Page 10 of Along Came Amor
She sucked in a breath. “I’d like that.”
The corners of his mouth eased with something like relief before he got to his feet and used their joined hands to help her up. She let him, even though at five feet nine inches she had no trouble with high bar chairs. Once standing, she noted that Roman wasn’t much taller than she was, maybe an inch or two, but he had a solid build that made him appear bigger.
Roman turned to leave, but Ava hung back.
“I have to pay for the drink,” she said, and he gave a pained sigh.
“Ava. Please.”
“Oh. Right.” But she didn’t miss him passing the bartender a wad of cash as they left.
Old Ava would have worked up worst case scenarios in her mind. But damn it, shedeservedto live a little. After everything she’d been through, she owed it to herself to see where this night led.
Still, she pulled out her phone on the way to the elevators and opened her texts.
She skipped over the Primas of Power group chat. As much as she loved Jasmine and Michelle, she couldn’t risk this getting back to their grandmother, which meant her cousins could never know.
The thought gave her a pang of guilt, but it was like her mother always said: if you wanted to keep a secret from the family, you didn’t tellanyonein the family.
Instead, she opened her texts with Damaris and typed quickly.
Ava:I trusted the Universe and now I’m going to the penthouse at the Dulce Playa Hotel in Asbury Park with the owner, Roman Vázquez. If I turn up dead, tell the police.
After hitting send, Ava shoved the phone back into her purse before her friend could reply. There was a fifty-fifty chance Damaris would urge her on or try to talk her out of it, and either way, Ava was done overthinking things. At least for tonight.
And at the end of it, she’d have a new item to add to her list.
New Ava does whatever the hell she wants.
Chapter 3
Roman hadn’t gone to the bar with the intention of picking up a woman. In fact, he’d been on his way out, but decided to check on the recent lobby renovations before heading back to Manhattan.
Then he’d seen Ava.
She’d caught his attention immediately. How could she not? Tall and beautiful, with soft hazel eyes, golden tan skin, spiraling curls, and legs for days. He’d paused for a lingering glance, but definitely hadn’t planned on talking to her.
Until he’d seen her poorly disguised grimace when she sipped her drink. After that, nothing in his overpacked calendar could’ve stopped him from approaching her.
The spontaneity felt good. Tomorrow he’d get back to his meticulously arranged schedule, but for tonight, he’d just enjoy whatever was happening with Ava.
Shitty drink? Lonely night? Crowded restaurant? He could fix all that.
And if helping Ava took his mind off the supremely frustrating conversation he’d had with his mother that morning—well, that was an added bonus.
Across the elevator from him, Ava toyed with her necklace, athin gold chain with her name in script. Her eyes were glued to the red digital numbers counting their journey toward the top floor.
He got the feeling she was nervous, so he asked, “Hungry?”
Her rigid posture relaxed a fraction. “Starving.”
“Any allergies or preferences?”
She opened her mouth, then shut it and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” She gave a decisive nod that didn’t fool him in the least.
