Sleeping on the street in Little Greenfield wasn’t looking quite so bad after all. If it meant seeing this beefcake every day, she would get on board with sleeping on the cold, hard ground.
She had about five seconds to compose herself before he would be in front of her with her drink.
“So what brings you to town?” he asked, setting her drink in front of her.
“Oh, just here for a visit. You know, fishing competition and all that,” she answered hastily, absently gesturing about the room.
He looked at her—really looked at her—taking everything in with his deep-brown eyes. A second passed before he burst out laughing.
“I’m so sorry, but there is no way in hell you’re here for the fishing competition.”
Ava let out a deep sigh and her chest felt a fraction lighter. She guessed she’d been holding it in for a while. “That obvious, eh?”
He nodded.
“It’s a long story.”
The hot bartender shrugged. “I’ve got time.”
She raised her eyebrow. “I don’t even know your name and you want to hear about my problems?”
“It’s Roman Banks, and yes, I want to hear about your problems. Because if a gorgeous girl like you is in Little Greenfield, there’s gotta be a good reason. Not that I’m complaining.”
“Ava Anderson.” She reached out and shook Roman’s hand across the bar. A rush of warmth coursed through her arm at the contact, and she swore her heart skipped a beat. “Buckle up, Roman. This ride is a wild one.”
Chapter Two
AVA
She recounted the last two days to Roman as briefly as possible. No need to go into all the nitty-gritty details. The gist would do it.
She told him how she finally talked to Sebastian about what she felt was missing in their…intimate times together, omitting the specifics, of course. And how he immediately reacted like she’d slapped his face. Shock, followed by disbelief, then anger. Sebastian had made her feel dirty and ashamed, like something was wrong with her. He berated her until she was in tears on the floor, slamming the door on his way out.
Sebastian sent his voice message that same evening. After the disbelief wore off, she gathered the strength to dump him the next day and immediately hopped on a flight to the first place that sounded inviting—Little Greenfield.
“Let me get this straight. He sent a voice message to everyone on your contact list? Not a text, but a recording?” Roman was fully engrossed in her story. During her tale, he’d made his way around the bar and was now sitting on the stool next to her.
She nodded. “For some reason, that made it a lot more personal. It hurt me more that way. I think he knew it would.”
“And he sent it to you, too?”
Again, she nodded.
“What a fucking coward,” he fumed, shaking his head.
Not the reaction she was expecting. “I’d say he’s a jerk. A jackass. A prick. All those things. But a coward? It takes balls to send a message like that to almost one hundred people.”
“First, Ava,”—Roman placed his hand on her knee and swiveled her chair so she faced him, sending her heart backflipping into her stomach—“he’s a coward because he sent a fucking voice message to everyone you know. He hid behind technology instead of talking to you face-to-face. Second, he’s a coward because he obviously feels threatened by you. He didn’t try to understand where you’re coming from. He took what you shared and used it against you because he’s not a man. He’s a little boy who can’t understand a partner having needs that differ from his own.”
She stared at him, speechless. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous, but he had a heart of gold too? Perhaps she should thank Sebastian. Well…she wouldn’t go that far. Sebastian was still an absolute ass. How it took her this long to realize that was disappointing. But without his idiocy, and a much-needed wakeup call, she wouldn’t be in front of this absolutely perfect specimen of a man right now.
“Thank you. I…I needed to hear that.”
“Anytime. It’s the truth.” He swiveled her to face the bar again, got up, and checked on the other few tables before returning to make her another drink.
“So, you ran away. Now what?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
She let out a demoralized laugh and took a sip of her second gin and tonic. “Now I need a place to stay while I sort out mypersonal life. I didn’t think any of this through.” She grimaced. “Gertie is trying to work something out for me, but considering she hasn’t popped by yet, I’m not holding my breath.”