The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 104

"I had to explain to my five year old son why he cannot have a girlfriend at his age, even though he is already convinced ’best friend’ and ’girlfriend’ mean the same thing!" Avery was beside herself with fury when she confronted Damon and Gabriel.

She was being serious but the men burst into laughter at the thought of her expression.

"Do you know how awkward it was to explain that loving a girl doesn’t always mean she’s your girlfriend? What’s so funny about that?" She smashed them with pillows and glared at Damon. "It’s all your fault! What kind of explanation was that?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell him you’re my wife? If I did that, he would introduce Aubrey as his wife and that would be more awkward."

"You shouldn’t have told him anything to do with...you know what?" She grabbed the jar she had brought and showed it to them. "It doesn’t matter now when all is said and done. This is an adult language jar. If anyone ever gives Angel an explanation that would cause misunderstandings in his young mind, they have to drop ten euros in here." She placed it on the table and waited for them to do as she said.

"Damon, you go first, for your ’girlfriend explanation’. You too, Gabe."

"Hey, what did I do wrong? I only found the fun halfway and joined in. Do I have to pay for this too?" Gabriel complained. When he met her glare, he took out a small stack of bills from his pocket. "Can I pay in advance for future misunderstandings?"

"That’s a surprisingly good idea, considering it’s coming from you." Damon seconded and took out several bills as well. As a result, Avery smacked their heads, took ten euros from each of their bills and pocketed the rest.

"For my ice cream." She explained, making both of them laugh. As the CEO of a conglomerate, she didn’t need anyone’s money and had always rejected their help. It felt surprisingly great that she had taken it on her own and Damon was all smiles.

Gabriel leaned over to whisper to him, "Make her stay at home and you will be able to take care of her more often."

Damon ignored him. If Avery heard that, they would both be in trouble.

"Honey, aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for our date?" He gently reminded her. He had asked her out the night before and she had agreed, so it didn’t make sense that she was here yelling at them instead of getting ready for the date.

"I am getting ready, which is why Gabe is here—to take care of Angel while we are gone." She sat down and whipped out a sticky notepad to scribble a set of instructions for Gabriel.

When she was done, he found it ridiculous. "I’m not allowed to give him candy? Why would you want me to torture my nephew?"

"Angel’s sugar intake has to be kept below a specific level. I give him candy myself when he can have it." She looked at him sternly when he realized he might make an excuse to skirt around the rule. "This also applies to chocolate and ice cream."

"That sounds like torture but okay, your child your rules. Anything else?"

"No watching anything inappropriate with him or anywhere he can access. While on that note, you cannot leave him on his own unless you can clearly see him." She recited the rules since Gabriel couldn’t bother to read them on his own.

"Did you just say I should imprison my nephew?" He scoffed. "By the way, you have to pay me for this. I’m not even a babysitter but have to follow so many boring rules."

"You are now. What are uncles for?" She joked.

He was being teased but his heart melted. Things had taken a wild turn between him and Avery since the truth came out and she had always kept some distance even though she tried her best not to make it obvious. Hearing her call him Angel’s uncle was a subtle admission that she still saw him as her brother, and nothing could beat that feeling. His sister was back.

Oblivious to the turmoil of emotions she had left raging in Gabe’s heart, she rushed upstairs to get changed.

....

After nearly tearing her walk-in closet down, she finally picked three dresses and went to Angel’s room where the boy had asked to play on his own.

"Baby, I’m sorry to bother you. It’s only going to take a minute." She held up the dresses. "Can you help mommy choose the best dress for a dinner date?"

Angel shuffled to his feet and scanned the dresses before scrunching up his face and running past her. Knowing what that meant, she followed him to her room and let him rummage. He pulled up a black dress that she thought looked dull.

"Are you sure? It’s a fancy restaurant and mommy would stick out like a sore thumb." She expressed her doubt, only for him to shove the dress at her insistently. She chuckled and went to the changing room. Once she changed into it, she wondered why she had always ignored this dress.

She had never thought calf-length dresses would ever look good on her but not only was it elegant, but it emphasized her curves too. She tilted her body in the mirror to check out her back through the laces. Deciding it was too much skin, she threw a coat on, only for it to be tugged away by Angel when he saw her. His annoyed eyes seemed to accuse her of ruining the style he had worked so hard to come up with.

"I’m sorry." She chuckled and followed his lead to the vanity, where he worked his gentle fingers through her hair and tied it. He then proceeded to point at the makeup items he thought would look best on her tonight since he didn’t know how to do it, and she diligently followed her little stylist’s instructions.

When she was done, she was awed at her new look. Her hair was in perfect waves, and the nude makeup brought her entire outfit to life. Angel had chosen a silver purse as her only accessory and after a spin in the mirror, she hugged him. "You’re a perfect stylist, baby. What would I do without you?"

He kissed her cheek and pushed her out the door, as though he was berating her for keeping his father waiting. She turned and hugged him one last time. "Gabe is in the living room. Do you want to watch a movie with him?"

He pulled away and ran to his room, making her panic for a second. He had insisted on having Gabriel take care of him instead of Mabella and she thought he had changed his mind. When she saw him leave his room with his favorite airplane in hand, she was relieved.

She hesitated at the staircase, wondering what Damon would think of her outfit. Was she overdressed? Would he think she was putting in too much effort?

When he looked up at her and stopped speaking to stare at her, she had the urge to stop walking. He scanned her from head to toe and there was no more questioning it. Or Damon thought so no matter what she looked like—his opinion was concerning sometimes.

"Way to go, sis. Time to get Angel a little sister." Gabriel jabbed Damon.

"Gabe!" She scolded him. "The adult language jar, twenty euros."

"What? Is sister an adult word? You are my sister and there’s nothing adult about that." He argued.

"Forty." She stretched out a hand. He gave her yet another small wad and she placed forty in the jar, slotting the rest into her purse. "That’s for my ice cream."

"Let’s go." Damon hooked her arm around his and waved goodbye to Angel.

____

It had been six years since they ever went anywhere as a couple and she was nervous. Judging from how tightly he had been holding the steering wheel the entire ride, so was he. It was a relief for both of them when they arrived and no longer had to be alone in the small enclosed space.

He had reserved a spot on the rooftop and when he told her that, she wondered why it sounded so familiar. The elevator ride felt long and nostalgic and she couldn’t help looking around when they got to the top.

"Our first dinner date!" She nearly squealed when she noticed the decor. Just like the first time, he had reserved the whole rooftop and customized it to a romantic place with red scented candles littering the floor and only one table—their table—at the center of the room. A soft melody played in the background, reminding her of the first time he took her out on a dinner date. Now that she remembered it, he was dressed in blue on that night too.

"You remember." He smiled and pulled a seat for her. "Shall we?"

She sat down speechlessly. How much detail could one keep in mind for six years? While their first date was memorable for her too, she only remembered how she felt for the most part. The details were a blur until he brought it back to life.

When she saw a waiter come in with a bouquet of red roses, she couldn’t keep her surprise in. "Is there anything you forgot from that date?"

"Why would I ever forget the most important day of my life?" He flirted.

"This is for you," The waiter placed the roses in her hands. "From the gentleman before you."