Page 51 of Along Came Amor
“You know we’re on a high protein diet.” Ashton tossed the boy a towel. “Don’t get the floor wet.”
The sliding door slammed, and Ashton sighed. “We go through that exact exchange once a week.”
Roman grinned, glad to drop the conversation about his family. “Not your fault your son is Goldilocks.”
Ashton snorted. “You have no idea. He only speaks in complaints these days.”
“I believe it.” Roman’s phone had been buzzing in his pocket, so he finally checked his texts. In the ten minutes since he’d arrived, he’d received messages from Camille, Nigella, Mikayla, his accountant, and his estate lawyer, in that order.
No Ava.
“Do you need to use the office?” Ashton jerked a thumb toward the house. “There’s a third bedroom with a desk in it.”
Roman shook his head and put the phone away. “Just waiting for some news.”
Ashton snorted. “Waiting? That doesn’t sound like you.”
Roman cracked a smile. It was true.
It had been three weeks since he’d seen Ava, and true to her word, there had been no communication in the interim.
And the waiting was killing him.
After what she’d shared about her ex-husband and hintedabout her family, it was easy to see why she needed rules to feel like she was in control of the situation. But it had also become obvious that Ava pulled back after opening up.
He thought about the way she’d refused to let him upgrade her phone, which triggered a memory, or maybe it was the fact that he was standing next to Ashton. “You remember Cassie?” he asked.
Ashton made a face as he turned the chicken over. “Why? Did she call you?”
“No. Just crossed my mind.”
After the language app took off, Roman had been flush with cash for the first time in his life, but he’d also been a dumb guy in his mid-twenties. He’d met Cassie, an Italian model, at New York Fashion Week, and she’d been living the kind of glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle he was just starting to taste. They’d gone on vacation, partied at clubs, took lavish shopping trips—until Ashton had told Roman point blank that Cassie was using him for his money. Roman hadn’t believed it at first. Sure, he didn’t see Cassie often, but they were both busy, and when they were together, they had fun.
Then he started to notice how she’d drop subtle hints when she wanted something, or only came around when she wanted him to take her somewhere. When he stopped buying her things and made himself less available for first class flights to Europe, she disappeared pretty quickly.
It had been a wake-up call, and looking back with the benefit of hindsight, Roman could see that he’d stopped dating seriously after that.
Still, he wanted to help the people he cared about, so when Ava had remarked that her phone didn’t hold a charge anymore, he hadn’t thought twice about offering to get her a newone. She had a problem, and it was within his power to fix it, so he would. End of story.
Except Ava clearly wasn’t used to people spending money on her.
In some perverse way, it only made Roman want to indulge her more.
Jasmine came outside then, her chancletas scuffing the concrete as she carried over a tray of vegetable skewers.
“These are ready,” she said.
“I’ve got it.” Roman took the tray and began laying the skewers on the grill.
Ashton moved aside and pulled Jasmine close before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Is he sulking?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Already forgot about it. He’s playing Mario Kart in his underwear.”
Ashton sighed. “I’ll make him get dressed before dinner.”
“Don’t stand on ceremony on my account,” Roman murmured, watching them from the corner of his eye and noting the way Jasmine slid an arm around Ashton’s waist. Her other hand patted his chest, as if offering comfort.
Theyfit, Roman realized. In less than two years, they’d met, fallen in love, and fit the pieces of their lives together to form a cohesive family unit. Jasmine had stepped in as the mother Yadiel had never had, and as the perfect partner to Ashton. And they’d made room for her, expanding their family to absorb her seamlessly.
