Page 87 of Along Came Amor
“Keep thinking. Ava won’t open up until you do.”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
Ashton made a sound like he didn’t believe that, but before Roman could demand clarification, Ashton said, “Look, Jasmine has been a lot more relaxed about this whole thing knowing that Ava is there, so don’t screw this up, okay?”
“Jasmine doesn’t strike me as a Bridezilla,” Roman mused. “I mean, she is letting us make most of the decisions.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t true, sincehewas the one who’d made all the decisions today... which was why Ava was currently locked in her room.
Fuck, he really needed to apologize.
Ashton’s tone was ominous. “You have no idea. Ciao.”
The line went dead. Roman lowered the phone, thinking about what his friend had said.
He recalled Ava’s reaction when he’d offered to get her anew phone. She’d pulled out that stern teacher’s voice he found so sexy and told him, in no uncertain terms, not to buy her things. A Cartier watch or a new car wouldn’t make the kind of impression he was aiming for. Besides, he needed to show Ava that he was more than his bank account—even if he sometimes wasn’t sure of that himself anymore. He had to show her more ofhimand make it clear that he was nothing like her ex-husband.
Moreover, he had to show her he wassorry.
They were in Puerto Rico, a place that held a deep connection to both of them. Sure, there were all kinds of romantic touristy things they could do, like visiting Viejo San Juan or Culebra. There were places of historical and cultural significance, like hiking in El Yunque, the rainforest, or a tour of El Morro, the Spanish fortress. But none of those were personal to him, and while Ava might enjoy them, he didn’t think they’d mean much to her aside from a good time together. These places didn’t hold the emotional revelation Ashton was talking about. And Ashton, who’d been closed off for years, had learned a thing or two about opening up, thanks to Jasmine.
The patio doors slid open and Roman greeted Oscar.
“Señor.” Oscar leaned down. “Pardon the interruption. Dinner has arrived. Would you like a drink first?”
Roman glanced at his laptop, which was still open to the Cartier page and not the reports he’d planned to look at. A drink wouldn’t hurt. Hewassupposed to be on vacation, after all. He asked for the Casa Donato Quince neat. Oscar returned with the aged rum, and when Roman caught a whiff of the familiar scent of caramel and oak, he knew exactly where to take Ava.
He just hoped she understood how much it meant to him.
After firing off a text to put his plans into effect, he went inside to tell Ava that it was time to eat. He knocked on the door of her room, but there was no answer.
“Ava?”
Nothing.
He knocked again, then eased the door open and peeked inside. The room was empty.
After a quick check of the rooms upstairs confirmed that she wasn’t in the house, Roman called for Oscar, who appeared in an instant.
“¿Dónde está Ava?” Roman asked.
“No sé, señor. Ella no está aquí.”
A tickle of fear spread through Roman’s gut. Where the hell was she? He tamped down on his panic and thanked Oscar. “Si ella llega, dímelo.”
“Claro.”
If Oscar saw her, he’d notify Roman. But in the meantime, that didn’t explain where she was now. Roman sent her a text, waiting a few seconds to see if there was an indication she was typing her reply, but there was nothing. Then he called.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
It went straight to voicemail each time.
Ava was an adult, not a missing child. She was allowed to come and go as she pleased. Still, Roman’s mind supplied an image of Ava lying face down in the water—likely his mother’s fault for watching so many true crime shows at home.
