Page 62 of Too Little Too Soon
“Shit.” He stared at the ceiling.
Yep. He’d royally fucked up.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Ava stayedin Washington for three more days. It was all she could take. Between Oz and Maria being nauseatingly in love and Vic being totally cool about it and her parents acting almost human—all combined with Travis’s very obvious absence, she was as stir-crazy as if she were stuck in a four-by-four room with no windows and no doors.
She needed to get out. She needed to go home so she could figure out what the heck to do with her life, now that it was back in her own hands and all entirely her own.
She and Maria headed to their parents’ house so Ava could say goodbye—Mom had been released with strict orders to take it easy and make a follow-up appointment with her primary care physician and a cardiologist—and then Maria agreed to drive Ava into Seattle to catch her flight back to New York.
“You can stay on as my assistant,” Maria said as they pulled into the driveway of their childhood home.
“I absolutely cannot,” Ava immediately replied before climbing out of the car.
Maria scurried around to meet her in front of the hood. “You can be assigned exclusively to Panic Station. You won’t have to deal with Travis at all.”
The idea of being so close to him and yet not… “No. But thank you. I appreciate what you’re doing. I’ll figure something out. And I will stay in touch, with both of you. Just not when he’s around.”
She couldn’t handle it. The man had not just broken her heart— he’d ripped it from her chest and stomped on it.
He’d been such a convincing actor. She’d believed everything.
And it had all been a lie.
“Holly says—”
“Don’t,” Ava warned. “Let’s just go play nice with our parents, and then you can try to talk me around for the entire drive to the airport.” Not that it would work, but at least this spurred Maria to drop the subject as they entered the vast marble foyer and trudged upstairs to where Mother was lying in bed like a queen in waiting.
“You’re looking better,” Maria said approvingly.
“But not good enough to push yourself too far,” Ava warned.
“Good Lord, you sound just like your father.” Mother rolled her eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m lying in bed like a good little patient.” She spread her arms wide.
Dad stepped into the room and strode right over to Ava and Maria, hugging them both and dropping kisses on their foreheads.
Weird. But it was a good weird. Ava almost wouldn’t mind staying here for a bit longer just to have someone around who expressed affection. She’d grown rather fond of affection over the course of this past month.
Dad dropped onto the bed, forcing Mom to shift to the side to accommodate him. She grumbled, but it didn’t look like she really minded.
Amazing how a mild heart attack could cause such a drastic change in their lives. What would their lives have been like if something like this had happened thirty years ago?
No point in dwelling on the past, on what could have been. It was best to focus on the future.
“Where are your other halves?” Dad asked once he was settled.
“Mine is hanging out with Riley and Vic. I believe he’s giving them both guitar lessons,” Maria said.
“That is so strange,” Mom said, shaking her head.
Dad rested a hand on her leg. “Better than none of them getting along,” he pointed out. “And Maria is clearly happy with Oz. She never was with Vic. Even I could see it.”
Mom harrumphed but didn’t disagree.
“And yours?” Dad prompted, giving Ava an expectant look.
She wrung her hands. “Um, I don’t have another half. Not anymore. Things, uh, didn’t work out.”
