Page 136 of Along Came Amor
Michelle smirked. “Oh, just a lowly millionaire? My bad.”
Between Roman’s work and travel schedule, Ava’s back to school prep, and last minute pre-wedding tasks, they hadn’t seen each other in person since the bridal shower. Missing him was a constant ache, but the distance made it easier to pretend she wasn’t hiding a big secret from Jasmine.
“Shit or get off the pot, Ava,” Michelle muttered.
“I’ll tell Jas eventually,” Ava hissed back. “She has enough going on.”
There had been a mistake with the wedding favors Jasmine and Ashton had chosen—cutting boards shaped like the island of Puerto Rico with their names carved into them. Somehow, two-thirds of the boards read “Jashmine,” and no one hadcaught it until Jasmine opened all the boxes, which had been delivered to the resort. As a last minute replacement, Roman had offered flask-size bottles of a Casa Donato small-batch rum blend, and Jasmine was currently working with Belinda “De Bellísima” Barrios and Joaquín Donato to design custom labels that commemorated the wedding.
The bachelor and bachelorette parties were happening that night, the rehearsal would take place tomorrow, and the day after that, Ashton and Jasmine would walk down the aisle as husband and wife.
Ava and her mother were taking a quick trip to Barbados after the wedding to visit Patricia’s relatives. Ava hadn’t seen her other grandparents or cousins in a few years, and as Patricia had said, “It’ll be good for you to remember you have another family.”
Ava knew Roman was arriving in a few hours, too, and he would be staying at the resort instead of his house. Her heart twisted when she remembered the wonderful nights they’d spent there, cut off from the world and completely absorbed in each other. Waking up in bed next to him, sharing meals, swimming in the evenings, and doing theNew York Timescrossword puzzle in the mornings.
She wanted that back, the no-phones unfettered access to Roman without a care for what anyone else in their lives did or didn’t want.
They’d called and texted over the last couple weeks, but it hadn’t been the same. She missed kissing him, touching him, falling asleep with her head on his shoulder. She missed the way he asked her what she wanted and listened intently, as if filing away the answer in his permanent memory banks. She missed hearing about the fascinating trajectory his work lifehad taken, and brainstorming ideas with him for chapters of his book. She even missed the flirty way he negotiated with her, ever the businessman.
She missed everything about him.
It was only going to get worse once the school year started. Then she’d be working all day and grading or lesson planning at night and on the weekends. Just the thought of it made her cringe.
As if reading her mind, Michelle asked, “Ready for the upcoming school year?”
Ava groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Michelle lowered her voice to an ominous tone. “September is coming.”
That drew out a huff of laughter. “My students aren’t a horde of ice zombies,” Ava said, then sighed. “But Mr. Gunderson might as well be.”
Michelle’s expression turned serious. “Still no answer?”
Ava shook her head. She’d been emailing the principal for weeks about implementing her proposed drama program, hoping this year would finally be the one where he made good on his promise, but he had yet to reply.
That in itself was an answer, she supposed.
“Alliance isn’t the only school in the city,” Michelle offered, and Ava shrugged. Thanks to recent budget cuts to the Board of Education, she didn’t have much hope of teaching drama anywhere else.
All she wanted to do was introduce New York City kids to the magic of theater. Why was it so freaking hard?
Her phone rang, and Ava glanced at the screen with a sigh. “It’s Abuela.”
“Don’t answer.”
“I have to.” Ava picked up. Her grandmother immediately launched into a tirade about something Titi Nereida had done, and Ava struggled to keep up. Not because Esperanza was speaking rapid-fire Spanish, but because she was referencing something that seemed to have happened sixty years ago.
Michelle backed away and mouthed, “I’ll see you later.”
Ava waved to her, then attempted to interrupt her grandmother. “All right, Bwela. I’ll be right there.”
She hung up and headed to her grandparents’ room to do damage control.
By the time she returned to her own room later that evening—a suite she was sharing with her mother, thanks to an unexpected upgrade from Roman—Ava had helped put out fires for Esperanza, Olympia, Tío Luisito, and Ronnie’s stepdaughter.
After a quick shower and a refresh of her curls, Ava got ready for the bachelorette party in record time.
“You look beautiful, honey,” her mom said when Ava walked into the living room area to meet her.
