Page 41 of Loving Wild

After lunch, we spend a few hours browsing the shops before Dani drops us home. I invite her to spend her Saturday with us, but she already has other plans.

It’s weird returning home to Gabe. We spend plenty of time apart, but it’s always him that leaves, always me waiting for him to get home. I like the thought of coming home to him, knowing he’s been here waiting. He had some work to prepare for a meeting he has on Monday so was happy for us to leave him in peace, a peace that’s about to be disturbed.

“Lauren?” I have one foot on the stairs when I turn back to see a nervous-looking Ava chewing on her lip.

“Yeah,” I ask, wondering what she’s going to ask.

“Next weekend, is it okay if I stay the whole weekend?”

I step back off the stairs and turn around to face her.

“Ava, this is your home. You can stay the whole weekend, week, month, or year.”

She shrugs and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Thanks.”

“How about you bring your mate, Sophie is it?”

A smile instantly spreads across her face, and she rushes me for one of her cuddles.

“Seriously? That would be so cool. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m just sorry I asked for her not to come this weekend,” I admit, feeling a little guilty that Ava would be stuck with just me and Gabe for company on a Saturday night.

“No, that’s fine. Dad explained what happened and I get why you wanted to keep things low key. I love Sophie, but she can be loud.”

“It wasn’t just that,” I admit. “I wanted some one-on-one time with you, a chance to get to know you. If your mate was here, you’d be wanting to spend your time with her, so, yeah, there were a couple of reasons for that request.”

She studies me for a long moment but doesn’t respond.

“Right, well, I’m gonna go message Soph, make sure she’s free next weekend.”

“I’m gonna go up and find your dad, have a think about what you might want for dinner later.”

She turns and heads towards her bedroom. “Will do,” she calls over her shoulder.

Gabe’s eyes land on mine the instant I hit the top of the stairs.

“Little Bird,” he says quietly. “How was your day?”

“Good, we had a laugh, but I’m exhausted now.”

“I bet,” he says with a chuckle. “Separately those two can be exhausting, together, most of us need a week to recover.”

“Well, hopefully, we’ll be rested and prepared for Ava’s return next weekend, especially as she’s bringing Sophie with her.”

Gabe’s brows pull down in confusion. “Next weekend?” he questions.

“Yeah, it’s your dad’s birthday or something and rather than having a bored Ava, I thought it’d be easier if she invited Sophie for company.”

He moves his laptop, sets it down beside him on the sofa, and holds his hand out to me.

“You wanna beer?”

“Is that offer just so you don’t have to drink alone? Because I’m assuming you’re now needing copious amounts of wine to recover from your day with noisy and noisier.”

“Have you met my friends?” I question as I move towards the fridge. I grab a beer for Gabe and pour myself a glass of Prosecco. “Although, I’ve gotta say, Ava definitely comes alive around your sister. They’re a lot alike.”

“She’s always spent a lot of time with Dani, they’re close. I like that they have that. Dani obviously doesn’t remember our mum, and only having three brothers, it’s good for Dani to have another girl around, and good for Ava to see not all women are as hard work as her mum.”