Jules chimed in. “We’ve been working together at the clinic—”
“It started as a no strings attached kinda thing—”
“We didn’t plan for this to happen—”
Our voices overlapped in a rushed explanation before Ava held up a hand and cut us off. “How long have you been dating?”
I winced. “Er, a week this time around.”
“What do you mean, this time around?”
Goddammit. We definitely should’ve come up with a script for this.
Since it was too late, Jules and I forged ahead and told Ava everything, starting with our sex-only arrangement and ending with our reconciliation last week. We left out the ugly details about Max and chalked our breakup up to a misunderstanding, but otherwise, it was a pretty comprehensive summary.
By the time we finished, Ava’s skin had taken on a faint green tint. She glared at me. “You’re telling me you’ve been sleeping with my best friend for months?” She pointed at Jules. “And you’ve been sleeping with my brother for months? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me earlier!”
Jules gave a helpless shrug. “I never found the right time to tell you I was banging your brother.”
The green tint on Ava’s skin deepened.
“You did the same with him!” I gestured toward Alex, who watched the scene unfold with a bored expression. He didn’t even try to help. Traitor. “You guys were dating for months before I found out. Don’t be a hypocrite.”
“That was different,” Ava growled. “We didn’t loathe each other with a burning passion, then turn around and start making out.”
“I know this is a shock, considering my past…differences with Josh.” Jules’s bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. “But with us working together at the clinic and seeing each other so much, it just sort of happened. We really hadn’t planned to keep it from you for so long. We just weren’t sure it was even going anywhere, and we didn’t want to tell you until we were. It would make things too awkward.”
“Right.” Ava closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Alex, bring me a knife.”
I paled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I held up one hand and drew Jules closer to me with the other. “I’m your only brother. You love me. Remember when I gave you the last of my Milk Duds at the movie theater? Good times.”
Ava ignored me until Alex returned with the requested knife.
I scowled at him. So this was how I was going to die. Betrayed by my best friend again and stabbed to death by my sister. Julius Caesar had nothing on me in terms of a shitty death.
My heart pounded as Ava grasped the knife, leaned forward…and opened the dessert box. She sliced off a piece of cake and took a bite.
Silence descended.
“Should we say something else?” Jules whispered.
“She still has a knife in her hand,” I whispered back. “Let’s wait.”
We watched while Ava finished eating with an unreadable expression. But when she spoke again, her voice had lost some of its hard edge. “How serious is this?”
Relief loosened the knot of anxiety in my chest. I recognized that voice. She was coming around.
I wasn’t worried about her cutting us off forever because we snuck around behind her back, but I also didn’t want to spend weeks on the outs with my sister.
“I no longer want to kill her every time I set eyes on her, so pretty serious,” I joked before sobering. “Listen, I know this must be weird as fuck for you, but I promise, we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t serious. You know what I asked you when I found out about you and Alex? What you said?” I flicked my gaze to Alex, whose bored expression gave way to one with more interest. “I feel the same about Jules.”
“Ava.” I stared at her in shock, trying to make sense of a world that had turned upside down. My sister and my best friend. My best friend and my sister. Together. “Do you…love him?”
There was a short pause.
When Ava finally answered, her voice was soft but steady. “Yes. I do.”
Present Ava stared at me a second longer before she stood and tilted her head toward the kitchen. “Let’s talk. Alone.”
Jules gave me a semi-nervous glance as I stood. I responded with what I hoped was a reassuring smile before I joined my sister in the kitchen.
“Did you mean what you said?” Ava asked once we were out of the others’ earshot. “About what you feel for her?”
“Yeah.” My face softened. “I love her, Ave. We may still fight and argue sometimes, but at the end of the day…she’s it.”
I would take a thousand fights with Jules over a thousand easy days with anyone else.
Because I didn’t want easy. I wanted her.
“Right.” Ava sighed. Her shoulders finally relaxed, and a smidge of guilt passed over her face. “I didn’t mean to give you such a hard time, especially since you were so understanding when I told you about Alex. But I know how you are with women, and I know how Jules is with guys. You both hate commitment. I just don’t want you breaking each other’s hearts. I love you both, and I can’t choose a side if that happens. That being said…” She jabbed the blunt edge of her knife into my chest. “If you hurt her, I will murder you.”
“What makes you think I’d be the one doing the hurting? I could very easily be the hurtee.”
Was that a word? If it wasn’t, it was now.
“Murder. You,” Ava emphasized with additional jabs.
“Fine.” I grinned. “So, does that mean you’re okay with us dating?”
“I guess,” she grumbled through a burgeoning smile. “My brother brought to his knees by my best friend. Good job, Jules.”
Another scowl replaced my grin. “She did not bring me to my knees. At least, not figuratively.”
This time, Ava’s smile was the one that disappeared. “Okay, one rule. Don’t talk or make innuendos about your sex life. Ever.” She mimed gagging.
I laughed and pulled her into my chest for a hug. I ruffled her hair the way I did when we were kids, earning myself a muffled protest. “I won’t, but the rule applies to you, too.”
“Fine.” Ava batted my hand away and smoothed her hair with another grumble, but her annoyed expression soon melted into something softer. “Seriously, I’m happy you’re happy. I know things have been hard with…everything. I’ll always be here for you, but I’m glad you have someone like Jules by your side. She can be a bit…dramatic sometimes”—we both let out knowing laughs—“but she has one of the biggest hearts I know.”
A ball of emotion formed in my throat. “I know.” I squeezed Ava tighter and dropped a small kiss on the top of her head. “Thanks, sis.”
Even though we annoyed the hell out of each other sometimes, I was lucky to have her as my sister. Before I met Alex, she was my sounding board for all my problems and vice versa. We didn’t confide in each other as often now that we were all grown up with our own lives, but there would never be a day when we didn’t have each other’s backs.