Free Thawing Ava by Selena Illyria

to take care of her. Somewhere in her heart a part—a small part—of her melted.
    “Come on. Let’s go find you some couches and a sofa. Do you want to try the store on 8th and Halliwell?” She grabbed the keys to his SUV and headed for the door.
    “Sure. The window display looked good. If all else fails, we could always go to mainstream furniture stores.” He followed behind her. She could feel his gaze on her ass but didn’t say a word. Ava was just too tired for it.
    “When we get back, you pick out a movie and I’ll handle cooking. We can eat in front of the TV.” He locked the door, and they headed to the elevator.
    He leaned his butt against the railing as she pushed the button for the lobby.
    “What colors do you have in mind, or do you want to play it by ear?” Ava wasn’t up for wandering around; she loved furniture shopping, but she was exhausted and couldn’t appreciate it all. First opportunity she got, she would settle in on a couch and let him wander. Surely he couldn’t get in trouble just looking, right?
    They hit a mom-and-pop handmade furniture store; he found nothing as far as living items went and moved on to a department tore. She took pictures and notes of whatever got his attention. Next they moved on to another handcrafted furniture store. Again nothing, and the store didn’t have Swedish meatballs to help Ava keep her energy up. Thankfully he didn’t even try and flirt; instead he seemed committed to finding something and appeasing fans who’d come up to him for autographs or pictures. No one paid the least bit of attention to her. When they arrived at a mainstream furniture store, Brice’s grin told her everything she needed to know.
    “You’ve been stringing me along until we got here,” she accused.
    He shrugged. “I had to give everything a look over. It meant more time with you in public.” Brice slipped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her hip. Her feet ached too much from all the walking to create a scene, so she let him.
    He made a beeline for the sofas and much to her amusement picked furniture that was more warm in tone: red and taupe-colored cotton and brown leather. Brice settled down and pulled her with him. “Ah, oh yeah. This is what I’m talking about. So comfy and warm.”
    A salesperson wandered over to them. Without waiting for the pitch, Brice spoke up. “I need to see matching ottomans and all the colors this comes in, please. You don’t have to bring the ottomans, just pictures please.”
    Sensing a sale, the salesperson hurried off to grab a swatch book and a catalog.
    “What do you think, honey? Comfy enough?” He snuggled against her and exhaled.
    The sofa enveloped her in a world of warmth and softness, like sitting on a cloud. She didn’t want to get up at all. “Can they just deliver it to the apartment with me on it? Don’t wanna get up.” She shut her eyes, knowing she might fall asleep at any moment.
    “You’d think you were the one doing major hockey practice. And no, but I’ll carry you out to the car if you like.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You just relax.”
    The salesperson returned in record time with everything Brice had requested, and for the next half an hour, he put together a living room set that was both comfortable and stylish. “You have great taste,” Ava commented.
    “Thanks. I’m very careful about what I pick. It’s got to be comfortable and durable. Besides I like how clean the lines are, how simple the set looks, and plus there’s some storage capacity in the ottomans. Now we need to look for tables, or should we wait? Are you hungry?” He rubbed her shoulder and placed a kiss on the side of her head.
    She knew she should protest, but she was far too cozy to do much protesting. “If you’re up to it.” Ava didn’t relish the idea of walking to the car.
    Brice waved over the salesperson who’d been waiting on them and gave him instructions on what he wanted to see. Anything that