Page 72 of Along Came Amor
The honest truth? She missed him. Even when they hadn’t been communicating in between their trysts, the knowledge that he was out there, only one text message away, had been a solace. Now she didn’t even have that.
Why the hell did he have to be friends with Ashton? Of all the telenovela actors in the world Roman could have for his best friend, it had to be Ashton Fucking Suárez, her soon-to-be cousin-in-law.
Thanks a lot, Universe.
She recalled how bewildered Roman had been by her reaction to seeing him at the engagement party, and she knewshe could’ve explained herself better. But the combination of hearing that Hector was getting married, plus the revelation that Roman wasinJasmine and Ashton’s wedding with her, had caused some kind of short circuit in her brain, and all she’d been able to do was vent about her family’s reaction to her divorce. Not her finest moment, but he seemed to get the picture.
The saving grace was that Ava had managed to end it without anyone in her family finding out. She didn’t have to deal with their censure or judgment. She didn’t have to deal with letting them down. Again.
Anger gave way to despondency. Ava had tried to put herself out there, but now her special, secret affair was over. She couldn’t imagine going through all that with someone else, someone other than Roman. He’d probably ruined her for all other men.
It confirmed what she already knew to be true. Love, romance—even amazing sex—those things just weren’t for her. Other people got to have them, but Ava couldn’t trust a relationship to last, and at the end of the day, all she had left was her family.
Which was why Jasmine could never know. It would put her in the awkward position of choosing between her cousin and her husband’s best friend for the rest of their lives. Ava wouldn’t do that to her.
Especially since there was a chance that Jasmine would pick Roman instead.
Back at the table, Damaris was asking the waitress to bring more ketchup, and Ava’s phone was lighting up with texts.
Her heart leaped at the thought that it might be Roman, but when she took her seat and glanced at the screen, she saw it was her cousins.
Jasmine:EMERGENCY
Michelle:What’s wrong?
Jasmine:Ashton and I have to fly back to Vancouver to do last minute reshoots on the Sambrano Studios Christmas rom-com.
Michelle:My cynical little heart loves a holiday rom com! But what’s the problem?
Jasmine:It means we’re going to miss our wedding planning appointments in Puerto Rico! Ashton is saying we should move the date to next year. I know he’s right but I am SO SAD.
Jasmine’s last text was followed by three crying face emojis. After skimming the exchange, Ava immediately typed a reply.
Ava:I’ll go.
Jasmine’s response appeared a second later.
Jasmine:Omg Ava, are you sure?
Michelle:I’d join you, but Gabe and I are stuck in California for the next two weeks.
Ava:I’m sure. Just send me all the details.
Jasmine:Ava, you’re the BEST!! What would I do without you?
Ava:Happy to help!
Ava added the blushing smiley face and went to put her phone back in her purse, but it buzzed again with another incoming text. She picked it up to see Jasmine’s response, but it wasn’t from Jasmine.
Roman:I’ll charter a plane for us.
Ava sucked in a breath.Shit. She’d thought she was replying to the Primas of Power group thread, not the one for the entire wedding party. That’s what she got for answering too quickly.
With a sense of dread—and an illicit little thrill—she switched to her private texts with Roman. The last message was the photo of her missing underwear, something she hadn’t even noticed until she’d sat down to eat next to hergrandmother. She’d gone through the rest of the engagement party with no panties, because she’d been too embarrassed to track Roman down and demand he return them. For all she knew, he still had them.
The thought of her panties in his possession made her cheeks hot. She put that mental image aside and typed quickly.
Ava:What do you mean, US?
