Blake and Ava must fight for the life they want, even if that involves risking it all.
Series Order: Baby Steps, Colossal Jump, Moving Forward, Little Leaps and Passing Motions.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Charlotte overlooks a young woman as she places the decorations on the bar tables. It's a stunning floral arrangements of lilies and gerberas, along with tea light candles around the crystal vases.
"These look amazing! It's so much better than I thought." Charlotte squeals with delight as she claps her hands.
She peers over her shoulder, tucking a strand of curly hair behind her ear.
"How's the fairy lights coming along?" Char raises a thin eyebrow.
I glance up and tilt my head to the side. The man slowly winds the cord around the metal arch, careful not to disturb the clusters of purple flowers hanging from the green vines.
"Yeah, it's coming along." I tug on a smile.
"We've only got another hour before the guests arrive." Charlotte fidgets with her fingers which makes me sigh.
"Don't worry, that's plenty of time! How about you sneak a drink from the bar? Might calm those nerves down a little bit."
"I promise not to look." The man laughs.
"Am I being that bad again?" Char's shoulders slump as she sighs. "I'm really sorry."
"We understand the stress, but now's the time to stop because everything is going perfectly."
"Shouldn't I stress more? Something is bound to go wrong now." She bites her lower lip.
"Stop chewing your lip otherwise it'll look mangled in your engagement photos."
"Damn, you're right."
"Come here." I wave her over.
Charlotte race across and slams into my side. I wrap my arms around her waist and she rests her chin on my shoulder. Her body is tense, so I softly rub her lower back.
"Kyle wasn't happy with me today . . . I can't help it. He doesn't understand that I need things to be perfect because I don't want his parents to think I can't throw a good engagement party. What if this turns out crap and they think I'm not serious about him?"
I pat her back and chuckle.
"His parents are nothing like that." I shake my head. "They just want you both to be happy, so enjoy the night and don't stress if something goes wrong. Whatever happens, happens."
Charlotte steps away and tugs on a smile.
"Why do I keep screwing everything up?"
I wrangle her into another hug.
"Don't you dare say that!"
"Okay." She laughs. "We both know it's true."
"Check inside and let me know if there's anything else I can do."
