Family Bonds- Ava and Seth (Amore Island Book 5) by Natalie Ann (ebook reader screen .TXT) 📗

to the doctor’s. I guess I never thought it’d be this hard.”

“Because no one ever thinks they’d be in that situation,” she said simply.

“You’re right. One hundred percent. I know I’m going to make mistakes with Adele, it’s inevitable.”

She laughed. “Every parent makes mistakes whether they are single, married, divorced, etc.”

“I know. I tell myself that all the time. And speaking of life—what Adele said.”

“What was that?” she asked. “She said a lot of things tonight.”

“About me having you,” he said after he cleared his throat.

“I think it was very sweet.”

“You looked as shocked as I was when she said it.”

“I was,” she said. “You don’t think a child will say that, but things are simple in their world and that is what is going on in her mind. Her father found a friend that she likes too. I’d like to think maybe you’re a bit happier since you met me and she picks up on that?”

Funny how Ava pointed that out. “You might be right. Not ready to run for the hills after my kid put the pressure on that way? Even wanting to spend the night at your house?”

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m stronger than that. But you’ve got more on the line than me.”

“I do. I’m not running either. I guess that is my next question. When do you think you and I can get some time together? My mother will watch Adele for me.”

“Does your mother know about me?” she asked.

“She does. Even if I didn’t tell her, Adele did on Easter Sunday after you came over that day. There hasn’t been all that much more to mention other than our one date, but now that you’re here on the island...”

She laughed softly. “Yes. Now that I’m here we can try to make something work. However, I’m on call for the next two weeks straight.”

He sighed. “Just our rotten luck.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. It only means I might get interrupted. There aren’t a lot of pregnant women on the island right now that I’m aware of. At least not any of the patients I’ve taken over, but there are two of us in the building and we take on call at two-week intervals.”

“So next week too?” he asked. Which she’d said if he was paying more attention. That would explain why she wasn’t on call the first two weeks she started.

“Yes. But I don’t want that to stop us from having time together either. We can plan on dinner unless I’m called in, or maybe a Friday or Saturday night.”

“My mother will gladly take Adele for a night if you want to plan for that?” he asked hoping maybe they could go back to one of their places after too.

“I think that sounds like a good plan,” she said. “I’ll let you decide what you want to do or where to go, or I can cook dinner for us again. I enjoy cooking but don’t do it much since it’s just me.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that,” he said.

“Your choice,” she said.

When she yawned on the other end, he said, “I can let you go. You’ve had a busy weekend with the move and then entertaining us. Adele can wear a person down in an hour if they aren’t prepared or used to it.”

“I really like your daughter, Seth,” she said. “I want you to know that. I also want you to know I don’t want her to be hurt and I will follow your lead on however you want to handle things.”

“Thank you,” he said, knowing he didn’t always get that luxury in the past.

“You’re very welcome. And when school is out, if you’d like, I thought maybe we could do a little celebratory beach day with Adele.”

“She’d love that. She gets the beach at my mother’s but nowhere else.” It just occurred to him that he hadn’t once in the time he’d lived here taken her to the public beach.

“Maybe we can play tourist on the island. Some snow cones at the beach. A little bit of mini golf and then dinner.”

“Again, nothing I ever thought of doing for the last day of school. Is that something your parents did?”

“My mother always made the first and last day of school fun when we were younger. It stopped when we got to middle school, but I remember it and wouldn’t mind enjoying it again as an adult.”

“Then we can plan on that the weekend you aren’t on call.”

“Smart,” she said. “See, I wouldn’t have thought of that and then would have been bummed if I got called away. I’ll leave it up to you to let Adele know when it will be and I’ll make it work once I’m done with my double rotation.”

They hung up shortly after that, him going up to check on his daughter and saw she was passed out cold like always. She played hard and then crashed, sleeping through the night.

Ava said she’d leave everything in his hands on how to handle their relationship when it came to Adele and he would. Once he figured out what that would entail.

Not just the relationship, which he was positive she felt was one too, but what the situation would evolve into.

And what he was hoping was that one of them would be staying the night at the other’s.

Ava put the phone down knowing that that conversation went about as well as it could.

She knew for a fact that Seth would bring up what Adele said and she was glad for it. There should be no guessing games and worries on either of their parts.

They were both mature adults and in a position where they should be able to talk freely.

She wasn’t one for secrets and she hoped he wasn’t either.

She had a mess going on in her life and he was very aware of it, even if they didn’t discuss it regularly. It’s not like there was all that much to say. Everything that could be done about it