Page 54 of Along Came Amor
“Really?” Damaris’s eyebrows were so high, they were practically in outer space.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Stupid question, especially since Damaris latched on to the opportunity to reply. “Maybe because it would be normal and natural to feel some type of way about watching one of your closest cousins plan her dream wedding to a literal movie star?”
“I’m happy for her,” Ava insisted.
“I don’t doubt that. But it would be okay if you also felt a little...”
“What—jealous?” Ava scoffed. “No. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Okay.” Damaris’s eyebrows flicked upward like she didn’t believe it, but she let it drop. “Well, let me tell you what happened in this meditation seminar. You are not going to believe the messy shit these mindfulness people get up to.”
For the rest of their lunch break, Ava listened and responded accordingly, while inside, she packed away all the untidy feelings Damaris’s words had stirred.
Chapter 16
May
Ava:Are you free tonight??
Roman bit back a smile when Ava’s text popped up. Over the past two months, it had taken all his self-control not to call her every time she crossed his mind—which was frequently.
He tapped the reply box, then glanced at the time. It was just after noon on a Wednesday, which meant Ava should be at work. And they’d never met up on a school night before.
“Is it a holiday?” he asked Camille, who sat across from him. They were working in his apartment, and even though they both had desks in his home office, more often than not they used the dining table. The sleek and shiny wooden surface was big enough to seat eight, but his work sessions with Camille were the only times it got any use. Roman, Dulce, and Mikayla all preferred to eat at the kitchen’s high granite countertop, and when Roman entertained, he used one of his hotels.
Besides, the dining chairs Dulce had picked out were somehow kinder to his lower back than his outrageously expensive desk chair. And he had once again been skipping PT.
Camille squinted at him. “It’s the middle of May. What holiday would it be?”
He didn’t have an answer for that. “So your kids are in school today?”
Camille’s expression grew suspicious. “Yes...”
“Thanks.”
Roman looked at his phone again before Camille could ask a follow-up. Then he opened his calendar app. He had numerous meetings and calls scheduled that afternoon, plus tickets for the Mets game that night. He also had an early flight the next day.
And none of it mattered, because Ava wanted to see him, and he was once again about to drop everything to be with her.
He typed back his response.
Roman:Yes. I’ll send a car.
Ava:No need. I’ll leave right after school and meet you at the Flor.
He was about to say the car could pick her up at her school, but he knew she wouldn’t go for that. Still, there was one other thing he could do...
Roman:I have an early flight tomorrow. Come to my apartment instead.
There was a long pause, and he could guess why. So far, they’d only arranged to meet at the Dulce Flor—which, granted, heowned—but there was something a lot more intimate about inviting her to his home. And if he knew anything about Ava, it was that she shied away from intimacy.
But now that the idea of her in his apartment had taken root, he couldn’t let it go. His mom was in Puerto Rico visiting his aunt, and his sister would be sleeping over with a school friend. It was the perfect night for Ava to come by.
Another minute passed before Ava’s reply appeared.
Ava:Okay.
