Page 146 of Along Came Amor
Which meant she didn’t want her cousins getting their hopes up, either. No matter what, she didn’t want to be blindsided again. She’d enjoy the time she had with Roman, but she was keeping her eyes open.
This time, when it ended, she would see it coming.
But then what? How would it affect her relationship with Jasmine?
She could see it now.Sorry, Ava, we’re inviting Roman to this one.You’ll come to the next, okay?Or worse, making them choosesides. Ashton would obviously take Roman’s side. Would Jasmine side with Ashton, her husband? Or Ava, her cousin?
This was what had happened with Hector. Their lives and families had become so entwined, it had been hell to untangle them. She already feared that losing Roman would destroy her, but if it meant losing Jasmine too...
How could she bear it? It was the thing that had terrified her from the beginning. Not just losing romantic love, but her family as well.
She turned to the dance floor, easily finding her cousins where they danced with their men. Under the flashing club lights, Jasmine all but glowed in her white outfit and veil as she shimmied and twirled in Ashton’s arms. Michelle and Gabe were full on making out in the middle of the dance floor, heedless of all the Rodriguez relatives surrounding them.
Jealousy licked Ava’s insides like fire, not because of her cousin’s partners, but at their freedom in showing them off to the world. Jasmine and Michelle had both been unlucky in love before, and now they were incandescently happy, like Lizzie and Darcy at the end ofPride & Prejudice. Ava knew how that felt, and she dreaded the possibility of making them support her throughanotherbreakup.
Poor Ava, their eyes would say, even if their mouths didn’t. While they waited for her to shatter so they could pick up the pieces.
Jasmine and Michelle had done enough, helping her get rid of Hector’s stuff and holding her hand while she initiated the divorce proceedings. They had their own lives, their own loves, and Ava vowed never to burden them like that ever again.
Her ginger ale appeared on the bar in front of her, garnished with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint, and Ava dug a bill out of her purse for the tip. But when she lifted the glass and put the straw to her lips, her throat felt too tight to swallow. She set the soda back down, untouched.
She couldn’t tell Jasmine now. Not with the wedding bearing down on them. This was Jasmine’s special time. Ava wouldn’t detract focus from that, not even a little bit.
Because, and this was the part that scared her the most, what if Jasminedidn’treact well? What if Jasmine saw, just as Ava did, the clear possibility for mess?
Why, Ava? Why couldn’t you fall in love with literally anyone else other than my husband’s best friend?
Just the thought of it made Ava’s head pound with renewed vigor. The revelation had the potential to cast a pall over the whole wedding. Every time Jasmine looked at the photos, she’d remember Ava’s utter selfishness, usurping Jasmine’s special time and making it abouther.
And if there was one thing Avawould not do, it was ruin Jasmine’s wedding.
I’ll try, she’d told Roman. But she couldn’t do it. Not now. She’d wait until after Jasmine returned from the honeymoon, when it was just the two of them, and she could tell her the whole story. Somehow, she’d assure Jasmine that this wouldn’t cause problems for her.
And hopefully, her prima would forgive her.
Just then Ronnie appeared next to her, breathing hard with exertion. She grabbed a bar napkin and attempted to fan herself with it.
“I haven’t danced like this since the quinceañera last year,”she said breathlessly, referring to her stepdaughter’s fifteenth birthday. “Are you going to dance?”
Ava shook her head. She didn’t feel like it, not if she couldn’t dance with Roman the way she really wanted to.
“Headache,” she murmured.
Ronnie’s eyebrows dipped. “You still get migraines?”
Ava nodded, thinking of the last big one she’d had, the day she and Roman had arrived in Puerto Rico and had an argument. He’d taken such good care of her. The man really deserved more than being hidden like an illicit affair.
Ronnie placed her drink order—Malibu and pineapple juice, the same thing she’d been ordering since they were in college—then turned back to Ava. “I’ve been meaning to tell you. You’ve been an amazing maid of honor.”
“Even though I vetoed most of your decoration ideas?”
Ronnie laughed. “Even so. Jasmine is lucky. I wish I’d asked you to be mine.”
“Your sorority sister did a great job.”
“She did, but damn, Ava, you go above and beyond for this family.”
Ava expected the praise to feel good. Didn’t she want the validation? But it just made her tired. “You know Michelle planned this party, right?”
