AVA'S PARENTS ON SIDE -------->
Eyes wide, Josiah lurched forward and offered his hand formally.
"Oh! Mr. and Mrs. Jordans it's a pleasure to meet you." They glanced at me curiously but then smiled and shook his hand politely. My dad was the first to speak up and he wrapped an arm around me protectively.
"And you are?" I grinned up at my mother and she smiled before rolling her eyes at me. Josiah shoved his hands in his pockets and met my dad's glare head on.
"I'm Josiah Richards, Ava's boyfriend."
Now both their attention was focused on me with confused frowns. Mom questioned softly.
"I thought you were dating Tony?" My body tensed at his name and my throat tightened. What would he do if he knew I was back in town? Thankfully Josiah noticed my inner panic and responded for me.
"They broke up about a couple months ago. It's been a little hectic." Furrowing his brow, Dad cocked his hip and placed his hand there sassily.
"How long have you two been together?"
"Daddy!" I blushed at my dad and Josiah chuckled, smiling at me in amusement.
"It's alright Darling." Mom's elbow nudged my ribcage and I looked up at her to see her approving wink. Again I blushed and moved to stand beside Josiah just as JoJo trotted in. He sniffed mom before licking her fingers in approval.
"We've been together for about a month and a half if you count the rocky beginning." This made my dad's eyes narrow and I sighed.
"Maybe we should move this conversation somewhere more comfortable since I don't see it ending soon." Josiah slunk an arm around my waist and grinned hospitablely, striding towards an open doorframe into a cozy living room.
"Of course, silly me. Right this way." A huge flat screen covered half of one white wall, another with a large painting of a family that had two children who looked suspiciously like Josiah and Ivory except this picture had to be from the early 1830's. Peeling my eyes from the painting, I moved towards the wrap around, black leather sofa and cuddled into Josiah's side as Dad settled on my other side, staring down Josiah. He was surprisingly unaffected and smiled down at me before stretching his arms over the back of the sofa. Mom focused on petting JoJo who sat at her feet beside Dad. Josiah's shoes slipped off and his feet lengthened over the carpet. He kissed my cheek and I glanced at Dad to see his glare sharpening. Clearing my throat, I smiled at my parents and questioned quietly.
"How did you know I was staying here?" Mom's voice perked up and she answered casually.
"Well after you "disappeared" Gale called us, lovely girl by the way, and we immediately came. We've been staying in a hotel but Gale called us and gave us the address of your new stay so we came. We didn't know it wasn't actually yours Baby." I smiled sheepishly as Josiah's arm curled around me, speaking directly.
"Actually my home is as much Ava's as it is mine." A flash of approval flashed through dad's eyes but he still glared and mom giggled giddily. Interlacing his fingers, dad pursed his lips harshly.
"So what do you do Mr. Richards?" The urge to roll my eyes again grew but I decided I wanted to answer.
"He's a novelist, a very good one according to Gale." Mom grinned and leaned forward, resting her head on her hand.
"Really? That's fascinating!" Dad, however, was more hesitant to approve and he glanced around the room, gesturing generally towards the walls.
"Am I safe to assume you do well for yourself?" I glared harshly and gritted through my teeth sharply.
YOU ARE READING
The Beauty of Despair (Book 1 of 3)
Romance(Unedited) Ava Jordans is abused by her boyfriend and despairs that she has nowhere else to go. Then she meets him. Josiah Richards is a polite, soft spoken man that seems to ignite feelings Ava thought were long gone from her life, but then there's...
