His Greatest Treasure (Greatest Love #4)

Chapter 20

20

AVERY

Violence has never been my first reaction. I might get angry enough to shout and curse someone out from time to time, but I’ve never physically injured someone because of something they’ve done to me.

I’m debating breaking my celibacy when Chris ushers Nova up my sidewalk almost an hour after calling.

The pain in her eyes shatters something inside of me as she slumps along, bottom lip wobbling. Something comes over me, and before I can think twice, I’m pulling Nova away from Chris and lunging at him, my palm an inch from his cheek when a set of fingers wraps around my wrist.

The tingles diving deep beneath my skin where I’m touched tell me the fingers belong to Oliver, but I still tug my hand away without a care who’s touching me. Chris takes advantage of my pause and steps out of reach before I can make contact with his good-for-nothing skin.

Fucker.

“You’re a piece of shit, Chris,” I spit, looking down my nose at him despite him having a couple of inches on me.

He rolls his eyes. “You were about to slap me in front of our daughter. Who’s really the piece of shit? ”

“Excuse me?” Oliver says, tone so hard that I almost flinch. “Say that again.”

Chris disregards him and stays focused on me, eyes brimming with more annoyance than anything else. It’s such typical behaviour from him that it doesn’t shock me to see it now.

“Call off the guard dog, Avery. We’re not going to fight in front of our daughter. She’s seen enough with that little fit of yours just now.”

“My fit?” I echo incredulously. “You’re really going to turn this on me, huh? Well, you’re nothing if not predictable, Christopher. You can leave now. I’ve got my daughter.”

The front door slams behind me, and I wince. Shame sinks in right alongside years of unresolved anger and resentment until I’m overflowing with too many negative emotions to think straight. I take a stunted step back and push my hair out of my face.

Every good moment from last night and this morning is spoiled by Chris. The man who has taken so many happy memories from me that I’ve lost count. He’s ruined more than a handful of days, but these ones . . . it bites harder than usual.

Oliver moves into my space, completely obliterating any distance between us while palming my back, fingers drifting slowly back and forth. Despite my efforts, I melt a little at his touch.

Hot breath sears my ear when he whispers, “Go see Nova. I’ve got Chris.”

I stare up at him, and I know there’s doubt there. He curls his fingers in the back of my shirt and shifts closer somehow.

“I won’t bloody him up. I’ll leave that to you next time. Your daughter needs you, and I can handle this. Let me help.”

The sincerity in his gaze is enough for me to force myself to agree, taking a risk with my trust for the first time in too long.

With a final glare at Chris, I say, “Go home. You have two weeks to get your life together because if this happens again, we’ll be renegotiating our current custody agreement, and this time, it will be written in stone. ”

He sucks in a breath, surprised by the threat, but I’m stalking off before he has a chance to argue with me about it.

Two days every fourteen. That’s it. And it’s still too many.

My heart aches as I step inside the house and go straight for Nova’s room. The door is shut, her backpack left outside in the hall. The sound of angry cries is enough to crack my heart clean down the middle.

Pushing the door open, I sneak inside and sit beside her hunched-over body on the bed. She’s got the pillow pressed to her face and her knees curled into her stomach.

“I’m sorry you had to come back early,” I murmur, smoothing her hair. “What do you need from me?”

She shakes her head, face still hidden in her pink pillow. I keep smoothing her hair and kiss the sliver of the right cheek she has exposed.

“I’ll leave you alone, okay? Just come get me when you’re ready to talk, and I’ll be here to listen,” I tell her softly before pushing to my feet and leaving the room.

After closing her door behind me, I go back to the front of the house and steal a glance at the two men who are still on the sidewalk from the front window.

Chris is in Oliver’s face, spouting shit that I’m glad I can’t hear while Oliver stands there and takes it, his hands steady on his hips. His calmness is sexy, and a devilish part of me wants to see just how long he could keep that same calm exposure in a more personal, intimate setting . . .

A car door slams, and I flinch while focusing back on the window. Chris is pulling away from the curb in his car, and Oliver’s climbing the front steps, swinging the door open a beat later.

“Do I want to know what he was saying out there?” I ask the minute he’s in front of me.

“He doesn’t want me near either of you.”

“So, the obvious stuff, then,” I mutter with a grind of my jaw.

“What did you see in him?”

I turn away from him, fidgeting with my hands. I’m so used to keeping things to myself that I’ve been dumping information on Oliver in loads, and now is no different.

“I was young and stupid. Starved for male attention after being so sheltered growing up. My dad made it impossible to date, and the one time I did, it was with someone he wanted me with. Someone with an NHL career in their future and an ego to match.”

“The guy you brought with you on vacation. You introduced him to everyone.” His tone is darker now, colder.

Curiosity has me turning back around. His tense expression and crossed arms aren’t what I was expecting to see.

“I didn’t think you even noticed. You didn’t speak to me once that trip.”

“You were busy. Didn’t want to interrupt you,” he says.

There’s a tingle in the back of my mind, like there’s a memory I’ve forgotten over the years and can’t seem to bring back.

“Either way, yes, I brought him, and he met everyone, and it was fine. But I wasn’t about to marry him or anything. I convinced my dad that he wasn’t the guy for me, and he let it go. Fast-forward to when I moved here, and it was the first time in my life I had complete freedom. I dated often and made a million mistakes in only a few months on my own, but when I met Chris, he was everything I thought I was wanting.

“Outgoing, loud, friendly. He loved to show me off, and I enjoyed being introduced as his girlfriend just as much. I had blinders on, and once the honeymoon period disappeared, it was easier to see the guy he hid behind the persona I was always shown. Arrogant, proud, possessive. He was suddenly everything I knew I’d never wanted. Then, I got pregnant, and you know what happened after that.”

“He’s not worthy of either of you. Not of your time, attention, or concern,” Oliver grunts.

“I know that now. I’ve known it for years. But it’s too late to kick him to the curb. We’re tied together for life. Nova deserves a family, and I already feel bad enough that it’s a broken one,” I admit, regret lining my stomach.

“Fuck that,” he says, moving toward me with long strides. I tip my head back to keep eye contact and swallow. “Nova doesn’t have a broken home. She has a mother who loves her more than anything and will do everything she can to make her happy.”

“How long will that be enough? How long will I be enough for her?” My words drift to whispers when my voice cracks, exposing my hurt.

I tear my eyes away and drop my head, but he’s there with a finger beneath my chin, tipping it right back up.

“You will always be enough for the people who love you.”

“Fuck. You’re supposed to be a grumpy asshole,” I say with a weak smile, hoping to downplay the effect his words have on me.

“I have moments of wisdom hidden beneath the rudeness. They come out every once in a while.”

“If you let them out more often, you’d have women swarming you.”

“That isn’t what I want.”

“Oh.”

He lifts the corner of his mouth into a tiny smile and slowly curls his finger over the edge of my jaw before gliding it along the underside. I shiver and lean closer, feeling the subtle touch all the way down in my toes.

“Is Nova going to be okay?”

I manage to tip my chin enough for it to be construed as a nod. “She’s strong.”

“Gets it from her mom.”

“Now you’re just trying to suck up,” I tease faintly.

“If that makes it easier for you to accept the compliment, then sure, princess. I’m sucking up.”

“The last time I tried to dive into your head, you ran off. I’m just trying to avoid that happening again.”

“I’ve had enough running from you, I think,” he says.

“What do you mean? ”

“Mom? Can I have a hug now?” Nova asks.

Oliver steps back before I can make myself do it, and I shoot him a grateful smile. Nova doesn’t look surprised to find him in our living room, and her lack of reaction speaks volumes.

I rush toward her and pull her into my arms. “You can have a million hugs if you want, baby.”

“Can we do something fun today?” she whispers into my shoulder.

“Sure. What do you want to do?”

Pulling back, she peeks over my shoulder and asks, “Are you still a firefighter?”

I twist in time to see Oliver grin at my daughter, and I think I black out for a second as my ovaries pop and sizzle.

He’s not put out by the childish question. Instead, he leans into it with an openness that means the world to me.

“Yeah, peanut. I’m a firefighter. Have you ever seen a fire truck up close before?”

“No!”

“Do you want to?”

“Can I? Mom, can I?” she asks, gripping my arms tight while batting her lashes. “Please?”

Her excitement has me turning to Oliver, my heart thumping in my ears at what a day spent together with all three of us could mean.

Something that we have to talk about soon. Before the feelings I’m growing for him become any more overwhelming.

“Is that allowed?” I ask him, tone cautious and heavy with a double meaning.

“It’s encouraged.”

For now, that has to be enough.

I rub Nova’s back. “How about you get changed out of your PJs, and I’ll braid your hair for you before we have breakfast. I’ll even do that fancy inside-out one you like.”

“This is awesome! I’ll be right back! ”

I watch her run toward her bedroom and focus on Oliver, wishing he wasn’t so far away. Another dangerous thought.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask, needing to be sure.

He moves toward me with confidence, returning to the spot he was in before Nova joined us. There’s no face touching this time, just a strong, male hand taking my smaller, feminine one and holding it between us.

“She’ll have fun. But if you’d rather me not be around right now, just tell me, and I’ll go. It’s completely up to you.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“We’ll finish that conversation from earlier once you’re ready. Nova’s the priority.”

He’s saying all the right things. Every single word I wished Chris would say just once the entire time we were together and now, years later. It feels too good to be true, and I’m pessimistic enough lately to believe it.

It’s a flaw that I’ve struggled with for most of my life, but I’ve never been more frustrated with it than I am right now.

“Okay,” I agree.

His brows tug inward, but he doesn’t say anything else. We both clearly have problems and things we wish we knew how to express but don’t.

It’s going to be a battle to get to where I’m growing to want to be, but I also have a feeling that he might be worth the effort.