deal with what had happened between them, just as he had.
It was a natural reaction to being around a beautiful woman, he’d told himself on the way to the deli. He hadn’t dated in so long he couldn’t remember. His body had just been reminding him that he had needs; his mind just responding as any person who had needs would.
But when he returned and saw Ava sitting on his balcony, staring out over the mountains visible to most residents of Somerset West, he faltered. Had she looked this forlorn before? This defenceless?
Now she seemed nothing like the spitfire who had tried to save her cat from a blaze and everything like that little girl he’d once saved from being bullied. And when his heart turned in his chest and his arms ached to pull her into his arms, Noah worried that his reaction to her earlier hadn’t just been natural. That it had been...more.
It didn’t help that when her eyes met his—brown and steady—he instinctively knew she wasn’t that little girl who’d needed saving. Her gaze wasn’t as innocent, as trusting, as that little girl’s had been. It was weary, cautious—as if she were ready to defend herself at any moment.
‘This place is just as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside,’ she said into the silence.
Grateful for the distraction—his thoughts bothered him more than he’d thought they should—he nodded. ‘This particular view sealed the deal for me.’
‘I can imagine.’ She pushed out from the table she’d been sitting at. ‘I’d love to enjoy it some more, but I’m hungry. Like, really hungry. What do you have in there?’
He swung the deli bags out of her reach when she tried to peek inside them, and thought about how similar this was to how they’d been before he’d left. How similar it was to how she’d been before. And how it didn’t make him feel like he needed to protect her.
‘You’ll find out when I serve it.’
‘Spoilsport.’ She followed him to the kitchen. ‘Can I help?’
‘No.’
‘Excuse me?’
He smiled at the disbelief in her voice, and then took his time removing the takeaway dishes from the plastic bag and placing them on the kitchen counter.
When he saw her hovering, he said, ‘Have a seat.’
‘You’re really refusing my help?’
‘Yes.’ He opened his fridge, showing her different drinks one by one until she eventually nodded at the fruit juice he took out. ‘I didn’t ask you here so you could help me cook, Ava.’
‘I think you’re using the word cook wrong,’ she commented dryly, and then took the glass he offered her and went to the couch.
He could almost see her body sag into its softness. He was glad he’d refused her help.
‘You know, the last time I was at your house—and this was when you still lived with your father—you didn’t know what “cook” meant then either. I think you gave me and Jaden leftovers from the night before.’
‘How do you know I didn’t cook the night before?’
‘Because it was delicious.’ She smiled brightly at the look he gave her. ‘And because your father’s made me a few more of those pasta dishes since you left and it was definitely not your cooking.’
His hands paused. ‘You’ve seen my father since I’ve been away?’
He saw her cheeks pinken. ‘Yeah... I mean, occasionally...’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been helping him with some stuff. We’re...friends.’
The pink turned into a deep red, and if Noah hadn’t been so perplexed by the whole thing—if his heart hadn’t been racing in his chest—he’d have found it charming.
‘So, just to check that I’ve heard you correctly,’ he said slowly, when his brain refused to process what she’d told him, ‘you say you’re friends with my father?’
‘Don’t make it sound so outlandish, Noah,’ she said with a roll of her eyes. Her embarrassment seemed to have worn off. ‘Your father is incredibly interesting. And he’s young for his age. I can barely tell he’s in his sixties.’ She sipped her juice. ‘And, while we’re at it, I might as well tell you that by “occasionally” I actually mean at least every two weeks. More often if my schedule—and his—can manage it.’ She lifted her shoulders at the look on his face. ‘We enjoy each other’s company, Noah. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
All the blood seemed to drain from his body.
‘Ava,’ he said, his voice strangled. ‘Are you trying... Are you trying to tell me that you’re in a relationship with my father?’
AVA STARED AT him for what felt like for ever. And then she choked back a laugh and used the opportunity.
‘I’m sorry, Noah,’ she said solemnly. ‘We didn’t want you to find out this way.’
His jaw dropped, and it took every bit of her self-control not to show her enjoyment.
‘But...but...how? Why?’
‘I don’t think I have to explain how,’ she said matter-of-factly. Man, she was really getting to use her acting skills today. ‘I mean, I know for a fact that you know how to kiss. And, sure, there’s some other stuff which I’d be happy to—’
‘Ava.’
His voice had taken on a quality Ava had never heard before.
‘Please do not allude to your sex life with my father.’
She bit her lip so hard she was afraid she’d draw blood. ‘We’re all adults, Noah.’
‘No, we’re not. You’re still a kid.’
He was angry now, and Ava tried not to let him thinking of her as a kid bother her.
‘You’ve been gone for a long time, Noah. I’m not a kid any more.’
‘My father,’ he repeated in a daze. ‘My father.’
‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘You asked me why earlier. I’ve already told you some of it. He’s interesting. And kind. And he’s got such a sweet heart. And an impressive—’
‘Do not finish that sentence.’
‘Why not?’ she asked innocently. ‘I was only going to say he has an impressive...’ she dragged out the pause for as long as she could ‘...personality.’
He stared at her. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
She contemplated whether she
