Page 57 of Along Came Amor
Damaris:You sure? Maybe you shouldn’t be alone.
Ava:I won’t. I’m... actually on my way to Roman’s place now.
Damaris:Oh! The Dulce Flor?
Ava:More like... his apartment???
Damaris:Okay then! I’m not going to ask for his address but make sure your location tracker is turned on. We’ll debrief tomorrow at lunch. This calls for shawarma.
Ava:It’s a date.??
Chapter 17
An hour later, Roman was in his kitchen uncorking a bottle of wine when the front desk let him know Ava was on her way up.
He let out a sigh of relief. When he’d tried to talk to Mikayla again, she’d snapped at him to “mind his business” before sweeping off for a sleepover with her friend.
In the back of his mind, he’d worried that Ava wouldn’t show up. That she’d think coming to his home would be crossing one of the boundaries she seemed so fond of. Or that she’d somehow guessed he was “catching feelings,” as his sister would say.
But she was here.Thank Christ.
He went to the elevator to greet her, and she stepped out wearing dark pants, simple flats, a cheery yellow blouse, and a navy blue cardigan. With her large shoulder bag, she looked every inch the middle-school teacher. Roman was so fucking happy to see her, he couldn’t hold back his grin.
Except Ava didn’t smile back. Her pretty face was pinched with distress, and when she rushed into his arms, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“¿Qué pasó, mi cielo?” The Spanish term of endearment slipped out as he noted with alarm that she was shaking. Panictensed his muscles, and it was a struggle to keep his tone even. “Did something happen with Hector?”
Ava shook her head and clung to him. “No, nothing like that.”
He held her close, that familiar feeling of helplessness rising up in him. “Ava,pleasetell me what’s wrong.”
She shoved her curls out of her face and took deep breaths. She blinked fast, like she was trying not to cry. “I’m sorry. I thought I had myself together.”
“Hey,” he whispered, guiding her over to the living room area and drawing her down to the sofa. “You don’t have to have it all together. Just talk to me. Let me help.”
She shuddered out a sigh as she leaned into him. “Something happened today to one of my students.”
He held her while the whole story came in halting bursts. Apparently, one of her students had gone into anaphylactic shock in the classroom. Ava had caught the child before they fell out of their seat, then upended their bag to find an EpiPen before administering the shot. She’d called an ambulance while one of the other kids ran for the school nurse. The child was taken to the hospital immediately and was okay, but the whole experience had left Ava and the rest of her students on edge.
“Maddie’s fine,” she said. “I know they’re fine, but watching them react like that... The trust my students and their parents place in me isn’t something I take lightly.”
“You did everything right.” Roman rocked her and patted her hair, wishing he could do more to reassure her. “You knew the signs, knew the child carried an EpiPen, and knew how to administer it for them. You were prepared, and you reacted immediately. You’re a good teacher.”
She sniffled. “I know, on a logical level, that all of that istrue. But I feel so responsible for these kids. I want to protect all of them from everything. And I couldn’t protect poor Maddie from a rogue peanut butter cookie Armando’s grandma packed in his lunch.”
Ava’s words struck a chord, strumming in harmony with Roman’s own protective instincts. “You did, though. They’re okay.”
“But what if...” Her voice hitched and the look in her eyes was bleak. “Roman, I don’t even want to tell you how often we do school lockdown drills. Most days I try not to think about it, otherwise I can’t do my job. But afterward, my thoughts spiraled, thinking of all the ways I might fail, and I barely held it together the rest of the day.”
He tried not to picture Ava or her students in the situation she described. It was a concern he had about his own sister, especially since she’d be going off to college in a few short months, moving even farther from his protection. But this wasn’t the time to discuss the country’s inadequate gun safety laws, so he just rubbed Ava’s back and held her.
Moisture gathered in the corners of her big hazel eyes, and Roman used his thumbs to gently wipe it away.
“I’m so sorry.” She covered her face with her hands. “I never cry.”
“It’s okay to cry.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s a release of tension.”
Thiswas why Ava came to him, he realized. With him, she could let off steam—whether through sex, tears, or even just voicing her frustrations aloud.
