Why Not Now? (The Blue Vista Crew #2)

20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Derek

W hen I bring Ava into the living room again, I’m still holding her hand. Everyone is looking at us, nosy fuckers.

“Well?” I say. “Is this a party, or what?”

Conversations resume and no one asks directly what’s going on between me and Ava. It’s only a matter of time, but I’m glad they’ve decided to hold off for the night. My friends and family give me gifts which include a new ball cap, tickets to a hockey game next month, and a gift card for books.

Lastly, Ava pulls out a present from her bag.

“I wasn’t really expecting other people to be around when I gave this to you,” she says quietly. “It’s not much.”

“I didn’t expect you to get me anything at all. I didn’t tell you we were coming to a birthday party.”

“I know. But I made this and…” she trails off, shrugging. “I hope you like it.”

I tear open the wrapping paper to find a small photo album inside. From looking at the edge, I notice only a few pages have pictures. I flip it open to see what she’s included. And immediately start to laugh.

She’s got a couple pictures of Abyss as the first ones in the book. One is of her looking very disgruntled at the camera. The second is the same facial expression, but has been photoshopped, so she’s dressed in an Elizabethan gown with a crown on her head.

Everyone comes to see what I’m laughing at.

“I’m taking this out and framing it,” I tell Ava.

“Oh. If you want a framed version, I can print a bigger one for you.”

“Yes!” Spencer says. “An eight by ten. Frame it and put it in your office.”

I flip through the rest of the pictures and find ones with me and my friends at Sophie and Daze’s wedding and the ones of me and Adalie and me and Ava at the Christmas Market.

“I only had a few,” she says apologetically. “I figured you could add to it.”

“It’s perfect. I love it.”

The album is passed around and Daze and Sophie point out the ones from their wedding. They pull Ava into a conversation about some of the photos she took that day and how much they love them. Lacey and Adalie join while Spencer comes to sit next to me on the couch.

“You finally make it official?” he asks.

“Sort of. She hasn’t said the words out loud. But we’re heading in that direction.”

He watches me carefully, and I know he sees deeper than anyone else. Spencer has always had a sixth sense about people. It’s like an intuition that tells him who the person is at their core. And he always knows when something’s wrong with one of his friends.

“You’re not sure you should trust it,” he says finally.

I can’t seem to stop looking at her on the other side of the room. She’s laughing at something Sophie has said, then her eyes stray from the conversation, finding me. She offers me a smile that I return before she turns back.

“I want to. She said she thought I wanted to leave her. But she doesn’t seem to know why. How can I be sure she won’t get that into her head again? I’ve only ever wanted to be there for her, but she’s never wanted me to help her.”

“Fuck.”

I turn to Spencer. He shrugs. “It’s just, all that love language stuff? Yours is absolutely acts of service. That’s how you show you care about people. You do stuff for them.”

I blink at him slowly.

“Don’t look at me like that. You know it’s true.”

“ I do. How do you know it’s true?”

“Because you’re as transparent as glass, man. It’s not hard to figure you out. You think I didn’t know all these years when you were sleeping around you did it because you were hurting and didn’t want to let any woman close? Dude.”

His expression tells me I should have expected more from him. He’s right. It should have occurred to me that Spencer would use his people instinct on me.

“What are your thoughts on her, then?” I ask, half wanting to hear and half not.

“Nope,” he says.

“What do you mean, nope?”

“Staying out of it.”

“Come on, man. Thirty seconds after seeing me and Adalie, you knew we’d be the perfect fit to add to your and Vic’s dynamic duo. Thirty seconds after seeing Lis for the first time, you knew she was your soul mate.”

He rolls his eyes. “When I chose you and Adalie, it was specifically for that project. Yes, we became best friends, but that was after knowing you guys for a few months. As for Lis, I didn’t know she was my soul mate thirty seconds after seeing her.”

I give him a look that tells him I don’t believe him.

“I didn’t,” he says with a smirk. “It wasn’t until the next morning at breakfast.”

I laugh and clap him on the back. “Whatever you say, Spencer.”

He grins, his eyes finding Lis where she’s talking to my mom, Gina, and Gina’s husband, Walter. She’s holding baby Travis and when her eyes find Spencer, the look in them tells me she wants one of those little things. Considering Spencer does, too, I’m certain they’ll work out the details.

“Listen, you want my opinion on whether she fits?” Spencer says, returning to our conversation. “I think she does. And if I had the ability to warn you that she’s going to break your heart, I’d tell you. But I can’t predict the future. I can’t tell you if she’s going to run scared again, like it sounds like she did before. I can tell you that you’ve been happier since you’ve been back with her, even when it was still complicated. With me and Lis, I knew I was in love with her, that she was the right woman for me, that we were right together. But if she never came to that conclusion herself, it wouldn’t have mattered what I thought.”

My phone rings and I check it, telling Spencer I’ll be right back. When I’m alone on the back deck, I answer.

“Hey, Carter. What’s up man?”

“I found a car for her,” he says without preamble.

“Really?”

“Yep. It’s in her budget, too. Unfortunately, it needs some work.”

I lean on the railing, looking out into my mom’s backyard. “What kind of work?”

“Mostly maintenance stuff. Fluid changes, the battery and the tires need to be replaced. Especially considering the snow today.”

I grunt. “How much?”

He gives me an estimate that comes out to twice as much as Ava’s original budget.

“When you’re done, it’ll be good? Safe? Reliable?”

“All of the above.”

I pull my cap off and rub my forehead, closing my eyes. “Is there any chance you’ll find a car for her that doesn’t need the maintenance that’ll be in her price range?”

“I mean, it’s always possible. People sell cars for prices they don’t realize are too low. Sometimes they just need the cash.”

“Real talk, Carter. What are the odds of that happening?”

He sighs. “Not great. This car is already going at a steal of a price, even with the work that needs to be done. I guess some of the work can be put off for a bit. But I would strongly recommend the fluid changes and the tires right away.”

She’s not going to like what I’m about to say. I don’t want to do this behind her back, but she won’t let me do it if I ask her, and she’d continue to be without a car, possibly for months.

“Do everything. Send me the bill for the work. Once it’s done, sell it to her for whatever you bought the car for.”

“Are you going to tell her?” Carter asks.

I settle my cap back on my head. “I’ll… I don’t know. Maybe.”

“It’s a bad idea not to tell her,” he says.

“Yep.”

We’re silent for a moment until Carter seems to realize I’m not going to change my mind. “All right. I can do most of it tomorrow, but I’ll have to order the tires in. If I can get them fast enough, I’ll call her tomorrow and tell her when she can pick it up.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

“Nah. I still owed you for the deal on the wedding and those New Year’s tickets. Call us even.”

I laugh. “Sure thing.” I hang up and heave a large breath. “She’s going to kill me when she finds out.”