Ava knows who Jimmy O'Brien is - her first love and soulmate. Forced to spend time apart, Ava and Jim deal with their trust issues and insecurities.
When the lovers finally reunite and resolve to fight for each other, their fragile happiness is put...
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Almost three years later. July
Since I'd started making a living with my writing, I'd learned a few things about inspiration, one of them being that it always came at the weirdest times.
Today, it chose to make an appearance before the music awards gala. I glanced at myself in the mirror I'd left on the desk after applying makeup and typed faster, chasing the words I feared would escape before I plastered them on the page.
At least I was ready. If I was lucky, I'd have ten to fifteen minutes to finish the chapter before we needed to leave.
"Ava!" My husband's deep voice carried through the condo. "Did you see my tie?"
Jim's black silk tie matched my long, black silk dress. It was funny how an event of this magnitude would've scared me just a few years ago and was something I looked forward to now.
"No," I said, my gaze glued to the screen.
The carpet muffled his footsteps as he entered the library. Jim stood behind me and leaned down. He brushed his lips against my bare shoulder, putting all my senses on high alert. "Beautiful?"
"Mhm?"
"Where's Kai?"
Oh no.
Inspiration didn't leave because it was quiet. And it was quiet because...
"He was here," I mumbled, jumping to my feet. Kai's toys were scattered on the floor, but he wasn't where I left him playing.
Jim and I rushed out of the room. At nine months old, our son discovered his passion for crawling, and he was surprisingly fast, especially when the speed helped him get into trouble.
Or cause some.
"I'm sorry." I clutched Jim's hand as he opened the door to a guest bedroom. It was empty, and we headed to our room.
Jim chuckled. "It's okay. He can't be far."
As soon as we stepped over the threshold, my eyes landed on my son sitting on the floor, and relief flooded me.
Right until I saw what he was doing.
"Little man." Jim groaned, rushing toward him.
Kai was dressed in his tiny tux, chewing on Jim's Gucci tie.
"Fuck," Jim said, picking him up.
Kai giggled, reaching for his dad's face. "Ack!"
I scooped up the ruined accessory and twirled it, examining the drool stains. "Maybe we could iron it?"
"No time. I'll go without," Jim said, kissing Kai's cheek. "We'll have a serious convo after the gala, little man. Now come on; Dec's already waiting."
