Page 54 of Forever King

Pulling her to me, I hug her and whisper, “I don’t want to talk about the trip. I don’t even want to think about it. All I want to think about is lying here with you.”

I cringe when I say the word lying, even if I meant it a different way. God, I can’t wait for this to be over so I can stop hating myself for being so stupid.

Ava sighs against me. “Same. After a long day with three kids, this is a wonderful way to end the day.”

We lie there silently, and all I can do is pray that Jillian will sign the divorce papers. If she won’t no matter what I offer her, I don’t know how I’m going to return home to face Ava.

I can’t bear the thought of having to break her heart if I have to tell her we can’t get married.

19

Ava

It’s beena while since Matthias had to leave for a business trip. He got a break from that when we found out Elizabeth was coming, but I guess now that’s she’s here, the days away will start up again.

I watch as he packs his suitcase with all he needs for the trip, wishing he didn’t have to go. “Do you want me to help with anything?” I ask as I lay in bed.

He shakes his head and smiles but returns to packing his shaving kit. Then I see him walk into our bathroom and a few moments later return with his bottle of cologne. That’s strange. I don’t remember him wearing cologne to work recently.

“Needing to smell good for a business meeting?”

Matthias nods as he tosses it into his suitcase. “Long trips pretty much demand it since I doubt I’ll be grabbing a shower before the meeting starts.”

Okay. That makes sense.

I lean over and grab the bottle of amber colored cologne out of the suitcase. Even before I bring it to my nose, I rememberhow much I love this scent. Woodsy and warm, it smells incredible on Matthias. When I screw the top off and take a deep inhale of it, I’m practically transported back to the last time he wore it with me. We were out on a date night before I found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth. He took me to a fantastic Asian fusion place someone at work had told him about that turned out to be a wonderful surprise.

“I’m going to need that,” he says with a smile.

He seems so happy tonight. For a man who’s been miserable for days on end, this sudden change to a pleasant guy now that he’s leaving makes me wonder.

“Who’s all going on this trip with you?” I ask as I hand the bottle of cologne back to him.

For a split second, he hesitates and his smile fades just a little, but he quickly recovers and answers, “Just me and the lawyers. It’s that kind of trip.”

I don’t know what that actually means, but if it’s the company’s lawyers, I know who they are. Each one reminds me of a copy of his father. All older, all wearing three-piece suits worth thousands, and all focused on business. I’ve been at parties with the King Industries’ lawyers, and it’s an understatement to say they aren’t a good time, although one of them, Robert something or another, was nice.

“Is Robert going? You know, the one with the granddaughter who plays violin?” I ask.

Matthias nods. “Yeah, but I hope he doesn’t talk about that the whole time. That makes for a long trip.”

Feeling bad that he has to spend eight hours on a flight with them, a day of meetings also with them, and then a flight home again with those men, I sit up and give Matthias a kiss. He’s surprised but kisses me back more passionately than I expect.

“Somebody’s in a good mood,” I tease as I fall back onto the mattress.

He stops packing for a few seconds and looks down at me. “Well, do you blame me? We just had great sex. I’ll be thinking of that this whole trip.”

Giggling as I think about how incredible it was, I stretch my arms above my head. “Me too. We’ll have to have a redo as soon as you get home.”

With a wicked grin I think is so sexy, he looks over at me, his gaze drifting up and down my body, and says, “I’m all-in. When I get home, I’ll check on the kids and meet you here right after that. Is it a date?”

“It is.”

I watch as he zips his suitcase closed, knowing it’s time for him to leave. It’s silly because I know this is part of his job, but I always hate seeing him with his suitcase like this.

He walks around the bed and sets his luggage on the floor. Leaning down, he kisses me tenderly on the lips, lingering for a second or two before he stands up again. Suddenly, he looks sad now.

“Are you okay?”