Page 61 of Forever King

“I hear my brother gave up my secret.”

She looks down at me and shakes her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Donna told me the truth of what you were up to. Taking trips with your ex-girlfriend? No wonder you didn’t tell me the truth.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jesus, that feels like the only thing I’ve been saying to people for the past day.

“Sorry isn’t good enough, Matthias,” she says with tears in her eyes. “You lied to me. What did you think I’d think when I found out that you weren’t with a bunch of old men goingto a business meeting out of town but your old girlfriend from college who has no connection to your business at all?”

I hang my head and sigh. “I didn’t think. I just needed to get to London with Cynthia because I had to clear up a problem. I’m sorry I lied to you. I just couldn’t tell you.”

“Why?”

Looking up at her, I finally admit the truth. “Because if you knew why I was going to London, you’d be angry. I fucked up, Ava. I needed to get to London to get Jillian to sign the divorce papers. If I didn’t do it today, then we wouldn’t be able to get married in eleven days.”

All the sadness drains out of her expression, replaced by confusion. “Divorced? What are you talking about? You and Jillian got divorced years ago.”

I shake my head, hating the story I now have to tell her. “No, I dropped the ball on that. I never filed and she never filed, so all this time, we’ve still been married. My attorney, Cynthia, sent the papers to her attorney weeks ago, but she wouldn’t sign. Finally, yesterday I found out she wanted to talk to me in person, so I quickly arranged for us to fly there hoping she would sign the papers and they could be filed as soon as possible so we can get married two weekends from now.”

Ava’s expression brightens. “Oh, so that’s why you’ve been so miserable these past few weeks. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have understood.”

“I didn’t want you to worry. I wanted to handle things so you never had to hear about it. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

She opens her arms to hug me, and I lean forward, loving the feel her against my body. “I didn’t know what to think. I was so upset. I heard you and some woman you used to date in college flew off to some meeting after you lied about going with the company’s lawyers. I was so hurt that you’d lie to me that I was sure something was up.”

“Nothing but me facing some hard-to-hear music. That’s all.”

I lean back to see her shaking her head. “What do you mean?”

“My soon-to-be ex-wife had some choice things to say to me, and if I’m being honest, I deserved them and probably more. I should have never married her. I knew that. I was in love with you. That wasn’t fair to her. What she told me today I had coming. It made me feel like shit, but I deserved it. She signed the papers, though, so assuming my attorney has that judge to help like she thinks she does, we’re on for the wedding.”

Ava stands up and I follow her. As we walk over to the playpen to get Elizabeth, she says, “You could have told me. I would have understood. I would have been angry you waited until the last minute, but I wouldn’t have been upset with you for that long.”

She leans over and lifts Elizabeth up for me to hold. Looking at my daughter, I think about how pissed I’d be if some guy married her when he still loved someone else. I did a shitty thing to Jillian. She had every right to say all that when we met.

“I know I messed up, but I promise I’ll do better, Ava.”

Taking a deep breath, she smiles as she lets it out in a rush. “Good because I don’t want to feel like I did this morning ever again. It seems like you’ve had a full day of women being angry with you.”

We walk toward the back door of Marius and Eden’s house with Elizabeth in my arms. “At least this little lady wasn’t angry at me.”

Ava turns to look at me and shakes her head. “She will be when she gets older if you keep doing stupid things.”

“Fair enough.” Looking down at my daughter, I whisper to her, “Your father is going to work on not being a moron when it comes to women. Maybe by the time you’re older, I’ll have mastered it.”

Let’s hope twenty years or so is enough.

22

Ava

After all thatMatthias did to ensure our wedding would happen on the day I want it to, I’m standing in our bedroom with my best friend and matron-of-honor in the final minutes before I need to walk down the stairs and become his wife. I’ve thought of us as married all these years, but finding out he was still married to Jillian makes me feel like I’ve been living a lie.

Thankfully, today I get to rectify that.

Eden stands behind me doing something on the back of my white sundress. She tried to talk me into a full wedding dress, but that’s not who I am. I may have dreamed of that when I was a girl, but now that I’m a mother of three children who’s been with Matthias for years, I decided I wanted to be comfortable and myself today. Of course, Matthias loved hearing that since he hates wearing a tux.

“You know, I adore this dress on you,” she says as she walks around to inspect the front of me. “It’s so…you.”