Page 29 of Do-Over with my Ex
“Warner!” Ava reprimanded him, and Noah struggled to hold back his laughter. “Auntie Celine is saying very bad words! We don’t copy bad words, right?”
“Right,” Warner said. “Shit.”
Noah started laughing and dropped his hand into his head, shoulders shaking, unable to hold back anymore. Ava looked lost, and Hunter squealed and kicked in his chair.
Celine stood. “I have a shopping date to get to, so if you’ll excuse me”—She looked at me—“it was nice seeing you again.”
Nicewasn’t the word I’d have used to describe it, but it was a compliment coming from Celine.
When she left the kitchen, Noah shook his head. He was still laughing.
“I’m taking them out to the garden,” Ava announced.
“That’s a good idea. Some fresh air and clean vocab will do them good.”
Ava nudged her husband, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, too.
Noah looked at me. “Come to the bar with me. I put up a new TV, tell me what you think.”
I nodded, and we all stood from the breakfast table, going in our separate directions. I followed Noah to the bar, and he showed me the sixty-five-inch television he’d put up against the far wall so the men could drink and watch sports at the same time.
“This is a hell of a man cave,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s legit shit, man.”
“Ava doesn’t mind you hanging out with the guys?”
“Not at all. She’s great. She has a solid friendship circle too, which helps a lot. When we’re in here, she’s with the women and they all trade the kids’ milestone achievements the way we trade baseball cards. It works.”
“You’re lucky you have such a good thing going.”
Noah nodded. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t realize how incredibly lucky I am.”
We stood in silence for a moment, with Noah flipping through the channels to show me the crisp display.
“Speaking of what we have… what’s going on with you and Celine?” Noah asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’d like to see where this goes with her, though. You don’t object?”
“Celine is her own person, and she makes her own decisions. I don’t object to you wanting to be with her, I just don’t understand what you’re playing at.”
“I’m not trying to fuck with her,” I said quickly.
“Yeah, you’re not the type,” Noah said, nodding. “I know who you are. I’m just worried she’s fucking with you.”
I frowned at Noah. “Celine isn’t the type to do that.”
“No, not maliciously,” Noah agreed. “But she doesn’t like being told what to do. She likes going against the grain and fighting whatever comes naturally, so if things are working between you two, you should be worried. She’ll fight it tooth and nail just because she can. She won’t get hurt because she sabotages everything before that can happen but you… you’re one of the good ones.”
I smiled at Noah. “It’s nice of you to say that.”
“I just think you’re making a mistake.”
“Usually, women’s brothers are protective ofthem,not of the men courting them.”
Noah shrugged. “I know my sister, Lorenzo.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the thing, though. I know her, too.”