Page 13 of Her Desire

“That’s okay,” I said. I took her small hand in mine and gently squeezed it. “We have time for you to think it through. Just know that I would never hurt you.”

I was pouring my heart out to her. I was running on borrowed time right now, and we both knew it.

"Would you—" Ava started, but her phone interrupted with a sharp vibration, slicing through the moment.

She pulled it from her pocket, her brow furrowing as she read the message on the screen. "It's him—my ex," she said, thewarmth draining from her voice. "He says he wants to talk. That he's changed."

I clenched my jaw, feeling a protective instinct rise within me. Every fiber of my being wanted to shield her from the pain of her past, to prove that she deserved so much more. But I knew this wasn't about what I wanted but about supporting Ava, no matter what.

"Whatever you decide, I'm here for you," I said firmly, taking a breath to calm the storm of emotions inside me. "You're not alone, Ava. Remember that."

She looked up at me, her eyes searching mine for reassurance. "Thank you, Sam. I don't know what I'd do without you right now."

The clang of the café doorbell yanked me from my thoughts. My eyes snapped up, locking onto Ava's ex-boyfriend as he strode in like he owned the place.

"Hey, Ava," he said, with a casualness that belied the tension coiling between us.

"Ben?" Ava's voice was a whisper, her petite frame tensing beside me. I felt her hand search for mine under the table, a silent plea for support.

I stood, tall and positioned myself as a barrier between them. "Can we talk?" Ben asked, his gaze flickering between us, settling on Ava with a sense of entitlement that made my skin crawl.

"Talk about what, Ben? The past is over," Ava shot back, but the tremble in her voice betrayed her inner turmoil. “You cheated on me. I’m moving on.”

I could see the struggle play out across Ava's face, the war between moving forward and the pull of history. I was proud of her for standing up to this guy. He was a complete douchebag.

"Let's go, Ava." My words were an anchor, trying to ground her in the present, away from the stormy seas of her past relationships.

She hesitated, a frown etching her brow as she gazed at Ben. "I... need a minute," she said softly before slipping from her seat and following him outside.

Left alone, worry gnawed at me. What did this mean for us? We'd been building something beautiful, and now the ghost of her past was here, threatening to tear it down.

Minutes ticked by, each one stretching longer than the last. I ordered another coffee, the taste bitter on my tongue, matching the uncertainty that filled me. When Ava finally returned, her brown eyes held clouds I hadn't seen before.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching for her hand again.

"Yeah," she murmured, but the word was hollow. "He just wanted closure."

"Did he get it?" I prodded gently, needing to know where we stood.

"I think so," Ava replied, but her gaze drifted away from mine, lost in contemplation. "Sam, I need to think about some things. About us."

"Us?" The word hung heavy in the air, a leaden weight in my chest.

"Moving to Miami, it's a big step. And with Ben showing up like this, it's a lot to process." She chewed on her lower lip, the gesture painfully endearing even now.

“What do you want to do?” I asked nervously.

“I want to escape my past,” she sighed.

“Then do it with me,” I pleaded.

She took a moment to reflect on this, and then suddenly, her face lit up, and a large smile grew on her face. “You know what, I’m so sick of this,” she practically yelled. “I have lived in fear my entire life, never taking any risks. I’m ready to take a leap of faith and see where this goes,” she says.

“Wait, are you serious?” I ask.

I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I first laid eyes on Ava on Lydia’s social media post. I came to Seattle to convince her to be with me. To move to Miami and start a life where we could both be happy and find solitude in one another. And now, she was giving me the answer I wanted. And yet, I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

A slight chuckle escapes her lips. “Yes.”

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