Chapter 23 #2
“Oh, you know what, it’ll also make our fake breakup easier too!
She can take my place. You two have a long history together, so it’ll be believable if you explain to your family that you still love one another and wanted to pick up your relationship where it left off.
You can say the breakup with me was mutual and there are no hard feelings.
” I push my plate aside, not able to look Fernando in the eyes.
“If we do it this way, you’ll even get your dad off your back. ”
“Ava!” another male voice suddenly interjects. That voice. I sink lower into my seat, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Slowly, both Fernando and I turn. Leaning over the fence to the restaurant, wearing a black tuxedo and carrying a huge bouquet of roses, is Dylan.
“Is this a cosmic joke?” I whisper in shock. Fernando rekindles his relationship with Isabel and Dylan shows up in a tux? “How did you find me?”
He places a hand on the fence and vaults over it.
The tails of the tux gets caught by a stray nail and rip.
“Ava, I’m an idiot.” He kneels down at my feet.
“And I’ve made a huge mistake. Rainy was never the right person!
Everything she did reminded me of you. You’re the woman I love.
Not her! Can you ever forgive me for being a world-class jerk to you? I need you in my life.”
My heart thumps rapidly in my chest. I scoot my chair back a few inches toward the wall. I pinch myself, but I’m not dreaming. Dylan has miraculously discovered that he “loves” me. “Why didn’t you say anything before you left Sequoia Valley?” I sputter.
“I needed time to figure it all out.”
Before coming on this trip, the old Ava wouldn’t have hesitated at the thought of telling him I love him too.
But I’m not that person any longer. He’s treated me like I don’t matter ever since he left.
My heart can’t be toyed with. It belongs to another.
Even if Fernando can’t love me back. “Dylan, no . . . it’s too late,” I whisper.
“Ava, please,” he begs. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you. Everybody deserves a second chance.” He moves closer to me. “We have a history together. Eight years of friendship can’t be destroyed in the span of four weeks. That should be enough for at least five minutes of your time.”
I study Dylan’s face. His eyes are wide and pleading with me.
They remind me so much of a boxer puppy.
I know I shouldn’t do it, especially after how hard I’ve worked to get over him, but a small part of me still has feelings for the man.
“Five minutes. That’s it.” I nod to Fernando.
“He’s going to be starting a timer as soon as we sit down at that empty table over there. ”
Dylan opens his mouth to argue with me, but I shoot him my best icy glare, and he clamps it shut. We cross the patio and take seats across from one another. I sit tall and cross my arms against my chest. “What do you want, Dylan?”
“I thought it was obvious. I want you!”
I snort. “You have a funny way of showing it. You stopped replying to my texts. You never called. And then the next thing I know, you’re engaged.”
“We aren’t together anymore. Rainy’s personality was too strong for me. I need someone with a softer, gentler personality. Like you.”
“Then why did you propose to her?”
“Because at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.” He leans forward in his seat.
“But I was wrong about wanting to marry her. You’re the only person in my life who’s always been right by my side.
You get me. I can count on you to bring me a coffee in the morning.
To go hiking with me. And to take care of the paperwork so I can make sure our clients are happy.
When you move to Fort Collins and join me—”
I wrinkle my nose. He’s trying to compliment me, but everything coming out of his mouth sounds like an insult. He didn’t want someone with another alpha personality like him. He wants someone who will go along with what he wants. Somebody who’s a people pleaser.
The old Ava didn’t have a backbone. But the new Ava does. I was too blinded to see Dylan’s flaws before. But after spending so much time around Fernando, I know what I want in a man. And more importantly, how I deserve to be treated. “Do you hear yourself?” I look him up and down.
“What?”
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Dylan. There are a few billion other people out there too.”
He frowns deeply. “Huh?”
“In the four years our practice was open, you never once brought me coffee. Every time you wanted to spend some time together, you picked the spot and the activity. You never wanted to do the things I suggested. And as far as the clinic, I only filled out your paperwork because if I didn’t, the patient records would always be incomplete.
You always brushed it off and said you’d do it later, but that never happened.
You’d always leave right when we closed, and it would be up to me or Vicki to do whatever wasn’t done during the workday.
” I shake my head and rub my temples. “I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to realize how self-centered you are. ”
“Come on, Ava, you aren’t being fair.”
I drum my fingers on the table. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s my normal drink order? And when I bought out your ownership of the clinic, name one thing you did to help make the transition smoother.”
His eyes widen and he stares at me as if I’ve grown a second head. “Uh . . . a caramel macchiato?”
“Wrong.” I make a buzzer noise. “Care to try again?”
“Green tea latte?”
“That’s strike two.”
He clenches his jaw. “This is stupid.”
To prove my point, I deadpan, “You always get the vanilla bean frappe with three extra shots of espresso. Your second favorite drink is a cinnamon bun latte with oat milk. And for the answer to my last question: You didn’t do anything.
Not a single thing. As soon as the transfer went through, you stopped working.
I’m even the one who packed up your darn office. ”
“Ava, I had things to do before my move. I had to pack up my house, find a new apartment in Fort Collins. Make sure I called the utility companies to cancel all my accounts.”
I cut him off. “You had months to do that. But you procrastinated. The more I think about it, the more I realize that you haven’t changed at all since vet school. You don’t need me. What you need is to grow up.”
“Ava, be reasonable.”
His words send hurricane-force winds shooting out of my body. “That’s all I’ve ever been to you, Dylan.” I stand. “There will never be an us,” I spit out.
Across the restaurant, the timer goes off. “Time’s up,” Fernando calls out.
As I turn to leave, Dylan reaches for my forearm and spins me around, shoving the roses under my nose. “But you love me.”
“I did, not anymore.”
Fernando slams his fist on the table and jumps to his feet, causing Dylan to jerk. He walks behind Dylan and yanks him away from me, further ripping his jacket. His chest is heaving and his face flushed red. “You heard her, you’re done. Over. Finalizado. It’s time to get lost.”
Dylan sags as he realizes how much taller and more built Fernando is than him. He drops the bouquet to the floor and tucks his chin to his chest. Fernando starts to drag him toward the gate.
“Wait!” I shout. Both men turn. “Before you get rid of him, there’s one more thing I need to know.” Dylan shoots me a smug look. “Why did you come to Spain?”
“When I called the practice to ask Vicki about a box I forgot, she mentioned you were going to Spain.”
“Okay, but Spain’s a big country. How did you find me?”
Dylan’s face turns into one of panic and he lets out an audible gulp. “There’s an AirTag in your purse,” he says so softly, I almost need a microphone to make it out.
“How? When?”
“At the airport in Denver. I dropped it into your purse. In hindsight, it was probably a stupid move.”
“You think?” My eyes twitch. “Why did you do it?”
“I, er, wanted to keep track of you. You stopped sharing your location with me when I got to Colorado.”
He’s an even bigger creep than I thought. “You’re lucky I’m not filing a restraining order against you!” I’m seeing red, and if I were a lion, he’d be my first choice of prey. “This is adiós forever, Dylan. Don’t text, call, or ever try to reach me again.”
“Is that clear?” Fernando grunts.
Dylan lifts his chin weakly.
“Get rid of him,” I say, gritting my teeth. Marching over to my purse, I remove my wallet, phone, sunglasses, and lipstick before locating the AirTag. Throwing it as hard as I can, I watch with deep satisfaction as it lands in the ocean, hopefully being destroyed in the process.