Eleven

The sun hits my eyes the moment I wake up, the bed facing the window almost directly. I lift my arm to shield my face, but I feel it buried beneath something warm and soft. I blink my eyes open until my vision clears, and look down at the beautiful creature sleeping next to me.

I wish I had a camera, to capture the perfect moment, so I can remember it forever. A smile slowly spreads across my face the longer I stare at her. I'm jerked out of my daze by my phone on the night stand. I dread looking over when I see my mother's name flashing on the screen.

I look towards the clock, and see it's too early for me to be up anyway, so I felt a little less guilty when I ignore the call and turn back over to face Ava. I'm glad she doesn't call again, getting the hint that I'm still sleeping. I try and snuggle back up to her, but the patter of feet wakes us both up completely.

Emily comes crashing into the room, and jumps on the bed.

"It's morning, time to wake up!" she cries, giggling.

Ava groans and lifts herself out of bed, smiling at her through slightly closed eyes.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Mommy needs to wake up still, so why don't you go to the kitchen and get ready for breakfast?" she asks, and pinches Emily's cheek. She squirms a little and nods before racing off again.

Ava chuckles lightly, then turns to me, a soft smile gracing her flawless face.

"Good morning," she mutters sleepily, flopping her head back on the pillow, her bright green eyes never leaving mine.

"Good morning, love. You look beautiful, I could get used to this," I say, and snuggle back down, pulling her into my chest. She remains quiet, but I can feel her smile faintly against my chest.

"I say we have about five minutes, before Emily is back in here to bug us again," she says and we laugh together, grudgingly getting up.

"Why don't you go take a shower and get ready, I'll make breakfast."

Ava gives me a shocked look. "Are you sure? I thought you didn't know how to cook?"

"I can whip up pancakes at the very least," I say and wink at her. She rolls her eyes before dashing into the bathroom. I can hear Emily moving about in the kitchen as I get closer, and I catch her on a little step stool by the sink, trying to reach for a box of something in the cupboard.

"What are you doing?" I ask her, almost scaring her off the stool.

"I want cereal," she says, and points back to the cupboard.

"How about pancakes?" I ask, and her blue eyes light up with excitement.

"Chocolate?" she asks. I frown and start looking through the cupboards until I find the one that looks like the baking supply one, and rummage around for a packet of chocolate chips. To my luck, there is an unopened packet of plain chocolate chips, and enough of the other ingredients to make a small batch of pancakes for three.

I try my best to remember how my brother had taught me to make them, so many years ago, when we had been left on our own, like we often had been. I really wanted pancakes one morning, but the chef was on week holiday, and it was a Sunday, so there was no other house staff around.

He did his best to look in the recipe books left around the kitchen, and make pancakes from scratch, and decided he better teach me as well. They hadn't been the best circles, but we were still too short to see over the counter, therefore could barely see what we had been doing.

This time, I make perfectly circular pancakes, with just the right amount of chocolate chips per each. I can't help but smile fondly, thinking of my brother, as I lay the pancakes one on top of the other, in a neat stack, and set them on the kitchen table.

Ava walks around the corner shortly after, her eyes widening a little when she spots the plate of pancakes, and gives me a proud smile as I walk by with the maple syrup.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" she asks, her smile growing.

"It's what Emily asked for," I say, and Emily gives us a toothy grin, mouth full of pancakes, from her high chair. Ava rolls her eyes, but sits down next to me and fills her plate with three pancakes, winking at me from over the syrup bottle, before all but drowning them.

Now it's my turn to give her an astonished look. I remembered back to the very first morning, and breakfast, I had ever spent with her. I'm doing a lot of reminiscing today.

It was the day after we had just kidnapped her, and brought her to Lucien's secluded cabin just on the outskirts of Los Angeles. She tried to escape, after Lucas had left the bedroom door wide open, with none of us around. She had sprained her ankle, and eventually had to come to a stop where I found her and carried her back. I almost remember the exact feeling of my heart racing in my chest when I held her.

I remember I was annoyed, because Lucas had insisted on making a huge breakfast for her, to make her feel less frightened, thinking food would help that, and then she went and took off. She hadn't even saw the amount of food we had prepared. When we had finally got to the table, she shocked us even more, by the amount of food she had piled onto her plate, and how she ate it all.

Seeing her stack of pancakes in front of me now, is less shocking, when I remember she has always had an odd appetite, for such a small woman.

My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and I quickly check to see it's my mother calling again.

What the hell does she want so early?

I shove my phone in my pocket and look up to catch Ava staring at me, her eyes curious and worried. I try and offer her a gentle smile, silently telling her everything is alright. She gives me a smile back, but there is still a hint of concern on her face.

After breakfast, Ava quickly dresses Emily and makes sure she brushes her teeth and hair, before she gets ready to drive her to the daycare.

"Do you mind if I come along?" I ask.

Ava stops in her tracks, and looks at me with wide eyes. She blinks a couple times, before she regains her composure.

"You want to come to the daycare?" she repeats.

I nod slowly. "If that's alright, I would like to say good-bye to Emily."

At the mention of her name, she pops her cute little face out from behind Ava, and gives me a wide grin. "I want Ash to come wit' us," she says, and looks up at her mother with adorable, large eyes.

"I guess I have no choice now," Ava says and smiles down at her. "Alright, put your shoes on and we'll go."

Emily rushes over and slips her Velcro shoes on, patting the straps down, no help from anyone. She stands up and her shoes light up, causing her to giggle and stomp her feet a little to get them to flash different colors. My heart swells just at the sight of her care-free, adorable personality.

It also makes my chest ache, remembering all the time I've lost with her.

The drive to the daycare is silent, I insist on driving them both there, and driving Ava to work. I'm shocked when she doesn't argue as much, knowing that I will then have to either pick her back up after work, along with Emily; or she will be getting another ride.

An image of the man from the other day, Brian, flashes in my mind, and I remember he works at the daycare I am taking Emily to. The thought both thrills and angers me. It thrills me, because hopefully when I drop off Emily with Ava, he will see us together again, and get the picture to back off.

It angers me, because there is still a chance he won't get the picture, and there is an even larger chance if that is the case, that he will try and offer to drive her home, if mention that she doesn't have a ride comes up, say when he shows up at her work again with another fake reason to drop Emily off personally. I mean, who comes to a customer's work door to personally drop off their kid, claiming they have a family emergency they must get to – then stand there and proceed to ask their customer out for a coffee date?

Didn't seem like that emergency was all that urgent.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I feel Ava reach over, and place her hand on my leg. I look over at her in the passenger seat, and I'm stunned by the sweet smile she has on her face, making her eyes light up and shine with the morning sun peeping through the trees as we drive along.

I grasp her hand in mine, lifting it up to place a kiss on her knuckles, before resting our intertwined hands back down comfortably on my lap, enjoying the warmth of her skin and the morning peace, truly loving everything about this moment. I have spent the last 24-hours in pure bliss, unlike any I have ever experienced, and I never want it to end.

Though I know, trouble brews just over the tops of the trees.

***

To my luck, Brian is the first person we run into when we walk into the daycare. While Ava had grabbed the small carry-on bag with Emily's things, I grabbed Emily and hoisted her on my hip, so Ava had a free hand for me to hold as we walked in.

As soon as Brian sees Ava, a smile lights up his face and he comes running around the front desk to greet her, but slows down a little when he sees me, and looking at our conjoined hands, his smile falters.

Take that, Brian.

"Good morning, Ava, you're here a little later than usual," he says and reaches out to grab the bag from her hand, his eyes shifting to our hands once more.

I glare at him, wondering why the hell he was keeping tabs on when she showed up in the morning, and why he felt the need to comment on it, as I'm standing here.

"Yeah, busier morning than usual," Ava mutters, and throws me a sideways glance. I squeeze her hand, and watch as her cheeks grow a bright shade of pink. Brian frowns a little and looks between the two of us.

"I don't think we've formally met, I believe I saw you the other day," Brian says, and finally addresses me. He slaps on what I can see is a fake smile, and puts his hand out to me.

I look at it like it's a diseased foot, but release Ava's hand reluctantly, to shake his.

"Ashton, nice to meet you." Though it really isn't.

"Oh, uhm yes this is my…boyfriend," Ava says quietly, and both Brian and I look at her in shock, me more amazement than anything.

Did she really just say that?

The crushed look on Brian's face, tells me she did.

The urge to dance around and cheer like an idiot is overwhelming, I squeeze Ava's hand again, to try and contain it. She looks up at me, and I give her the biggest smile I can accomplish, hoping she can see the immense amount of love I have for her behind my eyes.

She smiles brightly back at me, before turning to Emily and helping her down out of my arms and kisses her good-bye. "Be a good girl today, okay? Ashton and I will be back later to pick you up."

Another surprise. She is full of them today.

What the hell is going on?

I hate to think that something is up because of all the good things that have been happening, and how close Ava has been letting me be to Emily, and her.

But I have a bad gut feeling, and I've had it since I woke up this morning, but never really noticed it until now. I say my good-byes to Emily, and make sure to flash a cheery smile Brian's way, as I grab Ava's hand proudly once again, before we walk out. I see him sneer slightly, before averting his gaze, and slapping back on his fake smile.

"So, boyfriend, huh?" I can't help but ask once we're back in my car.

Ava smiles and bites her lip. "I figure there's no point complicating things, or denying anything. It's clear you aren't going anywhere, and I'm not entirely sure if I want you to go anywhere just yet," she says, and smiles teasingly at me.

"Yet? What's that supposed to mean?" I joke back.

I instantly regret it when her smile falters, and my heart sinks.

Here comes the bad feeling again.

"Do you have plans after work today?" she asks suddenly, confusing me a little. It isn't what I had expected her to say.

"I'm assuming not, since you told Emily I would be there to pick her up, and you also don't have your car, so…" I trail, teasing her to try and lighten the mood. It earns a small chuckle from her, which is more than enough for me.

"Yes, I guess that's true. Do you think you could stay for a little afterwards?"

"Love, you never have to ask me that, just tell me you want me to stay, and I'm yours for however long you want." I lean over and whisper in her ear, kissing the hollow of her neck softly. I feel her shudder and lean towards me, prompting me to keep going.

I start laying butterfly kisses on her neck and cheek, a fire forming in the pit of my stomach. I had to stop soon, or we are never going to make it to work. I kiss her lips hungrily for a quick second, before pulling away and starting the car to distract myself for a moment.

"Is there a specific reason you're asking me to stay?" I ask, though I instantly regret asking.

I can feel her bite her lip without having to look at her. It's something she does when she's thinking or nervous, usually before she is about to say something bad as well.

That is what I am expecting.

"There is just something I want to talk to you about, nothing urgent, I thought maybe we could have dinner again, just the two of us this time."

I give her a sideways, curious look. "We already had dinner together, just the two of us."

"I mean at home, this time," she says. My heart skips when I immediately pick up on the fact that she said 'home', instead of 'my home'.

Like it's our home.

I try to not let the thought get to my head, but it's impossible. I can't wipe the smile off my face, itching at the corners of my mouth. I focus on the road, stealing glances at her from the corner of my eye, to try and see her reaction, to get an idea if what she wants to tell me is good, or bad.

"Alright, what time do you finish work?" I ask.

"Well, you can just text me when you're done work, but we need to be at Emily's daycare for 7 o'clock latest, or they start charging extra to keep her every half hour after."

I nod and go over my schedule in my head as I pull in front of her cake store. I have a meeting at 1 o'clock, and there are a few people I had to call at some point when I eventually arrive at the office. Other than that, my schedule is wide ass open.

"Don't worry, I'll be here in time," I say and park the car, turning to her and finally seeing how nervous she looks. What exactly is she hiding? I want to drive right back to her place, and have her tell me everything right now. At the same time, I'm not sure I want to know what is making her look so nervous, and what needs to wait until we have the time, and are completely alone, for her to tell me.

Is it really that bad? Or is it just really that important?

The questions are killing me.

I do the only thing I think is the best choice, for both of us. I grasp her chin and tilt her lips up to meet mine, giving her a slow, passionate kiss, not caring who is looking at us through the car windows. All I care about is her, and how amazing she tastes, and how I love the tingles I get, only from kissing her.

"I'll see you soon," I pull back and whisper. I can feel the goofy grin on my face.

However, she still looks nervous and on edge.

"Is everything alright?" I ask her. She looks at me with her wide green eyes, and I can tell there is something up immediately. She tries to manage a smile and nods her head.

"Yeah, sorry I'm just a little tired. I'll see you later." She kisses me on the cheek and rushes out of the car and onto the sidewalk. I keep the car in park and watch as she walks up to the store door and rummages in her purse for her keys.

She pulls them out, but stops.

I watch her for a few more seconds, before getting out and walking around the car. She still isn't moving. I walk up behind her slowly, not sure what to say, or to ask if she is okay again.

She suddenly turns around and looks at me.

"Ava, what's going–"

"I love you."

I stop dead in my tracks. The world around me disappears instantly, and its just Ava and I.

What the hell did she just say?

Before I can fully register everything, she runs up to me and crashes her lips on mine, clutching the back of my head desperately.

She pulls back abruptly. "I love you," she says again.

"I love you too."

This is one of the happiest moments of my life, I honestly could not be happier.

So, why do I still have a terrible gut feeling?