Page 162 of Along Came Amor
“I want to have more time to spend with Ava, and my family.”
“Except Ava has a job, your sister will be in college, and your mother is moving out,” Ashton said pointedly. “So what are you going to do all day?”
“Well, there’s Casa Donato,” Roman admitted. “I have a lot of ideas for expanding distribution.”
Ashton spread his hands. “Así es.”
“I also want you to be a celebrity spokesperson.”
Ashton looked thoughtful. “Will I get free rum?”
“Obviously.”
“I’m in.”
Roman sighed. “I also have to finish writing the book.”
Gabe perked up. “What book?”
Roman explained how he’d been contracted to write a combo business manual and memoir—and how he wasn’t making much progress.
Ashton rubbed his chin. “Gabe’s a bit of a writer himself.”
Roman raised his eyebrows. “Any chance you want to help me?”
“Sure. Send me what you got.”
Ashton glanced between the two of them. “I think we have some things other than las primas poderosas to discuss.”
Gabe glanced at his phone, then snapped to attention. “They’re done.”
As one, the three men turned to the door. Roman pushed into the ballroom first and immediately spotted Ava barreling toward him. He sped up to meet her halfway and they crashed together. Her arms locked around his shoulders and his banded around her waist. She was warm and smelled like sun and beach and orange blossoms. And despite the tight hold she had on him, there was a distinct lack of tension in her body. Whatever had happened tonight, she’d finally set down a weight she’d been carrying for as long as he’d known her.
He pulled back just enough to look at her face. “Good chat?”
Her eyes were red but she smiled. “I’m ready.”
His heart rate sped up. “For?”
“To respond to the things you said in the closet.”
“Ava, I didn’t mean to pressure—”
She touched her fingertips to his lips. He was barely aware of Jasmine and Michelle pulling Ashton and Gabe onto the dance floor.
“Not just that part,” Ava said softly, her expression warm. “Although we’ll get to it.”
“Whatever you want, mi vida.”
She pressed her cheek to his. “Have I ever told you I love all the terms of endearment you use?”
“Not yet.”
Her mouth quirked. “Well, I do. Come on.”
She took his hand and pulled him out of the ballroom, across the main lobby, and through the front doors to the tiered stone fountain that stood outside the resort. Roman had considered removing or replacing it, but it had stood in the center of the main walkway since the resort had first opened, well before he’d bought it, and it was iconic to the look of the entrance. And so the fountain had stayed.
Ava drew him over to sit on the ledge surrounding it. The front of the resort rested in the shade as the sun set, and the water tinkled prettily, creating a buzz of white noise to afford them a semblance of privacy.
