“Well, you can’t say it since you’re supposed to have her back no matter what. It’s girl power and all that, right?” He met her gaze again, all the cuteness she had seen before gone and replaced by mischievousness. That was the Ethan she knew, “I can say it though. And I will, very often.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, “This is the chess game part I don’t get, right?”
He sat up took Ava in his arms, letting her rest upon his lap, “We’re really being polite with each other tonight. Something on your mind?”
She didn’t think he’d see through her, but then again they did find their own harmony after they settled everything which had been bothering them. Tiffany was no longer an issue and by some miracle neither was Ryan, not that he was ever a threat to them. Maddison was difficult to deal with, but somehow she became Valerie’s best friend. Those two seemed to get along quite well, much to Gabriel’s dismay. Ethan even considered to let go of the fact that his sister was interested in Ryan. That was a huge deal for him, so she made the decision to pretend she didn’t notice a thing. If she made a big deal out of it his emotions would run high.
“Nothing much.”
He didn’t buy that, his eyes which were staring right into her soul made her want to look anywhere else but at him. She cleared her throat, ready to leave his side to do something else. Anything else would suffice, like doing laundry since Ava seemed to go through her clothes like there was no tomorrow. Ethan had other plans, he grabbed onto her wrist and kept her in place.
“Come on, just tell me what’s on your mind.” He encouraged her.
“I’m not Ava, you can’t persuade me with gentle words and a big smile.”
He chuckled, “I’m aware that I can’t persuade you that easily.” He let go of her wrist, “We’re a team, Rache. We can’t function properly if you keep things from me.”
“It’s nothing much, it was just a silly thought.”
“Even so, just share it with me.”
She couldn’t remember Ethan being this pushy ever, but at the same time, he was being rather considerate. If she ever doubted marrying him, this was the perfect moment to remember why she wanted to become Mrs. Hunter.
“Okay, I was just thinking how much kinder you’ve become.”
He didn’t look at her like she lost her mind, instead, he leaned down and kissed Ava’s head. He surprised her by handing Ava to her so he could get off the bed. She carefully got to her feet as well and rocked Ava gently, making the little girl laugh and then whine because Ethan was no longer paying her his full attention. Rolling her eyes Rachel handed Ava back to her daddy and followed him to the nursery.
“I think that Ava changed me, a lot.”
She couldn’t disagree, but she knew he was giving Ava a lot of credit. The little girl did make him lose his edge, but people rarely changed because they were forced to change.
“I think that it just feels surreal to me. I never thought I’d be this happy with you.”
“Of course, because I was convenient. Happiness isn’t what you chased after when Valerie and you decided that we were going to be the perfect match.”
They both knew why she chased after him when she first came to the city. She never knew why he settled for her though. He never told her the reason. She was leaning against the doorpost, watching Ethan get Ava ready for bed. He was efficient and gentle, being very affectionate to Ava who was indeed a spoiled little girl because of her daddy and Gabriel. She needed her aunt Maddison and Valerie in her life to keep her grounded. The mere thought made her smile, biting her lip to make sure she wouldn’t laugh. Surely, Ethan didn’t think she was crazy when she told him he was a lot kinder now. If she laughed out of thin air, he’d start believing she did lose her mind after all.
“When I first saw you I thought you were a beautiful woman who I could wrap around my finger easily. Your intentions about me were clear from the start and I figured I could become happy with you because anyone would be a much better person than Tiffany.”
“You do realize we’re going to get married in a few days.” She jokingly added.
“The point is I never intended to fall in love with you. A marriage of convenience, like my mother, often likes to talk about is what I had in mind. It hits me every day that I found happiness with you. How well we fit together.”
She approached the crib and brushed her fingers gently over Ava’s head. The little girl didn’t look like she was going to fall asleep soon, they’d have to leave her room. Ethan gestured for her to walk out first so she did. He followed after her, leaving the door ajar. It was then that Ava started to cry, but they had to let her cry. A regular sleep schedule is what they needed in their life.
“It breaks my heart every time.” He whispered to her.
“Get used to it. You’ll have to go through that all over again with the second one.”
He smirked at her, “Thought you wanted to wait for another year or so.”
She made her way to the kitchen to make them a hot beverage and to her surprise, Ethan followed her. It was like he didn’t want to be apart from her. She appreciated it because honestly, she didn’t want to be apart from him either.
“Get the mugs, will you?”
“Yeah, sure.” He turned to the cupboard and grabbed their mugs, placing them near the kettle.
“So this is what I had in mind.” She told Ethan, facing him when the kettle was turned on and boiling away, “We’ll get married. Go on a weekend away, just the two of us while Gabriel and Valerie babysit Ava. Then a few months later we celebrate Ava’s first birthday. A few months after Ava’s birthday Gabriel and Valerie will announce that they’re expecting their first child. Then Ryan will tell us he’s thinking of marrying Naomi, his tease of an assistant-”
Ethan smirked at that but kept quiet so he could listen to her ideas about their future.
“They get married while your sister will continue to hate on Ryan because he broke her heart. So when our anniversary approaches a lot of things happened in our life, a lot of great things and a lot of tiring things, I’ll tell you on our weekend away without Ava present, obviously-”
“Obviously,” Ethan repeated.
“That I’m pregnant with our second child.”
Ethan nodded, “And we live happily ever after?”
She shrugged, “Something like that.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against her neck, “Life doesn’t work that way, Rache.” He looked up to meet her gaze, “We’ll probably deal with so many more issues than Maddison attempting to kill Ryan with a fork.”
She raised an eyebrow at him in question.
“My sister can get very vengeful.” He explained, “Valerie might already be pregnant and maybe Ryan doesn’t marry Naomi. We can’t predict the future because sometimes people do irrational things like my mother suddenly becoming a great-grandmother and Maddison dropping by even though she always lived selfishly.”
She leaned her head against his chest, “What about our happily ever after?”
He tightened his hold on her, “We’re not fairytale characters. But I can promise you that I’ll do my best to make our marriage work.”
She smiled, “I promise you the same.”
He chuckled, “May I now kiss the bride?”
“That and you may do other things to her as well.”
Ethan laughed, leaning down to kiss her. He then lifted her up in his arms effortlessly and walked to their bedroom. Ava’s cries had stopped minutes ago, thankfully the little girl was asleep so she could enjoy the things Ethan would do to her.