Fly You To The Moon by Jocelyn Han Read Free Book Online Page B

suggest I do?”
    “Fight for him,” the housekeeper said matter-of-factly. “ Most men are clueless fools and they need convincing.”
    What the hell? She felt an unexpected laugh bubbling up from deep inside of her. “Are you serious?”
    “Serious as a heart attack,” Margaret replied, her face so deadpan that Ava erupted in fits of laughter. It felt liberating . She couldn’t remember having laughed like this in a long time, and it was as if a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. Margaret was right – if she wanted Nic, she’d have to fight for him, one way or the other.
    “I’m going upstairs,” she said, pushing away her mug. “And I’ll keep in mind what you said.”
    “You should.” Margaret smiled up at her. “I think you know that every rule has an exception. You don’t necessarily have to break them.”
    Ava was still quietly smiling to herself when she stepped into the hallway. There was no sign of Nicolas and Clea, so they’d probably gone upstairs. Well, she wasn’t going to let it get her down. Mrs. Pipps was right – Nic didn’t care about Clea the way he cared about her . And sooner or later, he would realize it too.

9.
     
    After Alen had left for Saturn, Ava was out of a job for the time being.
    “ I’m not letting you work in the gardens,” Nicolas had told her. “Not by yourself, anyway. I’ll hire a new groundskeeper, so don’t worry.”
    With Alen’s departure, a certain sense of peace seemed to have taken hold of the Carter Manor. At first, Ava couldn’t quite put her finger on why that was – in fact, she really missed her Croatian friend – but after some time, she realized it was because Clea was notably absent. The shrill-voiced, voluptuous woman hadn’t been around in days.
    “Do you guys know what happened to Clea?” Ava asked one afternoon while she was helping Danny and Margaret with the laundry. “She hasn’t visited.”
    Mrs. Pipps shook her head. “I have no idea. Can’t say I miss her, though. She’s always bossing me around when she’s here.”
    “She’ll be round again,” Danny muttered. “The woman is like pigweed – you tear it out by the root and it still comes back.”
    Ava giggled. “I hope you’re wrong,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I like keeping the garden tidy.”
    “Speaking of which…” Danny scratched his head. “Nicolas asked me to clear out the big shed behind the orangery. He’s turning it into a practice room again.”
    “Really? What does he practice?” Ava wanted to know.
    “Swordsmanship,” Margaret replied.
    “Get out of here!” Ava gaped at the couple.”He does? My dad and I used to do sword fighting. We had these really cool, old-fashioned laser blades.”
    “Well, why don’t you challenge Nicolas to a fight?” Mrs. Pipps winked at her. “He might want to try a new practice partner. His Elite friends don’t have a lot of time these days.”
    In a flash, Margaret’s words came back to Ava. The housekeeper had told her to fight for Nicolas’s affection. Maybe doing some fighting for sport would bring them closer together. It was worth a try, right?
    That evening, she accidentally bumped into Nicolas as he was on his way to the orangery. “Hey,” she greeted him with a hesitant smile. “Long time no see.”
    Truth was, they hadn’t really spoken face-to-face ever since their post-Sinatra intimate moment. They’d both been there to say goodbye to Alen – who had made Ava promise to keep him updated about her and Nic – but they hadn’t been around each other since. Nicolas had been skipping dinner for the past few days, staying in Luna Six until late evenings.
    “Yeah, I know,” he replied, an apologetic tone in his voice. “I’ve just been busy. Interviewing some people for Alen’s old job. Shopping for new fertilizer in Luna Six.”
    “Do they even sell that stuff here?” Ava asked.
    “Not really. They don’t grow any food elsewhere in Dome Six. I always have it