Page 18 of To Fall or Not to Fall

Chapter Twelve

T heo

I haven’t seen Ava in a week, and I feel like a bit of a schmuck, especially considering what went down the last time I’d seen her. I haven’t even been to the bookstore, though Jenna’s been twice. And Jenna told me that both times, Ava looked up and asked her if I was going to be coming in.

I felt guilty, but not as guilty as I would’ve felt if something more substantial had happened between us.

“Hey, boss,” Jenna says as she walks into the conference room in the hotel. She looks like a tourist in her white hoodie and blue jeans, and I can tell from her golden tan and glow, she’s been enjoying pool time.

“There you are. What’s up?” I look up from my laptop. I’ve been working on another deal, which I really should have been in the city to take care of. But for some reason, I couldn’t quite leave Coconut Beach just yet, even though I wasn’t getting anywhere with closing the deal.

“The Cozy Coastal Bonfire Bash is tonight.” She takes a seat next to me and grins.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s a matchmaking event. For the bookstore. Beachy Balls, Biscuits, & Books. The one that you’re trying to buy. The one Ava owns.”

“The one—I know the bookstore, Jenna. And your point is?”

“I was thinking maybe we could go.”

“And why would we do that?”

“Because that’s a way for you to get to know Ava, and maybe you can?—”

“Maybe I can, what?” I cut her off.

“Why are you snapping at me, boss? I’m just saying, if you’re here because you’re trying to buy the bookstore, shouldn’t you be interacting with her? I mean, Rupert’s doing what he can, but he says every time that he gets close to her, you interrupt.”

“I don’t know why you sent that idiot to try.” My voice trails off as she raises an eyebrow.

“You’ve never cared about which investigator we sent before.”

“He’s trying to seduce her,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s just not cool.”

“You mean it’s okay if you try to seduce her, but not him?” Her lips twitch, then she holds her hands up. “My bad. I’m just saying.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, Jenna, but it’s not appropriate.”

“Well, Rupert’s going tonight. So if you want to make sure that he’s not too interested and too flirty?—”

I close my laptop screen and stand up.

“You’re going to change? For the bonfire?” she asks hopefully.

“What do you care, Jenna?”

“I’m just saying, I feel like you and Ava have a connection. And maybe, just maybe, you would realize that if you?—”

I glare at her, and she shrugs. “You know what? I know when to keep my mouth shut. I’m going to go and have a bath because I’ve worked hard today, and I’m tired. I’m also hungry. So I’m going to get room service, and I expect to be reimbursed.”

“You’re always reimbursed. You’ve got a per diem.”

“But I want triple the per diem today,” she says, grinning. “Because I want to order a steak and fries. And a cocktail.”

“You can’t order alcohol on the company’s money.”

“Well then, maybe you can give me your credit card and just pay for it straight up.” She gives me a sweet smile. “Because this is not exactly what I signed up for when I took this job.”

“Order what you want,” I say as I head out of the room.

“Yes, sir.”

“Just stop bringing up Ava to me.”

“But aren’t we meant to talk about her because of the hotel deal?”

“We’ll talk about the business. It’s not personal to her. None of this is personal to her. I just need the building.”

“Yeah, that’s all you need,” she says.

I dismiss her words and head to my hotel room.

When I arrive, I close the door and sit on the bed for a couple of moments before changing into jeans and a shirt.

Then I make my way down to the lobby and walk along the beach until I see the glowing orange and gold fire glittering against the deep navy sky.

This must be it.

It certainly looks cozy, so when I see all the pumpkins on the ground, I know this must definitely be the place.

What is her obsession with fall?

I stand on the periphery of the group for a couple of moments, taking in the crowd. A couple of women are talking with men, laughing and giggling flirtatiously. I see Aria with a stack of papers in her hand, running towards something. I smile, glad she hasn’t noticed me.

I look around until I see Ava. I wonder what she’s wearing.

I frown as I spot Rupert standing there with a beer in his hand. He’s laughing about something. My eyes shift left, and my jaw tightens when I see he’s standing next to Ava—and she’s smiling.

She’s wearing a flowy white dress. Her long dark hair is down and silky straight tonight. She looks absolutely gorgeous.

I step toward them, though I’m not sure I have any place to interrupt. I grab a beer from one of the coolers, crack it open, and take a couple of gulps. I head over just as Rupert is about to put his arm around her shoulders.

“Not on my watch, buddy , ” I mutter to myself.

“Yeah, so my grandma helped me buy it. She’s always loved books, and she got me into them,” Ava explains to Rupert as I approach them. “I’m not really great at business—at least the money aspect—but I’m trying to make it work.”

She pauses and turns my way. Her eyes widen. I think she’s going to glare at me, tell me to get away, bitch me out for not speaking to her, say something mean, or act like she doesn’t know me.

But instead, she smiles and waves. “Hey, Theo. Glad you could make it.”

I’m taken aback. It’s not the response I was expecting after how we left everything. I expected her to be bitter and mad, but she’s her usual cheery self.

“Hi,” I say. “How’s it going?”

“Good. I’m glad you could make it. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I’ve been busy with work.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re still in town. I wasn’t sure if you’d gone back to the city or not. You remember Rupert, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

I look over at Rupert, and he shrugs. “You’re always working, but yeah… always seemed to be…” His voice trails off as I glare at him.

I’m not sure if Ava notices the tension between us, but I’m not going to bring it up if she hasn’t. I’ll speak to Jenna. I’m going to have Rupert taken off of this case. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything positive, and I’m fed up with seeing him so close to Ava.

“So, I was wondering how everything’s going,” I say, looking around. “Looks like there are some love matches that have already been made.”

She beams at me. “There are two couples that are already official,” she says, nodding. “It’s really cool. And someone actually donated a thousand dollars.”

“Really?” I stare at her in surprise. “Why?”

“Because he was so happy that he met the love of his life.”

“Hasn’t it been, like, a couple of weeks?”

“But when you know…” She smiles.

“I’m going to go get a beer,” Rupert says, walking off in a huff.

“What’s his problem?” I ask, looking at Ava.

“What do you mean?” She looks confused.

“Nothing.”

I take a chug of my beer and just stand there, trying not to think about the last time we were together.

“I was going to call you,” I say, trying not to stay at her lips. “Now that I finally have your number.”

“Oh?” She looks over at me. “For what?” She looks bored and that irks me. I’m not used to that look from her and I don’t like it.

“What do you mean, for what ? To talk.”

“Yeah, but to talk about what?”

“What happened the last time we saw each other.”

“What happened?” she says, feigning nonchalance.

“Really, Ava? You’re going to pretend you don’t remember what happened?”

“I’m not pretending. You mean when we kissed?”

I stare at her, my heart racing for a couple of seconds. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What? I mean, I’ve kissed other guys before. Have you not kissed other women?”

I glare at her. “We did a little more than kiss.”

“Yeah, but we’re both adults. We had some fun. We got carried away. I wasn’t lying in my bed every night thinking about it. Why? Were you?”

“Of course not,” I say, glaring. “So what’s going on with you and Rupert?”

My voice sounds gravelly, and she looks thrown by my question.

“Huh? What do you care?”

“I don’t. I just—well, he seems like he is interested in you, and I wasn’t sure how interested you were in him.”

“Well, he is a nice guy. He listens to me. He asks me questions. He doesn’t judge me about my business habits. He seems to want to get to know me and put in the time.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I cut her off.

“What’s what supposed to mean?”

“I thought you said you weren’t upset that I didn’t call.”

“I wasn’t upset.”

“So why are you mentioning that he’s putting in the time? What time is he putting in?”

“I-I’m saying that he comes into the store almost every day to buy a coffee.

And that supports my business, which I’m trying to keep afloat.

So you know what? Maybe more than a call, it would’ve been nice if you came in and bought some books.

Or sent some postcards. Or…” She pauses.

“Anyway, it’s not up to you to keep my business afloat.

Sorry,” she says quickly. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off. ”

“You didn’t bite my head off. I guess I just never thought about it that way.” I take another chug of my beer. “Are they making s’mores over there?”

She looks toward the bonfire and nods. We both watch three men turning marshmallows around and around to get them crispy and melty.

“Do you want one?” she asks. “We can go over, and you can make one for yourself.”

“No, I’m okay. I mean, maybe later.”

I sigh. “Look. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” she says, blinking at me.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t call. I’m sorry that I haven’t been in the store. I’m sorry that I haven’t supported your business.”

“It’s fine,” she says. “You don’t owe me anything. I didn’t even know if you were in town. I figured maybe you went back. And that’s okay, because you’re going back soon. It’s not like you live here. We had fun. And like I told you before, I’m okay just having fun.”

“Ava, it was more than just fun.”

“I don’t really think it was, though. Because then I would’ve heard from you.”