that is brewing, her smile drops into a frown as she says, “Why are you here?”

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