He understood what she was trying to say and moved them, not letting go of her while he made his way to her room. A lot of touching and laughing was involved as he moved them to her room. He kicked the door closed behind him and without a second to waste dropped her on her bed and crawled on top of her. They ripped their clothes off each other, it really had been ages. The impatience of being together again caused both of them to be rough with their touches. Their clothes were scattered across the room, tossed away without a care in the world. The moment he slid inside of her it was like time froze, he cupped her face and locked eyes with her. It was too much, too intimate. Not being able to handle it Rachel looked away. Afterward, they laid down beside each other, staring at the ceiling. Rachel tried to catch her breath while she listened to Ethan and his plans.
“I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, fix things back home and then come back to get you both.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan but what does it even mean?” She asked him, still not understanding what the hell Ethan was going to do.
He hovered over her, staring at her face for what felt like an entirety before he spoke up, “Obviously I’m breaking off my engagement. Move Lucille out of my apartment and get it prepped for you and Ava. When things are settled I’ll come and get you both.”
“Just like that?” She asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
He didn’t look happy about her sarcasm, it showed in the way he spoke to her, “Yes, just like that.” He repeated firmly, “I don’t want to argue with you all night, Rache. I’m not letting Ava grow up without me, so your only option is to follow me.”
She still wasn’t convinced, it felt like they were going to create another Tiffany. Ethan decided after one meeting that his engagement with that woman was ending and he was moving her and Ava back to his apartment just like that.
“We were never like that,” Ethan told her, it was as if he read her mind.
“Then what were you like?” She asked.
“It doesn’t matter.” Ethan rolled away from her, grabbing his phone, “The point is that Lucille won’t be a problem. I’m going to arrange my flight back.” He got out of bed, put on his underwear and pants and left the room to make his call.
It was the middle of the night, but apparently, Ethan could do whatever he wanted. No doubt it was his assistant who he was bothering to arrange things for him. She had other things to worry about. It was just like she figured it would go, they were going to follow Ethan’s plan because there really wasn’t another option. At least not an option they could both agree on, so Ethan’s option was the best one to go along with. Ethan didn’t want to fight her and she didn’t want to fight him either. To give it one more try was something she had to do. Ava deserved that much. If Ethan promised her that Lucille wouldn’t be a problem then she’d believe him.
***
Rachel watched as Ethan was saying goodbye to his daughter, cradling her and whispering things to her which made their baby girl make sounds back to him. It was cute, but the sight didn’t make her smile. She was clutching her cup of tea, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes because everyone in the room knew what happened last night. It was embarrassing and she was ashamed of herself. If only she could sink through the floor right now.
Sighing she lowered her gaze to her cup, taking in the light colored tea which subtly smelled like strawberry and mint. She nearly spilled the liquid when she felt a hot touch on her hip. Trailing her eyes up she met Ethan’s determined gaze.
“I’ll be back soon, you should start packing.”
“Yeah.”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, not even bothering to be subtle about the things that transpired between them. He pulled away from her and walked to the door, Gabriel meeting her gaze before he followed after his friend. Gabriel was dropping Ethan off at the airport, taking her dad’s car. Once the guys were out of sight she met Valerie’s gaze. Valerie carefully handed Ava to their mother.
“We need to talk.” Her sister told her, grabbing her hand and dragging her along to Valerie’s room.
Once inside Valerie closed the door behind her. Rachel took a seat on her sister’s bed and sipped her tea.
“What happened?” Valerie demanded to know.
“Ethan wants Ava and me to move back to the city.”
“To live with him?” Valerie clarified.
Rachel could only nod. That was the plan, that was Ethan’s plan.
“What about Lucille?”
Rachel got comfortable on her sister’s bed and placed her half-empty cup down on the bedside table. It hit her then just how much the room smelled like Gabriel, his cologne lingering. It wasn’t just Valerie’s room anymore. As she glanced around she noticed the little things of Gabriel which were lying around. Since the couple visited the family house often they left their essentials at the house. Things were once again changing. She knew once Ethan came back for her the couple would also stop dropping by that often to pay their parents a visit.
“Ethan says he’s ending things with her.” She frowned as she remembered the way Ethan talked about his fiancée or soon to be ex-fiancée. He didn’t care about her and she didn’t know if she believed him, but they weren’t even intimate which was odd for a man who loved to be physical, “He mentioned that it’s not what I think it is.”
“Their engagement?”
Rachel shrugged, “I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I have to believe him. Otherwise, I’ll be questioning his every move and I can’t be like that. It’s the way Ethan was before things went bad between us. I hated it and I know he’ll feel the same way.”
Valerie sat beside her, looking as confused as she was feeling last night. The crazy thing was that Rachel felt quite relaxed that morning. Like she had practiced yoga all morning and reached a moment of clarity. The way her sister was feeling right now was a different story.
“So Ethan is going back to end things with Lucille and kick her out. Then he comes back to get you and Ava and move you into his apartment. Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Rachel confirmed.
Valerie grabbed her hand, “What about last night, the hell Rachel?”
Rachel took her hand back and buried her face in her hands, embarrassment washing over her again. Her zen moment gone because of the reminder of her passionate night with an engaged man.
“Don’t remind me.” She muttered.
“You slept with him?!”
“It just happened.” Rachel pulled her hands away and let herself fall back, her eyes fixated on the ceiling, “It always has been like that between us, Valerie. You know that.” She gestured with her hands the baby making process which caused her sister to laugh and give her a slap on the shoulder, “Hence baby Ava.”
“He’s engaged,” Valerie whispered.
“I know!” Rachel closed her eyes covering them with her hand, “It’s not like I’m proud of it.”
Valerie sighed, “I hope Gabriel is giving him hell right now.”
Rachel sat up, meeting her sister’s gaze, “I doubt that.”
Valerie’s look told her she felt the same way. Those two no matter how bad things got between them, they always had each other’s back. Rachel knew that Gabriel would support Ethan’s decision. Hell, she was convinced Gabriel would kick Lucille out himself. She was too afraid to think of the consequences of their actions so she shut off her brain entirely. While Ethan took care of his business back at the city she focused on Ava. He’d come back soon and move them into his apartment so she wanted to enjoy every second she had left at her family home.