by Hart, Hanna
He’d talked to his best friend, Brian, about it. He’d agonized over Leanne’s distance and asked for advice.
Little did he know Brian was the problem.
He caught them together, losing both his best friend and his wife in one fell swoop.
The heartbreak was intense. It was a sting he hadn’t felt in a long time. Intense enough that he hadn’t wanted to come home this Christmas, but his well-meaning mother insisted it would be good for him to be surrounded by family.
Given Kendall's wedding, Walker knew he had a long stay in Denver, and it was already turning out exactly how he'd imagined. Nightmarish, with endless questions, Leanne's name being brought up over and over again, and the very worst part: the sympathetic eyes.
It was going to be a long, long month.
Chapter Two
Ava
Fifteen minutes is not a long time to get to know somebody. On the contrary, it is just enough time to get a complete misconception of someone new. Either they put on their best behavior and charm you, only to reveal several dates down the road that they are an absolute monster, or they are so wildly unbearable upon first meeting them that you couldn’t imagine the horror you were in for if you actually got to know them.
Even with these thoughts in mind, Ava Diaz still found herself smack dab in the middle of a speed dating round at her favorite pub in downtown Denver—O’Callaghan’s.
Ava had been single for two years after a bad breakup with someone she thought she had a future with. Her single friends raved and raved about how speed dating was making a comeback and how it was so much better than an app!
So, at their urging, Ava decided to come and try it for herself.
Besides, there was something about the winter—snow blanketing the familiar neighborhoods, families getting together for sumptuous feasts, crackling fires, and cocoa—that always made Ava feel lonelier than she ever did in spring, summer, or fall.
It wasn’t until she got started with her speed dating round that she remembered that, oh yeah, she did not like dating.
Not one bit.
No matter how many different faces there were, there always seemed to be the same guys at these things.
For example, there were business types, like Howard Greenwood, the man currently sitting before her. He was a perfectly handsome Indian man who had the air of someone who works with money for a living—maybe a day trader or an accountant.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Howard asked.
"I'm a videographer," she said.
Howard's brows drew together like knitting needles, and he nodded acceptingly as he said, "Oh yeah? Very cool. Very cool."
The fact that he said it twice made Ava think that 'very cool' was the last thing he thought about her career.
"For like, weddings and stuff?" he asked.
"Sometimes," she said evenly, trying not to sound offended. "Yeah, I do freelance work, but I mostly have a handful of repeat clients. A lot of the ski resorts hire me for commercials or promos online, I've done documentaries, and other online content like—”
"That's awesome," he interrupted. "You ever get sent to the resorts for free? You know, kind of like a 'come rave about our business' types of stays?"
"I had one offer once because it was out of state," she replied with a simple shrug.
"Wow, so you travel a lot for business?" he asked quickly.
Did this guy want a date or a free hotel somewhere? Ava forced a smile and met his eyes as she answered, "It comes up once and a while. I go where the money goes, basically. What about you? What do you do for work?"
"I'm a financial advisor," he said, and Ava thought, “DING! DING! DING! I was right!”
"Full disclosure," he said, leaning far over into the middle of the table, "I bring in a hefty five figures. Work is my life, thus why I'm at a speed dating event and not out actually meeting people the normal way."
"Right," she said.
"I have a house in Cherry Creek, voted one of the richest neighborhoods in Denver."
"Ah," she said, less enthusiastic.
"Don't plan on moving. I love my job; I love my place. So, if I get serious with a girl, she'd better get used to the idea of moving."
Business guys wanted to talk about one thing and one thing only: money. They liked having status and weren’t afraid to brag about their big bucks.
Frankly, Ava found it exhausting, off-putting, and completely pompous.
Then there were mama’s boys.
Ava had nothing against guys who were close to their moms. It was cute, in its way. But at the same time, having your every private moment, fight, or kiss relayed to someone else's mom was just plain awkward.
When Russel Mackenzie sat down in front of Ava, she didn’t know he was a mama’s boy. He didn’t have that look about him. But it didn’t take long before Ava was politely wishing she could disappear into thin air.
"So, what are you into? What do you like to do around the city?" Ava asked.
"I'm big into winter sports," Russel said. "So, as you can imagine, this is my favorite season ever."
"You're a big snow guy?" she smiled.
"Yeah, me and my mom love to ski," he said—and there it was. "We're big on snowboarding, we do those ATV trails up in the mountain," he continued. "Skating, trekking. You name it, if it involves snow or ice, I'm game."
"Your mom sounds like quite the adventurer," she said, trying to stay positive. "That's really cool."
"Yeah, we're pretty close. She really wanted a girl when she was pregnant, but she ended up with three boys instead, so she just embraced the whole sports thing. We're a big hockey family."
"Cool," she said.
"What about you?" Russel asked. "Are you close with your mom?"
Ava felt her brows grow heavy, and she licked her lips thoughtfully. "Um," was all she managed to say.
The answer to that question was complicated. Too complicated for a first date.
Her mother, Gloria, while kind and sweet and endlessly supportive, had also been a functioning alcoholic since as far back as Ava could remember. Vodka was her drink of choice, but she would drink anything. That included rubbing alcohol, cough syrup, and even nail polish remover on one occasion.
She had been getting better. At least, that's what Ava kept telling herself. But addiction wasn't something you got over. It was something you fought against for the rest of your life. Gloria had been sober for one year and eight months so far. It was enough for Ava to feel comfortable moving back in with her mother, but she never counted her chickens before they hatched. She knew things could go back to the way they were in the blink of an eye.
But even if this was it and her mother never relapsed again, the scars her addiction had left on their little family of two sometimes felt irreparable.
"Yeah, kind of," Ava finally answered, unsure what else to say on the matter.
In the end, it didn't matter. Russell went right back to talking about himself. "My mom pretty much went nuts when I told her I was doing this," he said with wide eyes. "She's really protective."
"You going to give her the run down afterward?" she teased, nodding toward him.
"Yeah, actually," Russell said with a flush. "We're heading out for a late dinner after this."
Ava had been kidding, but she didn't say as much. She would just watch the timer set in front of her tick down until the buzzer went off to signal the end of her uncomfortable fifteen minutes.
And then there was the elusive Mr. Right. The one that seemed more like a unicorn than a reality, until WHAM! You're set in front of the most handsome man you've ever met and feel an immediate connection with him.
When Greg Chambers sat in front of Ava, she knew she’d met someone special. He had curly brown hair and hazel eyes that had beautiful, bright swirls of yellows, browns, and greens.
There was a sudden magic in the air that was unexplainable to anyone on the outside of their two-person bubble.
“Have you found you
r Prince Charming yet?” Greg asked with an infectious smile as he took his seat on the stool across from her.
“Oh yeah,” she said with a laugh and a playful roll of her eyes. “There are so many winners here, you may as well not even try.”
“Is that right?” he chuckled. “I couldn’t help but overhear your last date and—”
“Eavesdropper!” she teased with mock-offense. “Is eavesdropping allowed at speed dating?”
“I’m sure it’s frowned upon,” he said. “But I walk on the wild side. Besides, I couldn’t help myself. I was about five seconds away from stepping in a rescuing you.”
“Why’s that?” she asked flirtatiously, raising her brows as though she’d just won a gold medal.
“You’re too beautiful to be talking to someone who lives in their mother’s basement. Besides,” he teased, “he was more likely to chain you to a radiator than take you out on a nice date.”
“Stop it!” she said, throwing both hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle. “He was nice!”
Greg shook his head. “He was a weirdo.”
“He was perfectly fine,” she said stubbornly.
“To be honest, I’ve been waiting to sit in front of you since the night began.”
“Is that right?” she asked in a hushed, seductive tone. “So, I’ve been distracting you from your other dates, huh?”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s a good distraction.”
“Okay, this is seeming too good to be true after all of these duds I’ve just worked through,” she said. “You’ve better tell me all of your demons now before I start getting attached.”
“Is that how it is?” he laughed. “Alright. I’m thirty-three, and I work in construction. It’s hard work, but hey, it keeps me fit, and it pays the bills. I respect my parents, I like hanging out at home mostly, but my Fridays are exclusively reserved for exploring Denver. I love this city, and when I say love, I mean I’m obsessed with it.”
“Wow,” she mused happily. “Things are sounding good so far.”
“And what about you, Ava?” he asked.
“I’m twenty-eight. I work as a videographer. I live with my mom, or rather, she lives with me—but not by choice.”
“Is she sick?” he asked, and her eyes shot skyward, trying to decide how to answer the very attractive man in front of her.
“Yeah,” she said with a slow nod. “I am pretty much in love with my camera. It goes everywhere with me. When I’m not working, I’m still working, if that makes sense?”
“Sure,” he said. “You like photography as well?”
“Yeah, for sure,” she nodded. “I was never very artistic as a kid. Can’t draw or paint or write or anything like that, so my camera was sort of like my creative outle—”
Before Ava could finish her sentence, the buzzer in front of them went off, and all of the men began to shuffle down a table.
A lanky blond man stood next to Greg, waiting for him to get up so that he could take a seat with Ava, but Greg didn’t move.
Greg looked down the long line of single hopefuls and then back to Ava with a mischievous smirk.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "Spend a little time getting to know each other?"
Ava had spent thirty-five dollars to get into the speed dating seminar for the night, but she couldn't think of any better way to spend her time than taking off with this man.
"Sure," she grinned. "Let's go."
Denver was beautiful in the wintertime. There wasn't any snow, but the weather was a crisp and chilly forty-seven degrees.
The pair decided to hear out to the Blossoms of Light: a festival put on by the Denver Botanic Gardens. They decorated their entire venue in colored lights for the Christmas. Pine trees were twirled with blue and red florescent bulbs, while the orchard rows were strung with purple glowing lights. The gardens turned into a rainbowed winter wonderland.
The two strolled through the fields, avoiding the other locals who had come to marvel at the lights, and spent the next hour getting to know each other.
By the end of the evening, Ava was smitten. Greg was just what she was looking for. He was handsome and fun and seemed to have endless jokes to make her laugh. He seemed cool and sexy, and when he kissed her down a row of lights—blue haze on either side of them as though it was creating a forcefield of romance, protecting them from the outside world—she knew she'd found someone special.
Her body lit up with butterflies. Something about the way his lips moved effortlessly and how his fingers curled between hers sent the oxytocin rushing through her body.
And then she felt it. A ring.
Ava pulled away from the kiss, pulling his left-hand glove off as she did so and looked down to see the gold wedding band sitting snugly on his ring-finger.
"You're married?" she asked, looking up at him with a 'say-it-isn't-so' expression on her face.
"Well," Greg drew the word out before rolling his shoulders into a casual shrug. "Yeah."
"Separated?" she asked, hopeful.
"No," he said.
She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "How long have you been married?"
"Nine years, two kids," he said, pulling his glove back on.
They were the kind of gloves that cut off mid-finger. It had been so cold out that when she saw he was wearing gloves in the restaurant, she didn't even question it. Now she felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
"And?" she said, setting her jaw with irritation.
He smiled. "And?"
"And don't you think you..." she stammered. His demeanor was so calm that it was throwing her off. "Don't you think that you shouldn't be out on a date, kissing someone else?"
Greg offered a laugh and shook his head. "You know, its kind of started as a joke. I was in that speed dating thing as a joke. I went in with a buddy of mine," he trailed off. "But then I saw you and I just...I knew I had to get to know you."
Ava didn't buy it. She didn't believe Greg was in there with a friend or that it was just some lark. Greg was a cheater. His explanation that every Friday night he went to 'explore the town' was probably just code for 'Friday is the night I go out with girls who are not my wife.'
"Gross," was all she said, pushing away from him and storming off, absolutely incensed at this married man's behavior. She couldn't believe he was willing to risk his wife and kids to go out and have a fling on a Friday night. What was worse was that he didn't at all seem bothered by his actions. His bemused smile and lighthearted shrug showed her exactly what kind of man he was. A lying, cheating, selfish, arrogant jerk.
And thus, Ava learned a familiar lesson. Dating was hard.
Very, very hard.
Chapter Three
Walker
It had been a week since Walker had returned to the Edwards’ family home.
It was comforting and familiar being back, but empty and hollow to be there without the partner he’d come to rely on. He slept in his old bedroom. It was exactly how he’d left it when he moved to Texas.
Texas felt like the answer, at the time. He’d just gone through a devastating breakup and couldn’t stand the idea of living in Denver any longer. The city of over six-hundred-thousand had never felt as small as it did after that breakup.
When you are with the same person for so many formative years of your life, all of your adventures happen around them. At the time, it feels like an unexplainable magic.
But once that person decides they no longer want to be in your life, the past becomes somewhere you never dwell in for too long.
When Walker met Leanne, he could stop living in the past and focus on his future with her.
For years, he thought he’d finally found it. His perfect person.
How very, very wrong he was.
Texas held memories of Leanne that haunted and pickled against Walker’s skin like ghosts.
He thought he would get away from the memories by coming back to Colorado, but being back in Denver only seemed
to bring ghosts of another love.
"Your sister is so excited,” his mother said to him, nudging his arm at the breakfast table.
Kendall was out in the living room, chattering endlessly on her cell phone about her winter wonderland wedding.
"Don't let her wedding-talk step on your big breakfast,” Walker said with a smile, gesturing toward the food crackling on the stove.
His mother always made an amazing breakfast, fit for royalty. She always made sure to have a full morning meal during the Christmas festivities: bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, fruit, scrambled eggs, and sometimes even oatmeal on the side. They would be so fattened up by breakfast that hardly anyone had any room left for lunch.
"Nothing can step on my dinner, and don't you forget it,” his mother teased with a laugh. She craned her neck to look out into the living room and gave a maternal smile as she gushed, “Ah, it is amazing though. We watched them meet, watched them fall in love. Finally, Shane had the you-know-what’s to ask your little sister!”
"Mom!” Walker shouted playfully and both his parents began to laugh.
Walker watched his mother walk across the kitchen to the stove. She took a thick wooden spoon to the pan of scrambled eggs and heaped in a breath.
"Speaking of which,” she said, and Walker knew immediately what was coming.
"Hey, let's not do a speaking of which,” he said with a playful wince. “It hurts my brain.”
"Speaking of which,” she repeated with sugar, “have you talked to you-know-who at all?”
"Not since...” Walker sighed and drew his brows together with annoyance. “No, I haven't talked to her,” he said curtly.
"It might be nice to say a little something around this time of year,” his mother said, not turning to look at him. “The New Year is coming up, Christmas, family. It gets you thinking about what is really important in life, and I think what she has to say might surprise you.”
The way she said those last words made Walker’s stomach sink. He turned his chair to her said, "What she has to say? Why are you saying that like you know what she has to say?”