by Tess Summers
Frannie kissed her as well and gushed, “I don’t think I’ve seen you look more beautiful.”
Ava needed that because they were coming to the end of the line and Travis. With a jolt, she noticed the woman from the restaurant was his companion. Wearing a stunning red dress with thin sequined straps, her long black hair flowed loosely around her shoulders, and her lipstick matched her gown almost perfectly. She was even more beautiful tonight than the first time Ava saw her.
And she was pregnant.
Travis looked very dashing in his tuxedo. He had a red vest underneath his black jacket to match his companion’s gown, his wide shoulders filling the suit out nicely.
The couple ahead of her had been making small talk along the entire line, a definite no-no but it had allowed her to chat with people and not be blamed for holding up the process, so Ava didn’t care. The couple obviously didn’t know Travis, and as he introduced himself, he put his arm around Miss America and introduced her as Tara Whitaker, then patted her belly and said, “and this is Travis Jr.”
Ava felt the color drain from her face as she took her turn approaching Travis and Tara. The terrible hurt was written all over her face as she looked at him with tears in her eyes, barely acknowledging his companion. Neither said a word, and Travis seemed rueful when he finally looked her in the eye. Thankfully he was the last person in the line, and she hurried off to the bathroom, feeling like she was going to throw up.
*
Tara leaned over and whispered to Travis, “Why do I have a feeling you’re going to regret whatever it is you just did, big brother?”
Travis watched Ava with her hand over her mouth walking quickly to the bathroom. “Already do,” he muttered as he looked down, upset and ashamed at what he had done.
She had looked so amazing that Travis literally uttered “holy fuck” out loud under his breath when he saw her earlier. Never having seen her dressed up quite like that, he was awestruck at how beautiful she was as she stood alone at a high top table in the lobby where he was mingling with guests. He had been on his way over to say hello when a brown-haired man showed up to deliver a drink to her. The second she smiled at the guy appreciatively, Travis immediately felt a pang in his stomach. He remembered that look—she used to give it to him.
Jealousy had reared its ugly head once he saw her coming down the receiving line with the brown-haired man in tow. He wasn’t thinking when he pulled his little stunt, and now he was full of regret.
*
Ava made it to the restroom just in time before she lost the contents of her stomach. As the tears were streaming down her professionally made-up face, she managed to laugh, “Well, there went a hundred dollars.” Her head was spinning. The woman was obviously more than six weeks along, so he must have been with her before he met Ava. Had they been briefly broken up? Was he seeing her while he was dating Ava? She couldn’t fathom how he could have been seeing both of them at the same time—she had been with him for entire weekends. Unless he really didn’t have those extra cases and was seeing Miss America during the week, he wouldn’t have had any other time. That didn’t make any sense. No, they must have been broken up, and when he found out about his impending offspring, that’s when he decided to cool things with Ava.
She sat down in the little stall and pulled herself together.
Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “Life goes on, Ava dear. You know that as well as anyone.”
Walking out of the stall and looking at her tear-streaked face in the mirror, she realized she had sort of ditched Matt as she dashed to the bathroom. Luckily she had refresher makeup in her clutch and was able to do a good job at fixing her face before heading back where the engineer was waiting for her in the lobby.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
Managing a meek smile, she said, “I think I might have had too much to drink on an empty stomach. I’m fine now.”
They joined their group for dinner and she was determined to enjoy the company of this fun crowd. She pretended not to see Jeff indiscreetly grope Tracey and called Nicole over when Ryan joined the conversation she, Charlie, and Matt were having. The music started, and some of the girls made their way onto the dance floor. It wasn’t a song Ava was particularly fond of, so she stayed where she was, talking with Charlie and Matt. It became a little awkward when a slow song came on, and the two men seemed to be in a Mexican standoff about who was going to ask her to dance when Ron Thompson took her elbow and said, “May I?” before leading her to the dance floor.
Ava never thought she could be a sucker for a man in uniform until tonight. The way this man looked in his was hot, and the way he carried himself was even hotter. If she thought Travis oozed masculinity, Ron Thompson was the very definition of it. His whole demeanor shouted he was in charge, and there was nothing he couldn’t handle.
She guessed him to be in his early to mid-forties. He was very fit with brown hair, brown eyes, and his nose was a little crooked as if it had been broken one too many times, but it was his smile she found most attractive. It was infectious.
And yet, he wasn’t Travis.
Oh, the Travis who is here with his pregnant girlfriend not ten days after you stopped seeing him? That Travis?
Ron brought her back to reality.
“I hope your date won’t mind I’m dancing with you,” he said as he moved her around the floor.
She knew that was his clever way of asking if either Matt or Charlie was her date, so she simply smiled and said, “I’m here with a group of friends.”
His face didn’t react, but he did seem to hold her a little tighter after her disclosure.
Ava caught sight of Travis and Tara dancing and quickly turned away. She couldn’t bear to look at him with the mother of his child. She had never allowed herself to even imagine that with him because of his ‘I’m not boyfriend or husband material’ bullshit. He was husband, and apparently father, material—just not for her.
Ron glanced over to where she had hastily looked away from.
“Old boyfriend?” he inquired as he brought his gaze back to her.
“Ancient history,” she replied grimly.
Ron seemed to be sizing up his dance partner’s face after she said that. She knew there was hurt in her eyes that told him it was hardly ancient.
“He’s a fool,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled her even tighter to him.
Ava managed a weak smile and briefly put her head on his shoulder, as if to silently thank him for the compliment. He smelled nice.
Just then the song ended, and Ron escorted her back to her friends.
“Thank you for the dance,” he said before turning and walking away.
If she hadn’t been so upset over Travis and the bombshell he dropped, or if she wasn’t so damn in love with him, she might have been interested in Ron Thompson, or even Matt Poulson. But right now, no one was ever going to measure up to Travis Sterling. Logically, she knew it was just going to take time to heal her broken heart but emotionally she questioned if getting over him was ever going to be possible.
Yet, what choice did she have?
The next slow song, Matt grabbed her hand before anyone else could and took her to the dance floor. The song wasn’t even half over when she heard a deep voice say, “May I cut in?” It was Ron Thompson. Matt was obviously not happy about it, but he also knew it wouldn’t be wise to start anything with a high-ranking marine, so he stepped aside.
Ron pulled her off the dance floor and onto the patio.
“I’m sorry to cut in like that, but I have to be going, and I wanted to say goodnight and tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you. And that I’m going to call you.”
Ava smiled at his presumptiveness. “You don’t even know my phone number.”
“That’s why you’re going to give it to me,” he stated rather matter-of-factly.
She paused for a moment and looked at him standing there in his dr
ess uniform. She imagined he looked as good in civilian clothes.
“I don’t always look like this, you know, all made up and hair styled. This isn’t really me. The real me has her hair in a ponytail and nothing but mascara for makeup,” she warned.
He smiled. “I think I’d like you like that even better.”
With the caveat given, she gave him her number.
“I’m going to be out of the country for a few weeks, but I’m going to ask you to dinner when I return,” he said as he put his phone back in his pocket after having entered her information into it.
She knew any other girl would be swooning at the thought of dinner with him. Yet to Ava, the idea seemed lukewarm at best. Still, she gave a smile as she told him she looked forward to hearing from him. He kissed her on the cheek then accompanied her back into the ballroom.
As he turned to leave, he hesitated and looked back at her. She stared inquisitively at him with her head cocked until he leaned down and kissed her quickly and gently on the mouth before whispering, “Take care.”
Watching him walk off, she wondered, What the hell just happened?
On her way back to the group, she stopped at her parents’ table. Frannie grabbed her hand. “I saw you with General Thompson!”
“Yeah, he said he’s going to call me when he gets back in the country,” Ava replied, still a little dumbfounded.
“He’s a real catch, Bear. Very honorable and respected. He’s going to continue to rise through the ranks of the Marine Corp.”
Ava thought about their interactions. “He’s definitely a gentleman,” she conceded as she looked in the direction of his exit.
*
Frannie wasn’t the only one who witnessed the exchange between Ava and Ron. Travis had watched them both leave and return from the patio. He wanted to go scoop her up and carry her away when he saw the general kiss her.
Only he didn’t scoop her up. He didn’t do anything.
How could he after what he’d done to her? The hurt look on her face as she came through the receiving line practically crushed his soul. How or why he didn’t go after her, he’d never know. This was a night he would definitely like to get a do-over for.
He sadly conceded he’d blown it with her. From the Ridgeport Realty ultimatum, to not going after her at the restaurant when she walked to her car alone, to his royal fuckup tonight, he’d lost her. Ron Thompson was someone who deserved his sexy, adorable Ava far more than he did.
*
Ava smiled when she saw Jeff and Tracey making their way back to the table after disappearing for a while. She wasn’t sure who they thought they were fooling, but maybe that made it more exciting for them.
As the evening wound down, the group invited her to an after party in one of the hotel suites they had rented. She considered going but decided against it. Both Matt and Charlie had had too much to drink and were starting to get a little handsy with her. Besides, she needed to go sit in her bathtub, listen to sad love songs, and cry.
On her way to her parents’ table to say goodnight, she looked over and saw Travis watching her. She returned his gaze, trying to keep an emotionless look on her face, as if to say she had given up on feeling anything more for him.
How she wished that was the case as the tears started to flow down her face during the drive home.
Chapter 18
TRAVIS was in a particularly foul mood when he met with the other partners the following week and didn’t appreciate being called out for not having looked at the curricula vitae of the potential new hires they were meeting that afternoon.
I’ve been a little fucking busy making money for this place, boys, not to mention losing the girl. Sorry I haven’t done HR’s job too.
He almost told them to go ahead and meet without him but thought better of it. The last thing he needed was a horrible hire he couldn’t bitch about because he had decided to skip the final interviews.
As they sat in their comfortable, high-backed rolling chairs around the large modern glass and stainless steel table in the conference room, the applicants started making their way in, one at a time. Thank God his secretary was incredibly competent and had created files on each one, even if he hadn’t bothered to look at them yet.
Contestant number four’s name looked familiar. He knew he’d seen it or heard it somewhere before.
Brad Miller, how the fuck do I know that name?
When the good-looking blonde kid walked through the door flashing his million-dollar smile, he understood immediately how he knew that name, and his blood pressure started to rise a little. Through a clenched jaw, Travis managed to offer a condescending smirk when Brad told him specifically how great it was to finally meet him. He let the boy blather on about his credentials and what he could bring to the firm, never saying a word while the other partners nodded and offered encouraging words as Brad answered their questions.
The team looked impressed, and as Brad stood up to leave, Randall Cooper teased with, “I think it’s safe to say you’ll be hearing from us soon.” Brad was smiling broadly, obviously pleased at what he’d just been told.
“We can tell him now,” Travis interjected coolly from across the table. Leaning back in his chair with a look that suggested he was annoyed at having had his time wasted even talking to this applicant, he continued without remorse. “We’re going to have to pass.”
The great thing about the partners’ hiring process was they had an unwritten rule—any new hire must be approved unanimously. Travis was going a little out of procedure in that they usually discussed it behind closed doors, sometimes bargaining and making concessions. There was no way he was going to make any compromises regarding Brad Miller, especially when the little prick had the nerve to drop Judge Ericson’s name, thinking that would score him points. Apparently he wasn’t aware Travis had written a letter on behalf of the judge’s daughter when he bailed on her and their apartment lease last year.
When Randall looked surprised and dared say in front of the kid he was vetoing, “I don’t understand,” Travis didn’t hold back.
Bringing up his lack of character, questionable ethics, and unabashed name dropping of a man whose daughter he screwed over a year ago and then almost forced himself on no more than a few weeks earlier, Travis made it crystal clear not only was there not a chance in hell Brad Miller would be working for Carson, Burns, Sterling, and Cooper, but he’d be lucky if he found a job anywhere in San Diego County. The normally tan kid was literally a pasty shade of white when Travis dismissed him from the conference room with a smirk and “Thanks for coming in.”
Man, was he glad he hadn’t missed today’s interviews.
* * * *
True to his word, General Thompson called Ava two weeks later when he returned stateside. They had a few relatively flirty but nice conversations before he asked her to dinner, and she readily accepted. She was done pining for Travis, the futility of doing so finally having sunk in.
Stopping by her parents’ after work on the evening she and Ron were supposed to have a late dinner, she saw Ginger running down the sidewalk, and neither Kay nor Travis were anywhere in sight. Getting out of the car, she called for the pup, who immediately came to her. She had missed those two furballs of his. Cuddling the freshly groomed girl, Ava asked her how she got out and acted as if she expected the dog to respond.
She put the poodle in the car and felt a pit in her stomach when realizing what she had to do next. Ringing Travis’ doorbell with Ginger in her arms, she took a deep breath. She hadn’t seen nor heard from Travis since the ball and wasn’t sure who to expect to answer the door.
He opened the door barefoot and shirtless in a well-worn pair of Levis, and Ava felt her knees get a little weak. Why the fuck does he have to be so damn gorgeous?
“Hi,” she said trying to sound friendly. “Look who I found wandering down the street!”
Travis had a look of surprise when he saw Ava standing at his door,
and it seemed to take him a minute to register why she was there. He took Ginger from her while searching her face. Did he think she was going to yell at him?
“Thanks for bringing her back. I really appreciate it.”
They stood there in awkward silence before Ava asked, “Do you know how she got out? Did Fred get out too?”
“I’m not sure.” Then his face got an expression as if a lightbulb had gone on. He walked out the front door and over to the side gate that was wide open.
“Shit, I don’t know how I could have been so careless,” he chided himself. “Let me go see if Fred is in there. Can you come in while I look?”
The familiarity of being in his house was emotionally overwhelming. She missed everything about her time with him, from their conversations to their sexual exploits to how safe she felt when she fell asleep on his chest in his arms. Standing in his entryway brought back all the memories of how comfortable and happy she had been when she was there.
It wasn’t fair. She was uncertain about what exactly wasn’t fair—the fact that she got to have a taste of how wonderful being in love could be only to have it taken away, or the circumstances of how and why it was taken away. Either way, it was gone.
He came back from the kitchen with a grim look. “He’s not here.”
Immediately she offered to help look for him. She loved Fred and would be devastated if something happened to that dumb dog.
Why was there was a flash of disappointment on his face when she turned to walk to her car? She motioned with her phone. “I’ll call you if I find him. Will you please do the same?”
He nodded. “Will do. Let me just grab a shirt and shoes and I’ll head out too.”
Sitting in her car for a second, Ava allowed herself to savor the small victory. She had done it! She’d been able to see Travis without crying or getting angry. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
