Chapter 22
Ava survived the rest of the school year by drinking too much coffee, grading late into the night, and binge-watching Reese
Witherspoon’s romantic comedy oeuvre. Her ultimate comfort movie had been ruined—she could no longer look at Mr. Darcy without
thinking of Roman—and she was on the hunt for a replacement.
Michelle had suggested Moulin Rouge , but Ava didn’t want anything that ended in tragedy. Jasmine suggested The Wedding Planner , but Ava had enough of wedding planning in her real life, thank you very much. Damaris was the one who brought up Legally Blonde , so Ava started there and was working her way through Reese’s other greatest hits. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough rom-coms
in the world to distract Ava from thoughts of Roman.
As far as goodbye sex went, that scene in the empty office had been phenomenal. Which was entirely the problem. If it had been awful, she’d have felt much better about her decision to cut things off with him. But he’d done everything perfectly, from his devastating kisses to the way he’d dropped to his knees and licked her until she’d been ready to scream. And then he had the nerve to follow it up with a fast, grinding fuck and a bone-melting orgasm she wasn’t likely to forget anytime soon.
Even now, as she sat across from Damaris at their favorite Bronx brunch spot, Isla Bonita Café, to celebrate the end of a
grueling school year with bottomless bellinis, Ava’s body longed for his touch.
To make matters worse, she’d gotten so used to texting him, she found herself periodically reaching for her phone throughout
the day, only to snatch her hand back like it was a hot stove.
Don’t you text him , she told herself. Stay strong!
Except he wasn’t texting her either. Which was good. Right? She was the one who’d ended things. And he was respecting her
decision. So why was she so pissed off about it?
She excused herself to go to the restroom and left her phone at the table so she wouldn’t check it approximately 128 times
while she was gone.
As she washed her hands, she studied her hollow-eyed reflection in the bathroom mirror and sighed.
Fuck, she wasn’t just pissed. She was sad .
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 knew she could’ve explained herself better. But the combination of hearing that Hector was getting married, plus the revelation that Roman was in Jasmine 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 her grandmother . 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?
Roman: You and me. I’m going with you.
Her nostrils flared. Jasmine had already replied in the other thread, and Ava couldn’t make a big deal about it to her cousins without explaining exactly why she’d turn down a generous gesture like the one Roman had just made. Huffing out a breath, she replied directly to him.
Ava: I can handle it myself.
Roman: I’m sure you can, but it’ll be easier if I’m there.
Ava: And why is that?
Roman: I own Bellísima Resort, where the wedding is being held.
“Of course you do,” Ava grumbled. A second later, Damaris’s glossy purple fingernail tapped on the table in front of her,
and Ava jumped.
“Who are you talking to?” Damaris asked. “Because it sure isn’t me.”
Ava sighed and dropped the phone into her purse, where it continued to buzz. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“It’s not rude if you fill me in. Was it Roman ?” She drew out the first syllable of his name teasingly. “By the way, I did try to tell you he had starred in a telenovela. But you told me to stop researching him, so I didn’t see that it was with
Ashton.”
Ava grabbed her bellini and took a big sip. They were approaching the end of the bottomless drinks hour, and she had some
catching up to do. “You’re right. I should have dug a little deeper. And yes, it’s about Roman.”
Damaris propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, brown eyes wide in a tell me everything expression.
“Well,” Ava began, “it looks like Jasmine isn’t going to be able to fly to Puerto Rico to take care of the rest of the wedding
planning.”
Damaris raised her eyebrows. “So you volunteered to go in her stead?”
Ava scowled. “How did you know?”
Her friend’s eyelids flicked in a barely suppressed eye-roll. “Ava, you always volunteer to help.”
Ava fiddled with her necklace, not wanting to examine the why of that too closely. “Of course. They’re my family.”
“I know, beba.” Damaris’s voice was sympathetic, but firm. “But at some point, that helpfulness is going to bury you. Anyway,
continue.”
Damaris’s words troubled her, but Ava went on. She filled Damaris in on the group text mix-up and Roman’s high-handed offer
to charter a plane.
Damaris gasped. “I’ve always wanted to fly in a private plane. You have to tell me what it’s like.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“Which is?”
“That he’s going with me!”
“Good, he can pay for everything.”
Ava let out a frustrated groan. “No, he can’t. I broke things off with him.”
“So don’t fuck him. Although if you want my opinion, which I know you do, it’ll be a missed opportunity. This is the romantic
island getaway you deserve. Remind me where you went on your honeymoon?”
“Niagara Falls,” Ava grumbled.
Damaris sipped her bellini. “I rest my case.”
“I just don’t want Roman to think this means anything.”
“He knows you’re only going for the wedding stuff. And besides, this is on you for stepping up to help.”
“Jasmine needs me.”
“Ava, there’s helping, and then there’s whatever you do, Ms. Katniss Everdeen.” Damaris waved a hand in front of Ava as if
to indicate her impulsive volunteering behavior. “This is your first summer off in years and you’re spending it on Jasmine’s
wedding stuff.”
It was true. Every year, Ava had cobbled together extra jobs—summer school, theater camp, tutoring—first to pay down her student
loans faster, and then to cover the rent on her old apartment full of Hector’s shit. But she didn’t want to talk about that.
“Look, I’m aware that when it comes to my family, my boundaries aren’t the greatest. But that’s why I’m trying to have better
boundaries with Roman. Running off to Puerto Rico with him is the opposite of that!”
“If you can keep your distance from that man in PR, you’ll know your boundaries are strong as steel.”
“You’re right.” She just had to move Roman out of “hookup” territory and keep him firmly within the bounds of the wedding
party. Regardless of how Ava felt, Jasmine deserved the perfect wedding and Ava wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that. “We’re
the maid of honor and best man, and we’re only going on this trip to help the bride and groom. That’s it.”
Damaris toasted her with a nearly empty glass. “That almost sounded convincing.”
Ava groaned. “What will it say about me if I can’t keep my hands off him?”
“That you’re a grown woman who can do whatever she wants?” Damaris shrugged. “What does it matter? Who will know?”
“You’ve met my family. If any of them find out, I will never know a moment’s peace.”
“Why do you even care what they say?” At Ava’s incredulous look, Damaris held up her hands. “Forget I asked. Just get the
wedding stuff done and try to enjoy yourself. For my sake, if not your own.” She raised her glass. “Trust the Universe!”
Ava clinked her glass to her friend’s and didn’t point out that the Universe was what had gotten her into this mess in the
first place.
It didn’t matter. She was in control now. The nature of her relationship with Roman might have changed, but she would handle
it, just like she handled everything else that came her way.
And if she got tempted... well, that was why God had created travel vibrators.