Free Without Doubt by Cj Azevedo Page B

my mom whispers in her loving motherly
voice.
    I walk over to the back door and close it
behind me just as I step inside the family room, and right before
she reaches me. I know that everyone can see us and they’re all
taking advantage of that by watching us closely, but I don’t care.
“Hey, Sunshine, did you meet Bailey?” I ask as I wrap her up in my
arms and hold her.
    “ Yes, she’s lovely,
although you should have told me you’re crazy famous and need a
publicist.” She pulls her head back to look me in the eye, her own
eyes twinkling with humor.
    “ I’m not crazy famous, but
I have been getting certain requests that I just don’t know how to
deal with, so when Talon told me about Bailey, I figured it
probably wasn’t a bad idea. And are you sure you want to start the
whole ‘you should have told me’ game?” I realize that was low, but
I needed to get it out of the way so we don’t have anything heavy
between us anymore. It worked, since she gave me her loud extremely
happy laugh.
    “ I want to kiss you. Can I
just kiss you when I feel like it now?”
    God, she’s cute. I press my lips firmly to hers, still completely
ignoring the fact that we have an audience on the other side of the
glass door. “You can kiss me even when you don’t feel like it,
Sunshine.” I smirk and wink as I reach for her hand.
    “ Oh good! I was hoping
that would be allowed,” Ava teases and rolls her eyes.
    “ Here we go, Sunshine,
brace yourself.” A quick glance tells me I just made her nervous,
but I’m already stepping outside by the time I notice.
    “ Oh shit, Ave!! You look
hot as hell!” Greyden calls.
    My free hand clinches with automatic
irritation at his observation to Ava’s new look. And “Ave”? What’s
that all about? I cut my eyes over to him, trying to rein in the
ferocity, but I don’t have to worry about taking care of it on my
own.
    “ Watch that mouth,
Greyden!” my mom chastises him as she swats the back of his
head.
    “ Sorry, Mrs. James,”
Greyden mumbles, rubbing the back of his head.
    Ava’s head snaps towards me as she stands by
my side, still holding my hand. I look down at her and realize
springing my mom on her like this probably wasn’t the best idea
I’ve ever had.
    “ Mrs. James?” she asks
quietly, mostly speaking through her teeth and trying to keep a
smile on her face. Her lips are barely moving.
    I don’t have the words for her. I don’t know
what to say to make this better because I never even thought of it
being awkward for her. So I give her my best charming smile and a
wink. She takes a deep breath.
    “ The reason why I’m
looking like this today,” I whisper. I lean down to kiss just above
her ear; Ava’s eyes close for a brief second as she sucks in a deep
breath that I don’t think has anything to do with my mom being
here. Then I hear my mom gasp.
    “ Declan James, you better
tell me that you told her I was here!” My mom raises her voice a
bit, but like always, it’s comical because she’s so tiny that she
just sounds like a pissed off elf.
    “ No, ma’am, he sure
didn’t!” Ava replies good-naturedly. After she throws me under the
bus, she lets go of my hand to shake my mom’s. “Hi, I’m Ava. It’s
nice to meet you.”
    My mom shakes her head and sighs loudly in
disappointment at me. “Call me Nancy, dear,” she says to Ava as she
pushes her chair back and grabs Ava’s hand to pull her into a
hug.
    Ava is tall, I’m not sure how tall, but if I
had to guess, I’d say probably around 5’9” or so. She towers over
my petite mother, but I kinda like seeing the two of them so
friendly with one another. This is a first for me—the first
girlfriend meeting mom moment. Hopefully it’s the last.
    * * * * * *
    The rest of the evening goes amazingly well.
I had no doubt that my mom would love her. Ava knows no strangers;
it’s one of the things I adore about her. After hanging out for a
couple hours, everyone helps clean up and then