Fusion
Copyright © 2013 Tessa Teevan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, storylines, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.
Cover Design by Robin Harper of Wicked by Design
Photography: Kelsey Kukal-Keeton of K Keeton Designs
Models: Don Allen and Faith Danielle
Formatting: Champagne Formats
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Other Books by the author
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
PART TWO
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Fusion Playlist
About the Author
Other Books by the author
Explosive Series
Ignite
Incinerate
Inflame
Intoxicate
The Wellingtons
Combust
Conflagration
Clandestine Affairs
Instigation
Escalation
Sweet Southern Sorrow
“AUNT LEXI? WHAT DOES divorce mean?”
The question catches me off guard, but when I spot the mischievous grin on my husband’s face, I know what’s up. Lexi, however, clearly does not.
My sister’s eyes widen like saucers as she glances from my daughter, Ava, to me. I bite the inside of my lip as not to give anything away. Six-year-olds. They hear everything and have no qualms about repeating them, especially at the most inopportune times. Precisely at the most inappropriate moments in time, in fact. It’s like a little kid specialty. They have no filter, nor do they understand the concept of not the time, definitely not the place.
Case in point: Asking about divorce while my sister is in between contractions, sweating, and panting profusely all while shooting daggers at her baby daddy-to-be, who’s grimacing every time she grasps his hand. Poor guy.
And now, poor Lexi.
She’s not exactly in the right frame of mind to give her niece a lesson on the sad state of marital affairs in our society. To say she was taken by surprise would be an understatement of epic proportions. I’m not sure why though. The things that come out of my daughter’s mouth shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially Lexi, considering that Ava interrupted her rehearsal dinner to ask if Jace and Lexi were going to spend the night making babies. We can all thank Jeremy and his booming voice for that one. She also mimicked his waggling eyebrows and held her hands on her hips while waiting for an answer, and those actions came from both of us.
Or the time, right after Dad had finished up the Christmas blessing, she asked where Pound Town was and then lamented the fact that Daddy only takes Mommy there.
Again, thank my husband. Apparently, he wasn’t as quiet as he thought when he was “whispering” against my neck, so lovingly telling me what he wanted to do to me that night. Or, well, where he wanted to take me.
I’m still not sure if my parents have recovered from that one. Still, the memory of Jace nearly choking on his wine, Lexi slapping his back, and Jeremy beaming like the proudest husband ever always brings a grin to my face. I’m sure I’ll regret it one day, but for now, I can’t help but enjoy the craziness that always ensues whenever my husband and my daughter are involved.
Lexi scowls at me before turning to Ava and patting the bed beside her. My little girl climbs up without hesitation and gives her aunt her big, brown doe eyes. I want to laugh at her feigned innocence, because everyone who’s ever spent any amount of time with Ava Banks knows that innocence isn’t in her genetic makeup.
I study Jace, my sister’s sweet husband, and grin. He looks relieved that he’s getting a break from his wife’s contractions. Still, he’s smiling from ear to ear, more than ready to be a proud papa. My heart swells for the two of them. It’s taken them so long to get to this place, and now that they’re here, neither of them could be happier. They deserve this. Every single bit of it.
“Where’d you hear that word, Ava?” Lexi asks through clenched teeth.