A Promised Fate by Cat Mann Read Free Book Online

man, I could use the cash.”
    “Fine, I’ll give you fifty bucks to throw Jules in
the pool.”
    “ Cha! Ari!” Julia yelled at me and tossed her
hands up in the air.
    Rory shrugged and headed towards Julia’s chair.
    “Rory Cal Alexander! I’ll cut your balls clean off
and feed them to the seagulls!” The look on her face was serious
and he quickly stopped his pursuit.
    “I was only joking. I would never do that,” he said,
but he would so definitely do that.
    Lauren walked out of the house with perfect hair and
prefect makeup, cute heels and a brand new outfit given to her by
Ava. I held up a crisp fifty-dollar bill. Luke pushed from his
seat, pressed a kiss to my sister’s cheek, causing her to have a
face-splitting grin, and then he tossed her in the water before she
could say a single word to anyone. Pissed only begins to
describe the look on her face as she came out of the water looking
like a drowned rat.
    For fifty bucks, Luke made my entire night and ruined
Lauren’s. He may have also ruined his own evening because Lauren
laid into him something fierce and gave him hell just as any other
Greek woman would have done.
    “Ari, so help me God, if you ever do something like
that to me…”
    “Baby,” I shook my head at Ava, “I would never in a
million years dream of doing something like to you.”
    She smiled.
    “I can’t go without sex for long, are you kidding me?
You’d hold out on me for ages.”
    Her elbow flew into my gut.
    Max slipped out of the house with my dad and he eased
up on Ava’s lap. We shifted to a much more appropriate
conversation.
    “Rory’s middle name is Cal, too?” Ava asked and
fiddled with Max’s hands, cupping his small palm and filling it
with soft kisses. She kissed, he giggled, she kissed some more and
he laughed louder.
    “Family name,” I nodded. “You didn’t know that?”
    Her forehead crinkled and a cute line that was
intended to be a firm scowl set in between her eyes.
    “No, I didn’t know that, Ari. Where does the name
come from? What does it mean?”
    “Uh, let’s see … Cal means ‘ most beautiful . ’
The name is Greek, obviously. Cal was my grandfather’s name on my
father’s side. Cal Alexander.”
    “So who was he, then?” She asked with a timid
voice, careful not to upset me and I felt a sting of guilt.
    “A descendant from Adonis.”
    “So you are named after both of your grandfathers,
Aristotle and Cal?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Hmm … I like Cal.” She mused and tasted the name on
her tongue.
    More kisses pressed into Max’s palm and then into his
messy hair.
    “I like Cal, too. Cal is nice. The name has worked
fine for me all these years.”
    Ava smiled as she looked down at her belly. My hand
was resting there. Whenever she is near me, I can’t help but touch
her, feel her. Feeling our baby move and kick is like experiencing
a divine miracle. It brings me great joy and I relish each and
every moment that I am blessed with.
    “Are we agreeing on a boy name?” Ava asked
excitedly.
    “We are!”
    “Cal and Max,” she squeezed Max in a warm hug.
    “They sound like a great, mischievous duo.”
    Ava giggled merrily and happy tingles spread from my
fingers down to my toes.
    The sky grew darker and darker and eventually we
moved out to the beach right in front of the water for an awesome
view of the city’s yearly show. Waves rolled in and excitement
hummed in the air. Max and a few other children his age ran along
the beach, flashlights in hand, chasing the sand crabs.
    When the first bang from the fireworks rang out,
people quit talking and everyone looked out towards the sky above
the sea at the magnificent bursts of color. Max hurried to our side
and I threw him up on my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around Ava
and held her tightly. She leaned back into my chest with a
contented breath.
    Everyone found peace and comfort in their loved one’s
arms. People were sneaking kisses from one another under the
beautifully lit sky. The