Chapter 5 Ava
AVA
I shut my room door, leaned against it, and just stood there. I wasn’t sure how long I stared into space, trying to collect myself mentally and emotionally. Lincoln? Seriously? Of all the NFL stars in the land, I had to end up with his client?
Unbelievable.
A part of me wanted to quit, to run back to Springfield and tell my boss I wasn’t fit for the job. My logical self surfaced and shoved my emotional self out of the way. Of course, I couldn’t do that. I’d be stuck writing fluff pieces for the rest of my days.
Shoulders dropping, I heaved a long-sigh.
I had to see this through, no matter how disturbed I was by my reunion with Lincoln.
I unceremoniously tossed my handbag onto a chair.
My one big break and my ex-boyfriend, the one who viciously broke my heart and left me in emotional pieces, was placed right in my path. Fate clearly hated me.
I took off my shoes and wobbled to the bed, drained from having to suppress all my emotions at that party.
I then plopped onto it face down, arms out, and screamed into the linen.
The muffled sound rang with irritation, disbelief, and old hurt…
well, the current hurt because one look at Lincoln and the past came rushing back.
I didn’t even feel that much when I broke things off with the man I was supposed to marry months ago. What did that mean? Did I still love… No. No! Absolutely not. That would make me the dumbass of the century. After what he did to me?
Now he had the nerve to be a dick to me about my job. The man attacked me as if my title of journalist made me scum under his expensive shoes. I rolled over to stare at the ceiling and scoffed loudly.
“That asshole.”
When I thought about how he behaved at the party, I wanted nothing more than to slap him. He’d deserve it because I hadn’t done it years ago.
“That’s right, Lincoln Ford, I owe you a slap and a knee to the gonads.” I sighed again. “Perfect. He has me talk to myself.”
I really needed to get my shit together.
Just as I sat up to try doing that, my phone rang. I thought it was Allan calling to lecture me some more about not messing up. It irked me to the core that the miserable man had no faith in me. I’d show him.
However, when I scrambled off the bed to get my phone from my bag, the number on the screen wasn’t familiar.
I figured it was Sienna. I still wasn’t clear on who she was exactly, but I figured since she called me to confirm my meeting with Jaden, she was his assistant or something.
From our two conversations, she seemed nice enough to check on me.
“Hello?”
There was a beat of silence that made me frown.
“Hello?” I repeated hesitantly.
“Ava.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. I had to fight through a wave of discomfort to speak. “Derek? W-what do you want?”
My fingers tightened around the phone, and I looked over my shoulder as if I weren't thousands of miles away from Springfield.
“Where did you run off to?” He did that faux-gentle thing with his voice that he swore was sexy but was just plain creepy. “I haven’t seen you at home since last night.”
A chill raced up my spine. I sucked in a breath and willed my voice not to quiver. “I told you to stop coming to my apartment. We’ve been over for months, Derek,” I bit out.
This had to stop. Things with my ex-fiancé from hell were progressively getting scarier.
At first, I wasn’t too worried about running into him in the hallway of my building or seeing him parked outside.
I thought it was harmless pestering to get me to give him another chance.
But after weeks passed with him showing up more often, even at work, and constantly calling my parents, I became concerned.
Derek Shaw had become the bane of my existence.
“If you’d just talk to me—”
“I did. I heard you out. What more do you want?”
“Another chance, Ava. I know things got heated the last time we talked. I said things. You said things… I’m sure you didn’t mean them.”
I sighed and looked up, wondering why I had ever gotten involved with Derek in the first place. Why hadn’t I seen his narcissism, which bordered on psychotic, before I said yes to his proposal? I felt so stupid.
I squeezed the bridge of my nose. “I’m not doing this with you again. And stop watching my apartment.”
“I was worried when I didn’t see you.” He dropped his voice again. “I miss you. Where are you?”
“None of your business.”
“Come on, babe.”
“I told you what I’d do if you didn’t stop harassing me.”
“You think a restraining order is going to—”
“Please, just leave me alone!” I screeched.
I hung up so fast you’d think my phone was a bomb I had to quickly defuse. My breathing and pulse had sped up a bit, and I had to take deep breaths to calm down. That conversation left me feeling vulnerable. I was tempted to double-check the door to make sure it was locked.
This assignment in LA was a blessing. At least, I was physically out of Derek’s crosshairs for now. A knock on my door almost made me jump out of my skin. “Goodness,” I whispered, clutching my chest. I had to remind myself that Derek was on the other side of the country… or was he?
I spun around to stare at the door with wide eyes.
Then I let out a breath. There was no way he knew where I was.
Still, I approached with caution to look through the peephole.
I snagged my lower lip and nibbled nervously as I watched Lincoln on the other side.
He had his hands in his pockets and was staring at the door expectantly.
I opened the door… barely. “What?”
His eyebrows nearly touched his hairline.
“I mean, hi. What do you want? And how did you know where I was staying?” My eyes squinted to suspicious slits. I didn’t need to start a collection of stalker exes.
“Ava, hey. Sorry for dropping by unannounced. I didn’t have your number, and my assistant mentioned where you were staying.”
“Your assistant?”
“Sienna. I believe you two spoke a couple of times.”
Right. She was his assistant. “Why not get my number from her then?”
He rocked back on his heels. “I could have, but I didn't want to risk you hanging up on me.” His eyes narrowed on my face. “Are you alright? You look a little pale.”
That made heat flood my cheeks—which should have solved the pallor problem. “I’m fine.” Incidents with Derek always left me rattled. I could imagine I looked as if I wanted to jump out of my body. “So, did you need something or…?”
Lincoln’s attention flicked to my hand and the death grip I had on the edge of the wood. “May I come in?”
“No.” I winced. That came out too fast and harshly. I’d never made it a practice to be a complete bitch to anyone. “I mean… why?”
He sighed softly, studying me as if I were a skittish kitten.
Right now, maybe I was.
“I just want to talk. That’s it.”
Just talking to Lincoln Ford sounded more dangerous than it seemed… to my heart, that is. Reluctantly, I opened the door wider and stepped back. The first step he took inside made my heart jolt, which was ridiculous.
I studied him in his leather bomber jacket, crisp shirt underneath, and fitted jeans.
His sole accessory was a silver watch, which I was sure cost a fortune.
His outfit whispered wealth rather than screamed it.
Damn, he looked good. The years had been good to him.
Too good. I was so annoyed. I mean, just look at the heartbreaking asshole…
He stood six foot five, pure muscle and broad shoulders that pretty much carried his entire football team back in the day.
Yeah, I had low-key stalked his career. It was hard not to.
He was in my face on TV, magazines, ads…
everything. Lincoln hadn’t played professionally in years, but he sure stayed in shape.
I peeked at him through my lashes, admiring his facial structure like I had so many times in the past. His jaw and cheekbones, carved to perfection, gave him the most masculine edge I thought a man could have.
His straight nose had a barely noticeable ridge from being broken during a game some time back—I read about it somewhere.
His lips still looked as if they curved into his typical cocky grin by default.
I used to love that confident smirk. And his eyes…
goodness. They still got a girl hot and bothered.
He wasn’t even looking at me in a way that was the least bit sexual, yet my skin got hotter by the second under his penetrating stare.
I self-consciously ran my fingers through my tousled hair. “Well, what are you here to talk about?” I asked, trying to squash the awkward silence we’d fallen into. We couldn’t just stand here and stare at each other all night.
“Look, I’m not here to fight,” he began.
“Shame,” I said. “I was looking forward to going a few rounds.”
He gave me a sharp look, much like he used to when we were kids and I said something outrageous. The tiniest smile threatened to blossom, but I held it back.
After a beat, he chuckled. The low, smooth sound carried around the room and hit me right in the stomach. My abdominal muscles clenched.
“You haven’t changed one bit,” he said as if small talk would help us avoid the minefield that I knew was lying somewhere in our path.
I shrugged. “Good.”
“Are your parents still in Springfield?"
My eyebrows furrowed. “Of course. They’re practically built into that town.”
He smiled.
His parents had moved years ago. I heard Lincoln bought them a fancy house down in the Florida Keys. His mom always wanted to retire in Florida. I hated how entwined our families were… and how entwined we were.
“Did your dad ever fix that snowblower your mom begged him to give up on for three winters straight?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. My old man fancied himself a bit of a mechanic.
He created more disasters than he ever fixed.
Those three winters were comedy gold for Lincoln, Ethan, and me.
My amusement didn’t last long. I almost choked on my next giggle because being reminded of how terribly things ended between us was like a stab in the heart.
Before Lincoln and I ever foolishly thought we were meant to be, we were friends.
“He finally brought a new one and claimed the old one was out of style, anyway.”
He snorted. “Sounds like your dad.”
“What is this, Lincoln?” I asked, starting to feel agitated. We were getting too close to digging up the past, and I didn’t like it.
His eyes collided with mine. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t just come here to make small talk, did you?
Or did you come to warn me about being too nosy again?
” He gave me the impression he hated that I was in LA.
That was why I decided to ignore the rumors I’d heard about drug use at Jaden’s party.
For one, Lincoln was already riding my ass about asking too many questions.
Besides, maybe minding my business—and Jaden’s—was for the best. Allan would be pissed if I got sidetracked.
“No…” His eyebrows furrowed. “At the party, I didn’t mean to come off…”
“Like such an asshole?”
He sighed. “Ava, come on. I’m trying here. Can’t you just work with me?”
I folded my arms. “On what exactly?"
“I’m trying to catch up…”
I made a little sound that bordered on disgust and disbelief. “Oh, really? You mean you forgot where I lived for twelve years? You know, my phone number changed only a couple of years ago.”
His jaw flexed, and his nostrils flared. “Hey, you told me to never call you again.”
“I was nineteen, pissed, and hurt!” I threw my arms up in sheer frustration.
He stared at me for a while, and I saw the rising anger bleed out of his eyes and shoulders. “Ava… I…”
“Just forget it, Lincoln. We don’t need to catch up. Okay? I moved on a long time ago, and I’m sure you did, too.”
His eyes skated away from mine. “Yeah, I heard you got engaged.”
When his gaze dropped to my left hand, a subtle crease appeared between his eyebrows. I curled my fingers, wanting to hide from him. There was no ring, and I was afraid he’d start asking questions, so I snapped.
“You and I don’t need to reminisce about old times. In fact, I wish you hadn’t stopped by. This…” I waved a hand between us. “—is completely unnecessary.”
His eyes met mine again. “Ava, please—”
“I’ve had a long day, Lincoln.”
He sighed softly. “So this is how it’s going to be between us?”
“I’m not sure which us you’re referring to.”
The muscles in his jaw bunched some more. “You know what? You’re right. We don’t need to catch up.” His eyes seemed to harden, the soft orbs turning to sharp jade stones. “Just keep in mind that I’m very protective of my clients when it comes to nosy journalists.”
I snorted. “Thanks for the warning. The door is that way,” I pointed to it.
His entire face pulled into a tight knot of irritation. But he didn’t hit me with a comeback as I expected. Instead, he wheeled around and marched to the door. Before he opened it and went through it, I heard him mutter, “I knew coming here was a bad idea.”
The door closed with a gentle thud.
Despite the suffocating swirl of anger, pain, regret, and resentment going through me, I felt a sliver of amusement.
Lincoln never slammed doors, no matter how heated he got.
Not since that one time he got pissed at Ethan, slammed one, and it broke.
He told me he’d been afraid of his own strength after that.
I chuckled at the memory. The man could bench-press my weight with one arm. He had no business slamming doors.
My smile melted away with the memory and turned upside down. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch to him when he was only trying to be nice. But I couldn’t risk it. Falling back into friendly banter with the only man to hurt me so deeply, I almost didn’t recover, was downright dangerous.