Page 25 of Maid in Heaven

As Ava made her way across the room, Will muttered quietly into the ether, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world… she walks into mine.”

Forging her way through the busy establishment, Ava finally made it to the bar, took the saved seat next to him,and exhaled deeply. She took off her crimson petticoat,exposinga little black dress beneath. The low-cut neckline showed off a tasteful amount of milkycleavage (Thank you, Wonderbra!) The hem of the skirt skimmed her knees. She could practically hear her mother’s voice squawking in her ears: ‘The shorter theskirt, the shorter the relationship!’

“Wow, you look….phenomenal.” He whistled. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” Ava fought her body’s urge to blush at the compliment.

Will’s eyes fluttered down the length of her body, drinking her in slowly before returning to her clover-green eyes.“My my.That dress… I am speechless.”

“Thankyou.” Heat radiated through her cheeks. “Madisonpicked it.”

His eyes glinted with mischief.“Remind me to send her athank youcard.”

Warmth seeped into her bellyat the compliment, and his grinsent her nerves into overdrive. “You look great,too. It’s no beat cop costume, but it’ll suffice.”

“Thanks. I almost came dressed as agladiator tonight, but I decided on this at the last minute.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure these fine people appreciate that.”

“What?” He flexed his arms out into the air and quietly growled. “Are you not entertained?”

Ava fired back a line from the same movie, “He entersMillion Dollar Cowboylike a conquering hero. But what has he conquered?!”

Will’s eyebrows raised, and his jaw dropped. “I am impressed!”

“I told you I like to watch movies.” Ava shrugged with a smirk and waved two fingers to politely catch the attention of the bartender swishing past. He didn’t acknowledge her.

“Hope you don’t mind. I ordered one while I was waiting. I’m usually obnoxiously early to stuff like this.” Will held up his half-downed beer andtook another sip.

“Not at all. I’d have done the same.” She turned to him. “Order a drink that is, not be early. I always have to rush just to be right on time.”

Another bartender whooshed past, on a mission to break a ten-spot at the other register. He paid Ava no mind.

“So tell me, if I might be so bold as to ask, what was it that you, uh,didfor a living?” He leanedin, trying to make himself heard over the Luke Combs cover dribbling out of the amps.

The woodsy undertones of his cologne made something inside of her stir.

Easy girl...

“I was basically like asales rep. I worked for a large laboratory that purchased smaller labsaround the world. We turn… sorry, turned… them into specialized hubs, swapping their existing equipment and staff to streamline results. Half the time, I had a lot of meetingsand presentationsfrom home, but the other half consisted of procuring and acquiring some of the international labs. I was gonea lot. Theyhad me flying to Japan, England, Ireland…all over the world.”

“Oh wow, it seems like it would be interesting to get to see all those places.”

“It was. Especially on other people’s dimes. Now, who knows when I’ll have enough to travel abroad again.” She leaned forward on her elbows, lifting her butt off the saddle, hoping the copious cleavage would help catch a bartender’s attention. “I’ll figure it out,” she said, leaning back. “Thankfully,I had been saving upfor a bit. Maybe during this transition, I can try to remember whatfunis…or write a bookor something.”

“Ooooh, what would you write?”

“I dunno. They say to write what you know.” She chuckled, making quotation marks in the air. “How to Get Firedby Ava Quinn has a nice ring to it.”

Will laughedand sucked back the last foamy sip of his IPA. “Eh, we’ve allbeen there. It’s times like these when you appreciate the people who help break your fall.”

Ava’ssmile washed away like a tide. “Yeah, this job was hellon my marriage and friendships. But Maddy stuck around, thank God. I’ve never been more grateful to have her.Especially after the divorce.”

Shit, shit, shit, don’tbring up the divorce!Leave your baggage on the carousel, Ava. Now is not the time…

She clammed up, afraid to say more.

“I’ve never been married, so I can’t pretend toknow what that’s like.”

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