I puffed out a breath, gripping the edge of the counter until my knuckles turned white.
Ava shuffled into the room, still in her unicorn onesie pajamas with Alex next to her, his arm draped lazily around her shoulders.
She crossed to the coffee pot and poured two mugs, twisting to face me. “Hey, Doc, you don’t look so good, rough night?”
“Something like that. Hey, can I ask you guys a question?”
“Sure,” Ava said, pulling open the refrigerator to grab the cream. “Oh, wait, you’re not asking us to be witnesses at your wedding, are you?”
I offered her an unimpressed glance. “Ha ha ha. That’s very funny, Ava.”
She smirked at me playfully as she poured her cream into the mug. “I thought so. I mean, you’re already living together. It seems like the next logical step.”
I pressed my lips together. “Funny. I’m not movingthatfast.”
“You kind of are, Doc. I feel like you’re all about this woman even though you just met her.”
“I told you…we had a connection.”
Ava climbed onto a stool at the counter, eyeing me as she sipped her coffee.
“But you lost it,” Alex said, sliding into the seat next to Ava.
“We got it back,” I answered, recalling the change in her when we’d spoken last night.
Ava’s eyebrows furrowed as she stared at me. “You got it back?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a nod, my mind searching every word in the conversation to determine if I’d made it all up. “I ran into her in the hall after we talked, and she was back to normal.”
“Really? So, what changed?” Alex asked.
I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “No idea, but when we talked, it was like when we first met. I felt all that warmth from her, that strong connection. But I screwed it up.”
“What did you do?” Ava asked.
I shoved my untouched coffee aside as my head dropped forward. “I told her that I didn’t have the cleanest past, but then I kind of said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
“So, how did you mess it up?” Alex asked, crossing his arms as his features pinched.
“She’s going to find out about all the stuff I did in my past. She’s going to hate it. And then she’s going to leave because she’s going to realize that I’m not this awesome guy and…”
My voice shook as it trailed off, and I shook my head.
“Easy, Doc. You didn’t do anythingthatbad,” Alex said.
“Ace is right,” Ava added. “I mean, we know all about your past, and we like you.”
“Not enough to marry me,” I retorted.
“Ohhh, so youarealready talking marriage,” Ava said with a giggle.
“You know what I mean,” I answered with a sigh, not feeling in a jovial mood. “It’s not like I’ve bought the ring yet, but I want something that lasts. And I’m never going to find it.”
“You don’t know that. How did she react when you said you had stuff in your past?” Ava asked.
“She said it didn’t matter,” I answered with a shrug. “But I think she’s just being nice.”
“Mmm, I’m not so sure about that,” Ava answered, shaking her head.
