Chapter 56

The camera flash blinded me and I had to pull myself away from Baron. He let go of me immediately, though looking a little confused.

“Ava?” He asked, seeming hurt. I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

I opened my mouth to reply to him, but Olivia’s shouts kept me from saying anything.

“Hey!” She yelled at a man sitting towards the back of the shop. “You take that picture? Delete it.”

Olivia was up in the man's face, arm reaching out for the camera as she scolded him for taking the picture in the first place. That's when I noticed the shiny red ‘PRESS’ badge peeking out from the pocket of his dress shirt.

Paparazzi.

My stomach sank with anxiety as Olivia took the camera and formatted the card, deleting everything. Every single picture he had on the memory card was gone, and he was not happy about it.

Olivia didn’t care.

She shoved the device back in his hands, then came back to where Baron and I were standing. The dining room went back to their quiet peaceful murmurs, and we were ignored once the chaos of the situation subsided.

“Thank you,” I told her with a shaky breath. If the media got ahold of a picture that might even suggest I was cheating on Ethan, there would be no saving our reputation. After the way Mars reacted to Baron before, I doubt he’d even defend me to Ethan. It would look incredibly bad.

“Believe me,” She told me, a hard look settling on her face, “I know what it's like when pictures like that go around. When they don't tell the truth.”

Her tone indicated there was a story there, but she turned away from us and grabbed a seat at an open table far, far away from the paparazzi.

Baron was his charming self as we decided to all sit together. He talked to Olivia a lot, telling her stories about the kids that we watched and the time Ethan and I did a photo shoot there.

I got a little embarrassed about him talking about Ethan in front of Olivia, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she laughed along with him and listened intensely. I suppose Olivia was better than I was. I got jealous far too easily.

“Well, this was actually really nice,” Baron said, standing up from his seat at the table and placing down enough cash to cover the entire bill. Which, in my opinion, was really generous, considering Olivia and I both ordered food and a drink - as did he.

“It was so nice meeting you,” Olivia held out a hand for him to shake, and he did. He took it with a gentle grasp, looking her in her eyes and returned the compliment.

“I’ll see you next time I’m at the school?” I asked him as he let go of Olivia and turned to me.

“Absolutely, I’m always there.” He gave me a brief hug from the side. This way no one could misconstrue it for something romantic, and he left.

“Should we see if there are any shops around here that might have some cool stuff for the house?” Olivia suggested as we left the pastry shop.

“I still have Ethan’s credit card, so yes! The furniture won’t be delivered for another two hours anyways.” I grinned, showing off the card and gesturing to a store called, ‘Knick-Knacks On the Go!’. It seemed pretty promising.

The two of us went from store to store. I saw a couple of paintings that looked interesting enough to display in the house. We picked those up, and by that point the day had gotten away from us and the furniture was going to be there within the next thirty minutes.

I called the chauffeur to pick us up, and he took us and our new paintings back to the house just as the delivery truck was pulling up to the driveway.

“Hello!” I called out, waving down the men working in the truck. “That’s the couch we just ordered, let me unlock the door!”

I ran up to the front door before they got there, unlocked it and ushered them in with the couch in tow. Three men in total came to unload the furniture and it was done within less than an hour.

Olivia helped me set up the rooms, and then she left quickly thereafter so I could surprise Ethan with a fully furnished and decorated house.

I lit a couple of scented candles, cupcake scented of course, and put on some soft classical music to really add a bit of ambience to the house. I wanted it to feel warm and welcoming - the complete opposite of the way it was before.

Ethan wouldn’t get off work for another half hour, though, so I decided to make that steak and vegetable dinner he tried to make before. This time, since I knew how to cook, the steaks and vegetables would not get charred or burnt to a crisp.

I was swaying to the music in the kitchen, having apparently lost track of time, when I felt two solid arms wrap themselves around my waist. I felt a presence behind me, and a voice tickling my ear.

“Smells good,” Ethan pressed a chaste kiss to my hairline. I twirled around, momentarily forgetting the sauteing vegetables on the pan, and shot him a quizzical look.

“Did you see the house?” I asked, earnestly. Ethan took a step back as if he hadn’t even noticed it at first. I watched his eyes take in the brown leather couch, the dark purple lamps, the new paintings, and the warm toned lights. The entire house had changed, as had he not noticed.

“It looks great,” His voice was low, his gaze dipping down to meet my own every few seconds. Why was he looking at me like this? Why couldn’t I stop the butterflies from fluttering in my stomach?

Why couldn’t I pull away from him?

He shifted his focus from one area to the next, taking in every nook and cranny that’s changed.

“It’s honestly,” He took a pause, “It looks better than I could ever hope. It’s like it’s you.”

I quirked my head to the side, “It’s me?”

“Everything in here, it’s cozy and warm. It makes me feel so at ease… It’s you.” Ethan’s eyes bored into mine, he pulled me closer though I tried to stay stagnant.

“It was Olivia too,” I said to deflect the compliment. Even though I wanted nothing more than to embrace it and let his words swallow me whole. I turned back to the vegetables, took them off the heat, and turned slightly to look back at Ethan.

“It’s you,” He told me again, “And I love it.”

His words catch me by surprise. A thick knot forms in my throat as I try to find the right words to reply, but how can I? What did he mean?

“Ethan, I-” Nothing came out. I shook my head and tried to finish making dinner for the two of us, but he put his hands on either of my shoulders and spun me to look fully at him. His grip was firm but not harsh so that I couldn’t pull away.

“Ava, do you like living here? Are you happy?” He asked me.

“I’ve already told you that I do, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I’m happy.” I shrug. I’m not lying, either. I would be happier if I could be with Ethan in a real marriage, but I knew that was never going to happen for us. I was as happy as I could be in the situation.

“No,” Ethan cleared his throat and corrected himself. “Are you happy enough to stay here for longer than a year? Maybe, move in forever?”