Page 20 of Ava After Midnight

A string of rapid-fire Spanish curses spills through the wall as something hits the floor in the kitchen.

I press my lips together, but it’s no use. The heat creeping up my neck betrays me.

“My God.” Zoe gasps dramatically. “Your body is physically reacting to him swearing.”

“Shut up.”

Jade fans herself. “Girl, you are in trouble.”

“The good kind of trouble,” Zoe adds, heading for the door. Her face turns serious. “But for real—you good? We can stay if you need us.”

Matthew’s future was always so certain. So safe. A straight path, no detours, no room for error. But safety never made me feel alive. Not like this. Not like him.

Domingo is dangerous in the way choices are. A fork in the road, a leap into the unknown. And maybe that should scare me. Maybe it does.

But what terrifies me more? The thought of walking back into a life where I keep pretending I don’t know what I want.

“I’m good. Really good."

“That’s our girl.” Jade hugs me tight, whispering, “Just... be sure. Whatever you decide tonight—be sure it’s what you want, not what anyone else wants for you.”

“Text us,” Zoe demands, squeezing my hand. “Anytime. Even if it’s just keyboard smashing about his abs.”

“Which are ridiculous, by the way,” Jade fans herself. “Like, who approved those?”

“Out!” I get up and shove them toward the door, laughing despite myself. “Before I change my mind.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Jade calls over her shoulder.

“Again, that leaves her alotof options,” Zoe stage-whispers.

“I heard that!”

Their laughter echoes down the hallway, followed by a rapid-fire exchange with Domingo that I can’t quite make out.

The front door clicks shut. Suddenly, the Airbnb feelstoobig.Tooquiet.Toocharged with possibility.

I linger in the bedroom doorway, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs. Three hours until sunrise. Three hours of being alone with a man who makes me question everything I thought I wanted.

“They left?” Domingo’s voice carries from the kitchen—rough like his hands against my skin.

“Yeah.” I force my feet to move, padding down the hallway. My arms are wrapped around my midsection, hugging myself tightly as I approach him. “After thoroughly embarrassing me.”

He’s loading the dishwasher, muscles flexing under his shirt. The domestic normalcy of it hits harder than any of our heated moments—this glimpse of what simple happiness might feel like.

“Impossible.” He doesn’t look up, but I hear the smile in his voice. “Nothing about you is embarrassing,mi cielo.”

“You didn’t hear Jade’s commentary about your abs.”

The plate he’s holding clatters against the counter. He curses, but quickly extends his hands so it doesn’t shatter on the floor. Once he’s satisfied that it’ll be fine, he looks up at me. “Do I want to know?”

“Probably not.” I boost myself onto the kitchen island, legs dangling—the same spot where he made us coffee earlier, before everything got complicated.Morecomplicated. “She’s not exactly subtle.”

“Says the woman who kissed me on impulse.”

Heat floods my face. “About that?—”

“Don’t.” He fully turns, leaning against the counter. The kitchen lights catch the gold in his hazel eyes, turning them molten. “Don’t apologize for knowing what you want.”

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