Page 65 of Building Romance
We both look up and see her leaning out the window.
“Ava! Get back inside!” Cam yells.
“Only if you come see my new dollhouse,” she bargains. Cam groans and I smirk. This kid is hilarious.
“Ava Louise Maxwell! So help me God. Your mom and I are going to have a long chat,” Camryn yells.
“Please, Miss Cam. You can even bring…what’s your name again?” Ava asks me.
“Fletcher,” I reply.
“Mr. Fletcher can come, too. And I totally won’t tell my mom about that time you let me stay up late and watch that scary movie,” Ava adds.
Cam leans her forehead against my chest. “You want to come with me to see a dollhouse?” she asks.
I press my lips together to keep myself from smiling. “Sure,” I manage.
I follow her inside and up the stairs. I see Ava standing at a door and she ushers us inside.
“Miss Cornelia, I’m having friends over,” she says as she takes our hands and drags us past a half-asleep Cornelia in the living room. She’s facing away from us and watching some reality show. “Ava, you’re supposed to be napping and I’m pretty sure Cam and Fletcher don’t want to play.”
I raise my eyebrows and Cam laughs. “We’ll just be a minute, Cornelia.”
“How does she know?” I ask.
“She was a teacher. I think that eyes in the back of the head thing lasts forever,” Cam explains as we enter a very purple room.
“I’m guessing purple is your favorite color?” I ask Ava.
“No. My favorite color is black because it has all colors, but Mom won’t let me paint my room black,” Ava explains. “Purple is my second favorite color.”
“Right,” I state as I look around. She has a dollhouse on a small table and starts to explain who each little doll is in the house. But something catches my eye. Something that everyone in this building has been looking for and no one has found. A small telephone-shaped saltshaker.
I walk over to where it sits next to a doll. “Ava, what’s this?” I ask as I pick it up. Cam’s still facing the dollhouse.
“Oh, I found that in the hallway by Miss Cam and Mr. Drew’s apartment. Holly Dolly uses it to call her friend Mable Myrtle,” Ava explains as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“What’s that?” Cam asks as she turns and then her gaze falls on the saltshaker in my hand. She rushes over and picks it up, examining it.
“Where’d you find it?” Cam asks.
“I just said the hallway,” Ava says, clearly annoyed we aren’t paying more attention to her dollhouse.
“Outside my apartment?” Cam asks.
Ava nods.
Cam looks over at me and grins. “I must have dropped it when I was carrying stuff upstairs for happy hour. We made margaritas one night and I brought a bunch of stuff. I’d originally packed the saltshaker but decided to bring the sea salt instead. I thought I put the saltshaker back, but it must have been in my bag and fell out,” she says as she looks at it again. “I can’t believe it doesn’t have a chip or crack.”
“Do you want it back?” Ava asks with a frown.
Cam leans down. “How about I find your dolls a better phone?” she suggests.
Ava smiles. “OK.”
“Ava, I’ll come play another day. Mr. Fletcher and I have some things to do,” Cam explains as she walks toward the door.
“Like what? Kissing?” Ava asks. Damn, this kid is sassy.
