Page 54 of Take This Heart
He shakes his head. “You’re the first.”
“Well, I think I’m in shock.” I shake my head and laugh. “And Mom is going to kill you for not telling her immediately.”
“I hope it’s a happy shock,” Ava says, smiling.
“A very happy shock.”
She asks a lot of questions about my work and my life. She’s easy to talk to and I quickly lose track of time. Ava has recently moved to Minneapolis and is a freelancejournalist. She’s smart and funny, self-deprecating in a lighthearted way. I almost forget Bruce is even sitting across from us, despite him being the reason I’ve been so stressed lately.
He excuses himself to use the restroom while our food comes. I take a few bites and then lean back in my chair, still digesting this news, when I hear the unmistakable sound of Goldie’s laugh.
I look toward the entrance, and there she is, walking in with her family. She’s changed into a short summer dress and her long, blonde hair spills over her shoulders. I want to tug on that hair and kiss some of that sass out of her. And then when that sassy mouth inevitably returns, I want to do it all again.
But then her eyes land on me and brighten for a second…until they flit to Ava.
Her expression freezes and then shifts, her jaw tightening. She stops walking and Tully bumps into her from behind. She brushes it off and forces a smile for her dad, and then looks everywherebutat me.
I start to rise, maybe to wave her over and explain who Ava is, but before I can move, Bruce returns.
Goldie’s eyes narrow like she’s seen a snake.
She pivots hard and says something to Tully. He directs them to the only table that doesn’t go past ours.
“Oh look,” Bruce says. “It’s the family that everyone has thought was perfect…until now.”
My eyes narrow on him and I stand, excusing myself, and walk over to the Whitmans’ table. Before I can get there, Goldie pushes her chair back and walks toward me.
“Hi,” I say carefully.
“Well, this explainssomuch.”
“Let me explain?—”
“No. You’re here. With her.Andhim.” Her tone slices through me, saccharine sweet, but venomous.
“She’s not…it’s not…what you think.”
“Really? Because what I think is that we were finally—finally—starting to be civil, and then I walk in and see you on a date with some rude woman who’s been asking about my family, and withBruce Granger,our sworn enemy.”
“Wait, first…what do you meansome rude woman? You know Ava Piper?”
Her eyes get huge and she looks over my shoulder like she’s willing Ava to burst into flames. “That’sAva Piper? You have got to be kidding me.” She crosses her arms and turns that glare back on me.
My balls shrivel a little, but then my dick raises its head belligerently, never one to back down on a sparring session with Goldie Whitman.
“What is going on here? What game are you playing? I want the truth.Now.”
I scrub my hand over my head. “There’s no game, I swear.”
But I sound guilty as fuck.
“Oh, come on. Ava Piper wrote the only negative review of my art installation. Then she acted like I was a pariah at The Loon the other night. Erin says she’s been asking a lot of questions about my family. And then Bruce? Well, you know about the family rivalry between our family and the Grangers. You’ve heard us talking about him and said nothing!”
I wince. “I just met Ava tonight. She’s my cousin. Bruce just found out she’s his daughter.”
Surprise crosses her face.
“And I know I should have told you sooner that I was related to Bruce, I just didn’t know how. I haven’t seen eye to eye with my uncle for a very long time.”
