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Quinn turned back to her and took both her hands. “Divorce isn’t the end of the world, Ava. I know it feels like it, but it’s really not.”

Ava felt herself grimace at the D word, which was ridiculous. It wasn’t even the divorce so much that bothered her, though signing the papers would break her heart when the day came, if it was possible to break something that had already been trampled over and thrown down the garbage disposal.

No, it was everything that had gone before that truly bothered her.

That and the fact that her lovely, wonderful, perfect life had been destroyed.

“Don’t let her ruin everything,” said Quinn.

“Serena. You can say her name. Don’t let Serena ruin everything.” Saying the name stung but she kept on doing it, hoping that the word would hurt less over time, though so far her strategy didn’t seem to be working.

Quinn squeezed her hands gently. “I know you need to leave for a while, I know you need to find yourself again, I do understand, Ava, I really do. Just… just don’t forget that I’m here for you.”

Quinn’s eyes were brimming with tears and Ava felt a lump in her throat. “I’d never forget about you.”

“Right, just you wait until you pick up some Keira Knightly lookalike over there, or maybe a royal princess or two. You’ll have forgotten my name by the time the new season of The Bachelorette starts.”

Ava shook her head and pulled Quinn into a hug. “I’m lucky to have you.”

“You absolutely are.” Quinn squeezed her and then let go. “Now off you go on your adventure.”

“You’re the one with the car that’s about to get towed,” Ava pointed out.

“Oh shit, I’d forgotten.” Quinn leaned in, kissed Ava soundly on both cheeks and then ran off toward the doors. “Call me when you get there,” she yelled over her shoulder.

Ava watched her disappear out into the sunshine and wondered for just a second if she was doing the right thing.

But then, what else was there to do?

She couldn’t handle going back to school, couldn’t deal with having to see Serena every day. So she’d lost not only her wife and her home, but her job as well. Then this opportunity had landed in her lap and it had seemed like the perfect solution, even if it was short term.

With a deep breath, she hiked her carry-on up onto her shoulder and strode toward the security line.

Ava Stanford was officially moving on. Both literally and figuratively.

Chapter Two

“How do you know my name?”

Hope frowned and shrugged. “I mean, I gave it to you, so…”

“Yeah, but how do you know?”

Hope looked down at Alice’s serious brown eyes and considered the idea of bringing up ice cream as a distraction. But she’d committed to answering her daughter’s questions, whatever they may be, or, in this case, however challenging they may be. “Um, I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“Well, my name could be Bob,” Alice said helpfully. “Or it could be Hope like yours. Or teddy, or cat or climbing frame or anything really.”

This all sounded like a brewing existential crisis and Hope tried desperately not to look over at her own mother who was browsing souvenirs and doing a pathetic job of trying to hide her growing amusement.

“I suppose I just thought Alice suited you,” Hope said.

“You? Or you and daddy?” Alice prodded.

“Well, both of us, of course,” said Hope, feeling her guard go up at the mention of Noah as it always did these days.

“Huh,” Alice said. “Gran? Did you choose my name too?”

“Oh no, love,” said Caz from across the zoo shop. “That’s a mummy and daddy job, not a gran job.”