Page 145 of Along Came Amor
“Ashton knows. Gabe and Michelle know.” He let that sink in. He’d found out about Michelle during rehearsals with Gabe, and he’d been sort of annoyed, sort of hurt that Ava hadn’t told him herself. When she didn’t say anything, he went on. “It’s time to tell Jasmine.”
She was already shaking her head before he finished. “No. We said after the wedding.”
“Yousaid,” he pointed out. “But when? At the reception? Before she leaves for her honeymoon? After she gets back?”
She was shutting down before his eyes, her mouth pinching, her shoulders drawing inward. He cupped her arms and kept his tone gentle, willing her to stay with him.
“Ava, I understand that you’re worried, but keeping this secret is hurting you. For your own peace of mind, I think you should tell her. Tonight.”
“Tonight?” The word held a note of panic. “Why tonight?”
He should tell her that Ashton had issued an ultimatum, but he wanted her to do this on her own, not because there was suddenly an external deadline.
Somehow, telling Jasmine about their relationship had become synonymous with Ava accepting Roman into her heart. He couldn’t have explained why he thought that, but there it was.
“She’ll want to know sooner rather than later,” he reasoned. “And this has the potential to affect your relationship. Especially since the others know.”
That got through to her. Her eyebrows drew together and her expression turned thoughtful. After a moment, she closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
“I should have told her after the engagement party, instead of dragging this out.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry about the past. Just talk to her. She loves you.”
When she opened her eyes, there was a wealth of pain in their depths, but she nodded. “I’ll try.”
Roman wanted to believe her. He really did.
But just in case, he mentally prepared himself for the fallout when Ashton broke the news to Jasmine himself.
As for his own update, he’d get Ava alone tomorrow so he could tell her somewhere thatwasn’ta public bathroom.
Chapter 44
After sneaking out of the bathroom, Ava headed for the bar. The men of The Adonis Experience had joined the party in their street clothes, and the crowd was louder and more rowdy than when she’d arrived. Esperanza was dancing salsa with the cowboy, a handsome Black man with broad shoulders, and Titi Nita was grinding on the tall, red-haired Highlander.
Ava considered getting sloppy drunk, the better to spill her secret to Jasmine before the night was over, but that was the coward’s way out, and besides, she didn’t need to add “nursing a hangover” to her already full to-do list. So instead of another glass of rosé, she asked for a ginger ale.
Several of Ashton’s telenovela friends had placed their drink orders before her, so she settled in to wait and considered how to tell Jasmine.
Should she do a slow reveal?
Hey, remember when I went to that teaching conference last October? Well, I met someone...
Or just blurt it out?
Surprise! I’m fucking Roman.And I’ve fallen in love with him.Believe me, no one is more shocked than I am.
Ava rubbed her temples, which throbbed in time with theCardi B song blasting overhead. The main thing she had to figure out was how to explain why she hadn’t come clean after seeing Roman at the engagement party. Before that, it had just been a fling, and she hadn’t been aware of his connection to Ashton. But since then, not only had she known Roman was in Jasmine’s wedding, their relationship had gotten more serious. It was absolutely the sort of thing she should have told her best cousins.
How was Jasmine going to take the news?
She’d probably be pissed that Ava hadn’t told her sooner, but after that, Ava could just see Jasmine getting excited by the prospect. Assuring Ava that her fears about the future were unfounded. That Roman was a great guy, that he wasn’t Hector, that he wouldn’t hurt her.
Hell, she’d probably be over the moon. After all, Roman was Ashton’s best friend. There would most certainly be double dates in their future.
For a brief moment, Ava let herself imagine what it might be like. Dinners. Events. Holidays. Joint vacations.
But Ava, who was trying to temper her expectations, couldn’t chance getting her hopes up.
