As their life turns towards a new adventure, secrets from Blake's past threaten their relationship once more. However, a hidden discovery might just be the thing to save them. Can they overcome the little leaps?
Series Order: Baby Steps, Colossal Ju...
My heart leaps through my chest at the sound of their voices. Blake leads them into the dining room and then moves to stand beside me.
As Blake wraps his arm around my waist, I see my father's face drop. They probably think I'm pregnant again.
"Before we eat, Ava and I have some special news to announce."
Angel looks like she's about to explode with happiness and the rest of our parents look slightly worried. It's hard to read my mother's facial expression, though.
"We're engaged!" I announce before they flip out.
"Oh, my!" My mother rushes around the table to tug me into a tight hug.
"You had me scared for a moment. I saw Blake's ring and thought you might have eloped without us."
"No, I'd never do that." I shake my head. "Just thought Blake deserved a ring as well."
"Congratulations, hunny."
"I was hoping it was Paris," Angela comments. "But a wedding sounds very exciting too."
Blake rolls his eyes, "There will be no Paris, Dallas or whatever other names you've come up with."
We take a seat at the table and serve the food. Our mother's talk about the engagement party while Blake chats about work with his father.
I take a deep breath and force some mash potato down my throat. All this chatter about parties and the wedding sounds overwhelming. I was not expecting them to chat about it so quickly.
"What if you kept the engagement a secret and announced it at the party?"
"Kyle would slaughter me if that happened. You know how he gets about secrets." I shake my head.
"You could tell close friends and keep everyone else out of the loop?" Angela offers.
"We'll think about it," Blake says.
"Okay." Angela nods.
"We also want to host a party for Ivan," Blake announces.
I keep my gaze hooked on the plate while I wait for their reactions.
"Really? That sounds like a wonderful idea," Mum replies.
"Thanks." I half-smile.
"We have plenty of time to organise these events."
"Although, we'd need to speed Ivan's birthday party up considering . . ."
"Right, yes, that can easily be managed." Mum nods.
"I'm going to the bathroom." I walk to the hallway and Blake follows.
"What's wrong? Are you regretting this?" Blake whispers. "I can take the ring back and it'll be okay. I promise I won't be upset."
"It's not that, I love it, Blake."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I lied about work, I took the time off because I've been down about Ivan. I keep thinking about his tiny little body and what it would have been like to throw him a birthday party. Maybe the idea was terrible? Throwing the party is just stirring old feelings."
The light from the dining room hides half of Blake's face, but I still see the pain swirling within his green irises.
"I don't know how to fix this."
"Neither do I." I sniffle. "There's something not right and I can't get past this feeling."
He holds me in his arms and I accept the comfort. I stand there motionlessly because I don't know what to do either. Perhaps talking to Charlotte was a terrible idea? It's giving me a false sense of hope that's playing out wrong.
"How about you take some time to decide what's right for you? We don't have to throw any parties if you don't want to. We could go away for the weekend and do our own thing for Ivan's birthday."
"Thank you." I nod. "We should probably get back otherwise we won't get a say in anything."
"That's very true." He chuckles.
Blake kisses my forehead and drags me out of the hallway. We take our seats and I tug on my brightest smile.
I can do this.
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Do you think Ava will keep this a secret from Kyle?
