He glanced down the hall to see no one was coming just yet.
“She’s going to meet me here any minute. Would you mind being the one to bring it up to her? Maybe mention that Andie’s moving in there too?”
“Not at all.”
“Thank you.” Another wave of relief swept through him, loosening the tightness in his limbs as he sighed. It was then that another idea came to him. One that would help him utilize Betty’s property while taking care of another need they had at the inn. He’d muse over it before mentioning it to anyone, get a better plan drawn up in his head to make sure it would work.
For now, he was just happy that there was such a good alternative to Ava moving so far from the Homestead. Hopefully, she would accept the offer.
“Hello, you two,” came that sweet voice Richard would pick out in a crowd. He spun around to see Ava step into the office.
“Hi there,” he said, but his greeting got lost in Betty’s as she moved toward Ava with a greeting of her own.
“You’re just the gal I was looking for,” the woman bellowed.
Richard hurried over to grab the paperwork they’d locked in the file cabinet the night before, hoping to busy himself while Betty asked. Yet as he secured the overstuffed folder and set it on the desk, another thought came to him. One that hadn’t even crossed his mind since leaving her suite last night. What if Ava hadn’t spent the night reliving that incredible kiss like he had? What if she wasn’t dying for the next opportunity to be close like he was? It was possible that she had the opposite mindset, in fact. That she’d spent the night riddled with guilt and regret.
Already he could feel the burden he was used to holding, the great weight that had lifted off of him during their time together the day before, piling back on, brick by brick. Upon entering the relocation program, Richard had lost all hope of finding love. Heck, he’d relinquished the pursuit altogether, convinced that he wouldn’t be allowed such an indulgence.
He flung open the folder as Betty presented the offer to Ava. And though his eyes were pasted on an invoice for pest control, his ears were glued to the conversation across the room.
“How about you take a day to consider?” he heard Betty suggest.
He stifled an inward groan. What could she possibly have against the idea of staying close by? The answer was clear enough, wasn’t it? If she turned down Betty’s offer, Richard would be left to assume one simple thing: that Ava didn’t want to be pursued byanyof the Duran men, including him.
His muscles clenched tighter as more mental bricks piled onto his shoulders and chest.
Please, Ava. Please just say yes.
