Page 53 of The Billionaire's Bride

"What should we toast this round?" He raises his glass and turns to her.

"To not lying?" She shoots me a dirty look.

I wince, then smirk back at her. She glances away and at Baron.

"To following your instinct," Baron quirks his lips, before raising his own glass.

"To…" I stare at Ava, "to you."

She tips up her chin, finally meets my gaze, her green eyes bright with defiance, and something else… Excitement? She is enjoying this thrust and parry, the chemistry between the three of us, something which, I admit, has caught me by surprise as well. I take in her flushed features, the pulse that beats at the base of her throat. She bites down on her lower lip and my dick twitches. She flicks out her tongue, licks her lower lip and the blood drains to my groin. This woman... She simply has to look at me and I want to throw her down on the table and take her right here.

Baron clears his throat and the two of us jerk our heads in his direction.

His features are hard as he stares between us. "Please pass the salt," he says in a toneless voice. I hand over the salt shaker and he seasons his food, before placing it aside. "What about you Edward? Do you regret joining the Church?"

"Never," I scoop up some of the fish, close my mouth around the tines of the fork. "It was a phase of my life…which was essential in so many ways. It gave me structure and discipline, helped me ground myself at a time when I needed a direction."

"Do you ever wonder what you would have been if you hadn’t joined the Church?" Ava asks.

"I certainly wouldn’t have been sitting across from you and enjoying a meal with you." I glance back at her. "So no, I don’t regret a single thing I did with my life because all of it has led up to this moment, when I can look in your eyes and tell you just how much you mean to me."

A glass crashes to the floor beside the table. Ava visibly shakes, turns to glance at Baron.

"Oops, sorry," he murmurs, "I am being exceptionally clumsy today."

"Seems you prefer to have the focus of the table on you, ol’ chap," I mutter without looking away from Ava’s gorgeous face.

"You accusing me of being an attention seeker or something?" he replies.

"Or something." I reach for the bottle of wine, empty the rest of its contents into my unused glass. I slide it over to Baron, then hold up the bottle for the waiter, who materializes next to me. "Another bottle, please,"

He vanishes with the empty one just as one of the staff scurries toward the table and sweeps up the glass shards.

"Excuse me," Ava pushes back her chair, "I need to use the restroom." She stands, then stares between us, "Can I hope that the two of you have not killed each other by the time I return?"

I frown. "Oh, come now, Ava. This is just friendly fire."

"Friendly fire?" Her voice rises in exasperation, "Seriously, why do I even bother?" She grabs her purse, then leaves the table.

I can’t stop myself from taking in the sway of her hips, her thick auburn strands flowing behind her as she walks in the direction of the restroom. I glance up to find Baron’s attention as riveted. A growl rips from my chest.

"What?" He frowns. "You’re not the only one enamored with her, you know."

"Doesn’t make this any easier to stomach." I scowl back.

"If we can’t get through a meal together, how the hell are we going to make it through the next few weeks…maybe months?"

"Months?" I pale.

"You don’t think this is going to get sorted out that quickly, do you?"

"It’s only the question of all our lives." I grimace. "But months… I won’t last. Seriously, when I am in the same space as her… All I can think of is…." I squeeze my eyes shut, take a breath, another, "It kills me to have you look at her." I finally manage, "I want to tear your eyes out, then beat you up, tie you up, and throw you into the Thames. That’s after I’ve handed your balls to you, of course."

Baron winces. "Ouch, man. Spare the balls, at least. Not that I haven’t had the same thoughts about you."

"How the hell are we going to manage this?" I grumble. The waiter arrives with a bottle of wine. "Thanks," I mutter, then indicate he can leave when he hovers at my elbow. Wish I was getting drunk as well.

"This is going to end badly." Baron takes a sip of his wine.