Page 28 of Break my Heart
As we walk in, Shelley—the waitress who practically watched me grow up—spots the kids and greets them with a wide smile. “Hey! It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Van Doren bunch! Want your usual table?”
She doesn’t bother to wait for a response, already knowing the drill. The kids love the booth near the pinball machines. Her gaze catches mine, and a curious brow arches as she takes in the girl beside me. I can practically see the gears turning in her head. It’s only a matter of time before she calls my mom with the latest gossip.
Once we’re seated, Kia scoots close to Ava until she’s practically sitting in her lap. Shelley hands out menus even though we don’t need them.
“The usual?” she asks.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I say, glancing at Ava. “Do you need more time to make a decision?”
She shakes her head, a small smile playing around her lips. “I’m good. My dad and I came here last month. He loves the Salisbury steak. It reminded him of the place my mom used to work at in college.”
I lean back, taking in the way her face softens as she talks about her family. This version of Ava—more relaxed, less guarded—is rare, and I find myself wanting to keep the conversation going, to tease out more from her.
“Do you have any siblings?”
With a shake of her head, she tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “No, but I’ve always wondered what it’d be like.”
I glance toward my brothers and sister, who are busy bickering over which of them is the better hockey player. “They can be loud and rambunctious, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. It’s kind of like having chaos and calm all at once.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I bet. I’m sure your parents appreciated the help, especially with such a big age gap between you and them.”
I pause for a moment, considering how to answer. This is the most we’ve talked about anything personal, and I don’t want to say something that will send her guard shooting back up.
“Guess I got the best of both worlds. I had my parents to myself for a while, then got to be a big brother.”
Before Ava can respond, Ollie breaks away from the pinball machine and rushes over. “Can we get some quarters for the games?”
“Pleeeeease,” Kia adds, stretching out the word for a solid ten seconds.
Ava chuckles from beside me before covering it with a cough.
I pull a ten and two singles from my wallet before handing them over to Ollie for safekeeping. “Have Miss Shelley break it at the cash register.” My gaze settles on Theo. “If I give the three of you twelve dollars, how much do each of you get?”
With a furrowed brow, he looks upward, as if the answer might be magically written on the ceiling. “Ollie and Kia get three each and I get the rest.”
“Nice try. Everyone gets four bucks.” I point at the three of them. “And no fighting.”
Theo and Kia cheer before running off, leaving me with Ava.
If I’m lucky, I’ll get a solid ten minutes alone with her before they’re back, begging for more money. So I need to make the most of it.
If Ava has her way, I’ll never get another chance like this again.
She stares after them with a bemused expression. With her distracted, it gives me the perfect opportunity to silently soak in the sight of her.
She shakes her head and chuckles. “They’re pretty cute.”
“What they are is a pain in the ass,” I correct, though there’s a fondness in my voice I can’t hide. “They keep my mom busy, for sure.”
Her lips curve as she shrugs. “I can see that. When I was about ten, I begged my parents for a sister or brother. It was always just the three of us, and there were times when it was lonely. That’s when they sat me down and told me that my mom couldn’t have more kids. They’d both been so sad.”
It’s kind of weird to think of Coach having a life outside of hockey. Maybe even a few unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
“Are you close with them?”
She nods. “Yeah, I am.”
“They must be pretty protective since it’s just you.”