Page 2

Luc

W ell, that didn’t go as planned.

As I moved away from the food truck, making my way through the crowds of people in the market, part of me wondered if I’d had the wrong girl. I found a table a few dozen feet from the truck and, after purchasing a black coffee for something to keep me warm, sat down and watched the woman work.

I couldn’t get over her appearance. Her hair was dyed a silvery purple, a big silver ring pierced through one of her nostrils. One look at her face, however, those doll-like features of full lips and big blue eyes, made it obvious that she was her mother’s child.

Complicating matters even further was the fact that she was beyond beautiful. Even in her grease-stained T-shirt it was simply impossible not to notice her slender frame and shapely hips, the way the T-shirt clung to her breasts. She was stunning, the picture of beauty. Too bad her attitude nearly ruined it.

I watched her work, watched her pass out plates and take orders and joke around with her customers. Taking periodic sips of my coffee, I thought about how strange it was that this was Annalise’s daughter. Sure, I hadn’t expected someone as refined and elegant as Annalise, but never in a million years would I have guessed that Ava would have turned into this —some purple-haired vixen with the mouth of a sailor.

One question loomed large in my mind as I sat and watched her… What would her father say about all of this?

I continued watching her work, trying to figure out my next step, my next angle of trying to get to her. Perhaps my straightforward approach had been a foolish one. I supposed that I’d hoped I might appeal to some sense of duty in her, that the sight of someone like myself might stir a memory that would awaken something inside.

But then, she’d left Edoria as an infant, so she had no memory.

The lunch rush ended, and the lines in front of the trucks dwindled down until no one remained. When Ava had finished taking care of her last customer, I watched as she said something to the other woman working in the truck with her before shutting the window and putting up a sign that read “on break.”

My stomach tensed. Had I blown my chance? Surely, I couldn’t simply march back to the truck and bang on the back doors. With what I’d learned about Ava so far, that seemed like a good way to be greeted with a face full of mace.

I didn’t have much of a chance to think of a plan. The back doors of the truck opened, and Ava stepped out. She was dressed in skintight black jeans and white sneakers, a leather racing jacket over her T-shirt. She was sexy and stylish all in one. Right in the middle of checking her out, I noticed that those big, blue eyes of hers were locked right onto me.

I sat up, realizing that a confrontation was about to happen. Ava strode over toward me with total fearlessness, anger in her eyes.

“Yo, creep!”

“Creep?” I asked. “Excuse me?”

She stopped a good meter or so from the table. “Yeah, you heard me. Got another word I should use for some dude who’s been sitting and staring at me for the last hour?”

I checked my watch, a tinge of surprise running through me as I realized how much time had passed. Sure enough, it’d been nearly an hour.

I wasn’t in the mood to go back and forth with her. So far, I’d learned that coming at her head-on was a good way for her put up a tough front. It was time to try a different approach.

“I apologize for barging in like that. But you have to understand that the reason I’ve come to speak to you is of the utmost importance.”

My conciliatory tone seemed to have worked. Instead of firing back at me with all barrels, Ava instead regarded me with an expression of suspicion.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked. “And why are you talking to me like you know me?”

“I’d be more than happy to answer all of those questions, and any other ones you might have. Please, have a seat.” I gestured toward the open bench across from me.

The rain picked up, coming down in soft patters on the awning above. Ava continued to stare at me.

“Annalise, your mother, was an old friend of mine.”

Regarding me with even more intense suspicion, she shook her head.

“How the hell do you know my mom?”

Finally, an angle opened itself up. I rose.

The opportunity to speak with Ava had presented itself, however slight it might be. I realized that I needed to play it smart, and not get too eager. I opened my trench coat and reached inside to take out my wallet.

“Here.” I withdrew one of my business cards and handed it over. Ava regarded it with skepticism, as if it were some kind of trick. I placed the card on the table, and Ava flicked her blue eyes at me one more time before snatching it up.

“Luc Mortensen,” she said, reading my name from the card. “And there’s a phone number.” Ava looked up at me, impatience in her eyes. “Don’t business cards normally have, you know, business names on them? Who are you?”

“My name and number are all most people need to know and all that I’m comfortable giving out on my card. Now, I’m here in America to see you Ava, and I’d like to speak to you.” I turned, pointing up at one of the looming skyscrapers behind us. “See that building there? The tall one with the silver spire?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I’m staying on the top floor. There’s a lovely restaurant in the lobby. Call that number when you’re ready to talk; I’d be more than happy to tell you everything you’re curious about.”

With a slight smile, I nodded and started off.

Finally, when I was a dozen or so meters away, she yelled in my direction.

“I’m not calling you! Weirdo!”

I glanced over my shoulder, giving her a wave.

We’ll see about that , I thought, the rain coming down harder as I made my way down the winding streets of the market.

* * *

“What happened?”

I was back in the hotel, the speaker phone on as I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Presidential Suite. The view was amazing— it looked out over the northern half of the city, the Space Needle rising into the air in the distance. The Pike Place Market where I’d been only an hour or so before was just down below, still a bustling little area. I wondered if Ava was still there. Rain drizzled down, leaving rivulets of water trailing along the window.

“She was not receptive,” I said. “At first.”

“At first? What does that mean?”

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to Alaric, my boss, and not to mention, my closest friend.

“She was more resistant than I’d anticipated, didn’t care for me trying to speak to her during work.”

“Work. At that fish stand?”

“Crab cake food truck, to be precise.”

Alaric chuckled, a disbelieving tone to his laugh. “Can you believe it? A woman like her, coming from the background she does, working as… a crab cake maker? Never in a million years would I have guessed.”

“Her food has quite a reputation around town,” I said. “Not to mention her personality.”

“That’s all well and good. But the whole trip will be a waste if she doesn’t speak to you.”

“I’m confident that she will, within forty-eight hours, at the latest.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. And once I get her in front of me again, I’m sure that I’ll be able to talk her into getting on the plane with me and coming back to Edoria, where she belongs.”

“I don’t even want to think about it for fear of getting my hopes up. Suffice to say that I wouldn’t even know where to begin repaying you if you’re able to pull this off.” He sounded enthusiastic and hopeful despite having his guard up.

I chuckled. “Alaric, I assure you that you owe me nothing. You’ve given me more than enough already.”

“All the same, this task is no small thing. I’ll insist on rewarding you in some way if you’re successful.”

“We can cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted.”

We said our goodbyes, then hung up. The call over, I turned my attention back to the city. Alaric was right about the task in front of me being no small thing. It’d take some convincing to get Ava on that plane, not to mention some serious restraint in ignoring the effect her gorgeous face and irresistible body was having on me.

I was confident, however. A man like myself always got what I wanted.