Page 56 of Ties That Bind Us

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He chuckled anxiously.

“Nick, I love you,” I blurted, admitting my feelings to him for the first time.

Nick bit his lip, letting out a sharp laugh and sitting down on the couch in the curve of my stomach. “I think your fever is making you delirious. You just told me you loved me.”

“It’s not. I meant it. I love you,” I said, nervous about how he was going to respond.

“I love you, too, Ava.” He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine. My heart leapt at his response. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just taking it all in.

“Now, will you please eat some of this so you can get some rest?” Nick tilted his head at me, offering me a spoonful of chicken soup that smelled amazing.

“Of course.” I smiled.

My mom had been right after all, it wasn’t impossible to find love in a situation like ours.

Chapter 20

Ava

By the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling much better. I even got up early so I could make some breakfast before Nick headed into work. He had stayed home with me all week, nursing me back to health. If his career with the Mafia didn’t work out, he certainly had a future as a nurse. Yesterday, he couldn’t avoid going into work for a little while, but it was the first time he’d left me all week.

I was just starting to mix up some waffle batter when my phone rang. I rushed to get it so it wouldn’t wake Nick up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetheart.” I nearly had a heart attack hearing my father’s voice on the other end of the line. It had been weeks since we’d talked, and it wasn’t like him to just call me out of the blue.

“Hi, Dad, how are you? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, sweetheart, I’ve just been meaning to call the last few days.”

“Oh, really?” Maybe he wanted to know how I was settling in or how things were going with Nick. This was new.

“Yes. Paul Bradford called me a few days ago. He said he has an internship open at this office next semester and he’s been waiting on your call.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Oh, yeah. Jimmy mentioned something about that. It sounds like a good opportunity, I’m just not sure that’s something I should be doing right now.”

“Nick wants you to quit school?” he asked.

“No, nothing like that. I’m going to finish. I just—” I paused, trying to sort out my words. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, with my history with Jimmy. I know it’s not directly—”

“Oh, nonsense, Ava. It’s a great opportunity. Jimmy has nothing to do with it. You should be flattered Paul would consider you for something like that,” he said.

“Maybe.” I bit my lip, anxiety building in my chest. It was incredible how uncomfortable he could make me.

“I took the liberty of setting up an interview for you. He’ll be expecting you at eleven o’clock.”

My eyes widened. “Dad, today is really not a good day, with the engagement party tonight. And I don’t really—”

“It’s rude not to respond, Ava. Paul is a friend of mine and I was completely mortified when he said you didn’t even call. The least you can do is go see what it’s all about.”

“Sure. There’s no harm in that,” I said reluctantly.

“Good. Let me know how it goes.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

I threw my head back, trying to stifle my groan. Why did I let him do that to me? When was I going to stop being afraid to stand up to him? He always railroaded me into things I wasn’t comfortable with, and now somehow I was going to have to explain this to Nick too. I checked my watch, realizing it was close to ten o’clock now. I didn’t have any time to spare if I was going to make it to Bradford and Chambers by eleven. There was no way I wasn’t going to show up and run the risk of pissing my dad off even more.

I put the waffle ingredients away and grabbed a banana on my way to the bathroom. I didn’t have time to shower, so I slipped on a professional looking black dress and ran my fingers through my tousled curls. I leaned against the counter, applying a healthy coat of red lipstick and smacking my lips.

---