Page 27 of Maid in Heaven

Ava relaxed into her saddle seat and turned back to Will. “Unfortunately, she’s not wrong. I’m a bit of a go-getter. Sort of a shark in the water. Alwaysmoving. Normally, Idrive hard toward my goals,but now I’m trying to figure out what theyareexactly. At the lab, I was a big‘people person.’ Always superoutgoing.”

“So…maybe you can become, like,a tour guideor something where you can be around a lot of people.”

“Yeah, or, like, amadame,” she added, immediately regretting the word as soon as it slipped from her red lips. “Sorry. Here I am, talking about sex workers on a first date. I’m just… rusty.”She nervously chuckled, and her mind spiraled.

Did I just say sex on the first date? Isn’t it something we are supposed to pretend neither of us are thinking about? Shit. Way to go, Ava.

“Second,” he corrected.

“Hmm?”

“Morad Park was our first. Although, after my falling into slush and dog poo, I can see why you’d want to forget all about it.”

Ava laughed. “No, I just wasn’t sure if that technically counted. Felt like more of a hangout.”

Will only smiled and rubbed a finger nervously across a knot on the wooden bar.

Ava nudged him with a knee. “How are you feeling, by the way? That was a pretty hard fall.”

“I feel great. A full bottle of ibuprofen and some intense physical therapy, and I was right as rain, like, two days later.”

Ava laughed. She wasn’t sure when it had started, but her leg was jiggling full speed.

Will placed his hand on her knee to stop it. The heat emanating from his hand burned through the fabric, seeping into her freshlyshaven flesh.“You have nothing to be nervous about.”

She stared down at his hand and felt her heart ram against her chest like a raging bull locked in a cage.“At least I know better than to talk about my divorce, right?” She rolled her eyes to chastise herself, mind screaming, ‘Stop talking!’

Will removed his hand and placed it back on the bar.“I couldn’t help but notice the photo in your hallof you in your wedding dresswiththegroom ripped out ofthe picture.”

Theriotous butterflies in her belly settled, and a deep ache arose.“I keep it as a reminder. That was the best day of my life…so far. My goal is to replace it witha better one. Until then, it serves as a reminderto get out and do something worthy of framing again.”

“I like that. Using something negative to make a positive change.”

The drinks arrived. The bartender set the beer down carefully. “One beer.” Then, yellow liquid sloshedover the edge of the sugar-rimmed martini glass garnished with a lemon sliceas she slid Ava’s brashly across the bar. “And one lemon drop martini.”

Will looked at Avaas the woman shuffled off. “Wow. Shereallyseems to like you.”

Ava laughed, glancing into Will’s eyes.She couldn’t seem to tear herself away. Those crystal blue orbs radiatedall the warmthand comfort ofbeing home beneath a blanket with a good book. As a smile graced his lips, they feltinviting.

She flasheda cursory glance over her drink,which seemed surprisingly spit-free despite the bartender’s apparent disdain for her.She took a sip and pinched her eyes closed. “Mmmm. Oh myGod, that’s good.”

Even though the woman seemed like a bit ofa bitch, Ava had to admit she made one hell of a martini.

Will was enamored by the sound of her pleasurable moan, feeling the crotch of his dress slacks shrink a little at the sound.

“Igotta ask.” Ava laughed. “How much did Madison pay you to clean my house in a police uniform?”

“I can’t say.”He smirked. “You know, maid-client privilegeand all.”

“Oh.Ofcourse,” her red-brown hair bobbed through the air, “the infamous maid-clientprivilege.How silly of me.”

Will felt captivated by her smile.

“You seem like a smart guy, Will. You could probably do a million other things.So,whythisprofession?”

His smile faded, and his tone grew deeper.“My daughter, Starla, is a Type1diabetic. Her insulin is expensive as hell. Before this, I was making decent money when she was diagnosed, and it was fine. But about a year and a half ago, the company I worked for laid myself and about eighty other people off. I couldn’t afford COBRA. It was outrageous.” Anxious, he picked at the design on the side of his glass with a short fingernail. “I couldn’t afford her pump and hermedicine.I had to improvise.I had to figure something out fast.”

“Oh, wow. I’m so sorry.”

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