Page 39 of Yes, Love

Ava pulled her wallet from her little black handbag and left more than double the bill on the table. The waitress scooped up the check holder with a smile. “I’ll be right back with your change.”

Ava slipped her hand into mine and smiled at the waitress. “I don’t need any change.”

The waitress’s jaw hit the floor. “Wh-what?” she sputtered. “Are you sure?”

“I am. Have a good night.” Ava smiled again and tugged on my hand, leading me out of the restaurant.

I glanced sideways at her as we walked through the door. “Has Jeanie been on your case about being more charitable?” I teased.

Ava rolled her eyes. “No. Jeanie doesn’t care if I actually help anyone. She only wants it to look like I’m helping people.” She shrugged and kept walking. “I overheard the waitress telling a coworker about her daughter’s hospital bill. She said she was praying for good tips tonight.” Ava met my curious gaze. “Dom, I’m not special. I got lucky with my blog. I’m not delusional about that fact. If I can quickly, quietly help someone, why wouldn’t I?”

I grinned at her and slid my arm around her shoulders. Fucking hell, she was darling. “You know what I love about you, Ava?”

Her eyes widened. I’d just said love, hadn’t I? I pushed past the awkward moment before it could hang too long in the air. “You’re full of good surprises.”

Ava laughed. “They’re not all good.” She changed the subject as though she sensed the awkwardness, too. “So, what did you think of my friends?”

I shrugged. “Sienna seems decent. Evan’s a wanker, though,” I mumbled as we approached Ava’s car.

Ava burst out laughing. “I don’t think so, actually. I think Sienna takes care of that for him most days.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Look at you, keeping up with British slang.” I paused and ran my fingers gently down her arm. “No, Evan’s all right.”

We stood beside her car in the moonlit parking lot, gazing into each other’s eyes. What if I told her how real this felt? What if I told her I’d not missed Lucy for over a month? That now, when I missed a woman, it was Ava that filled my mind?

I lowered my head to kiss her, hoping that I could convey everything I felt without words. Our lips met, and Ava’s slowly parted. I swept my tongue into her mouth and slid my hands down her back to rest on her hips.

Ava gripped my jacket in both hands and tugged me closer. My heart pounded, and I needed her even closer. The way that she made me feel… It was so real.

“Are you coming back to my place tonight, lover boy? I got your favourite kind of tea so you can have the right type of caffeine in the morning.”

I chuckled and ran my fingers through the ends of her hair. “You got me tea, love? Isn’t that sweet? I’ll have to stay over, now.” I squeezed her arse and kissed her darling nose for the second time that night. I couldn’t help it.

Twenty

Dominic

Things with Ava were exceeding my expectations at every turn. The woman had my head spinning and my heart racing. We’d spent so many weeks pretending that we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other for the cameras. Only now, I literally couldn’t keep my hands off of her.

Did she feel the same? Was she still acting for the fans?

I was driving myself mad over it one afternoon when I got a shocking text from Lucy.

Hi, Dom. I’m in Seattle, believe it or not. Would you like to meet for coffee?

I stared at the message on my screen for quite possibly a solid ten minutes. Lucy was here? Why? Lucy wanted to meet? Why?

Another text from Lucy came in. Can you meet me here in an hour? I’d really love to chat. She sent me her location, a quiet little coffee shop in Redmond. Odd choice.

I tapped my phone against the kitchen counter and headed down the hall to pound on Noah’s door. “Oi, Noah. Help me out!”

Noah cracked his bedroom door open and poked only his head through. “Fucking hell! What?”

“Lucy’s texted me, and she’s here and wants to meet.”

“And?”

I gaped at him. How could he not understand the situation? “Bloody hell, you really are dumb, aren’t you? Lucy wants to meet. I haven’t seen her for nearly eight months, and I’m not convinced that Will’s treating her right.”