All I Ever Wanted: A BWWM Romance by M.O. Kenyan

Author:M.O. Kenyan [Kenyan, M.O.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Penz Publications, LLC
Published: 2023-09-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Surprise!”

Ayanda jumped back, startled by the party of people in the decorated living room. There were balloons, stringers, boxes of presents, and stuffed toys everywhere. She hadn’t expected a baby shower, especially not one that Ian had a hand in. She had a late start in her day, and Ian, out of character, was too attentive, making sure to keep her in bed a little longer than she usually was. She was suspicious of his sudden care, thinking that it was driven by guilt.

It had been a week since their last argument, and even though he slept beside her, and at times held her in his arms, there was still that break in their connection. His closeness only seemed to serve his purposes. He used her as a shield to protect himself from Meredith, and as a comfort person when he needed to be close to the babies.

So far, he had shown no interest in her, and it was slowly killing her. Slow, but faster than cancer. She wondered if it would be up to her to make the first move, to push them out from the limbo they were in and onto solid ground.

“Debra, you didn’t have to do this,” she said as her eyes clouded with tears.

“Of course, I did!” Debra scoffed. “Any excuse for a party.”

“I should have known,” Ayanda teased.

“Thank you,” Sarah said as she embraced her. “Thank you for giving my son a family of his own.”

Ayanda did not know what to say to that, so she kept it simple by just smiling. Ayanda wasn’t as sure as Sarah was that they would be a family. Ian had created such a distance between them that she wasn’t sure she had what was needed to build a bridge between them. But she could try.

“I’m not quite sure what to say,” Ian said awkwardly. “I guess I could congratulate you, and by extension, myself as well.”

Ayanda giggled at that. Not sure what put Ian in a good mood, but grateful for it.

“Congratulations to you, then,” Ayanda teased.

“He put in ten seconds of work and wants the credit,” Byron teased.

“I think it was three minutes,” Ashton went on. “Give him credit. He managed to hit two bull’s eyes with only one shot.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Ayanda was enjoying staring into the light in his eyes and the gentleness of his smile. She was going to take a mental image of his face at that moment and bring it out when he was being an ogre.

Ayanda was well aware of what stole his smile, and she had at one time hoped she would be the one to bring it back. But knowing Ian’s story made his behavior make more sense to her. Ayanda had lied to him and manipulated him the same way Meredith and Andrew had. She just hoped that they could fix it. But she knew the only way for him to understand her was for Ayanda to tell the truth. She had to tell him about cancer.

He laughed then, throwing his head back and punching Byron in the shoulder for something he had said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.