Page 57 of Pretty Relentless

“Agreed. It’s all amazing, but these little suckers are to die for. I’ll have to bring Annabelle sometime. She’d love it here,” I say, wanting to invite her along, but not wanting to push her too far. It’s a huge step being out just the two of us, and the last thing I need to do is remind her of the fact she’s my daughter’s teacher. Not that she’ll forget that fact, but I’m sure she’s not going tobe in too much of a hurry to make our relationship known, especially while we’re still in this school year.

“So, can I ask you something?”

She seems a bit hesitant with her question, so I quickly put her at ease. “Of course. Open book.”

“You and Julia. You seem to have an unusual custody arrangement,” she comments.

I nod and swallow the piece of popcorn shrimp I was chewing. “We do. We tried them all. It took quite a while to settle on this one. It’s not easy to go a week without her, but it was the one that was the least stressful for her. Neither of us wanted to lose any time and there was a lot of bickering and stress for a while. But in the end, Annabelle came first and mattered the most, so we agreed to one week on, one off. We exchange every Saturday morning at eight and we split holidays.”

“I’m sure it’s not easy at all, but kudos to you both for putting her above your personal feelings.”

“Like I said, it’s not always easy, but she comes first. Always.”

She gives me a small smile. “You’re a great dad.”

“She makes it easy. She’s a great kid.”

Ava nods. “She is.”

When our food is gone and our check is paid, we slip from the booth and walk toward the exit. The sky is now dark, the air crisp and chilled, as we make our way to my truck. I hold the door while she climbs into the passenger seat, and the moment she’s buckled in, I take the opportunity to lean in and kiss her lips. It’s much quicker and gentler than I’d like to give her, but even though it’s dark, we’re not exactly in the location to make out like teenagers.

“I’ve had the best day,” I tell her.

“Me too,” she says softly, nibbling on her bottom lip.

My fingers instantly trace over the plump skin, my thumb gently pulling her lip from within her teeth. “When you do that, it makes me want to lick the exact spot your teeth just bit.” My voice is deep and husky, the lust I feel for her evident with each word.

She blushes, of course, and smiles. “I might like that.”

Flashing my own devious grin, I lower my voice and practically growl, “Oh, you’ll most definitely like it, Miss Rutledge. I’ll make sure of it.” With a wink, I step back and close her door. When I reach the tailgate of my truck, I adjust my growing cock in my jeans, hoping it’s not a painfully hard ride back to Pine Village.

Climbing into the driver’s seat, we set out to return home, and unfortunately, the thirty or so minute drive back seems to only take about five. I’m pulling into her driveway way too soon, wishing I could drive somewhere else, just to spend a few more minutes in her company.

“I had an amazing time,” she says, the moment I put the car into park.

“I’m glad. Next time you can pick where we go or what we do.”

“And you can pick where we eat,” she insists with a happy little grin on her face.

“Deal.” Taking a deep breath and releasing my seat belt, I add, “I’ll walk you up.”

“Wait!” she practically hollers, catching me by surprise. I remain where I am, waiting to hear what she has to say.

But she doesn’t say a damn word.

Ava releases her own seat belt and moves, climbing over the console and onto my lap. Before I can even process what’s happening, she slams her mouth against mine, throwing caution to the wind, taking a risk, and kisses me.

And managing to steal not only my sanity, but my damn heart too in the process.

Chapter Seventeen

Ava

Don’t ask me what possessed me to do what I’m doing right now, but I’m not fighting it. Not stopping it. Not asking.

Taking.

Stepping so far out of my comfort zone and just taking exactly what I want.

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