Ava's Prize

by Cari Lynn Webb

  Ava liked this part of her mornings. This part, she could count on. A quick moment to unwind from whatever work had delivered during the night. She warmed her fingers around the mug and let the steam dampen her face. It was good to be home.

  Joann poured her homemade granola into a bowl and set it on Ava’s placemat. “You’ve made the Sunday newspaper.”

  “That’s impossible.” Ava swirled honey into her tea. “I haven’t done anything newsworthy.”

  None of their work cases last night had been extraordinary. They’d been routine and typical. Work had been demanding, but manageable. Nothing emotionally or mentally defeating. Nothing nightmare inducing.

  Exhaustion made her bones ache, but it was the good kind. The kind that made her appreciate these little moments more. Watching her idea transform into something real with Sam’s guidance yesterday only helped energize her. Ava added another dollop of honey to her tea and relaxed into her chair.

  “You’re a finalist in Kyle Quinn’s Next Best Inventor Contest.” Joann sat in the chair across from Ava like she had every morning for the past several years. Her typical breakfast—lemon yogurt and a croissant—in front of her. “That seems to be more than enough to start with.”

  Everything appeared like one of their normal mornings. Everything was in place as it should be. Even Joann and Ava were in their usual seats. But the conversation wasn’t routine. The conversation should center on Ava’s night, her mother and Joann’s plans for the day. Not Ava in the newspaper. Ava lowered her tea mug, afraid to take a sip and burn her mouth. “What do you mean start with?”

  “It’s titled ‘Bathroom Confessions.’” Joann reached for the Sunday newspaper on the counter behind her and ran her finger across the front page. “You never mentioned that you and Kyle Quinn were an item.”

  Ava squeezed the ceramic mug, imprinting the unicorn’s mane into her palm. The smile the mug usually pulled from her refused to come. “Because we aren’t an item.”

  “But you’d like to be.” Joann peered at Ava over her glasses, looking more like a guidance counselor leading an errant teen to confess than her mom’s longtime nurse and friend.

  Only in a parallel universe would Kyle and Ava be an item. Like the one where Ava could have everything. Ava set her mug on the table. “Where did you get that idea?”

  “It’s in this article.” Joann pushed her glasses up with her finger and looked at the newspaper. A slow smile spread up toward her eyes. “The writer certainly has a way with words.”

  And a way with lies. “Can I see it?”

  Ava skimmed the article and stared at the picture of the familiar reporter. The woman had the same wide yet sharp smile she’d worn in the bathroom where Ava had first met her. Now she had a name: Nikki James. Ava had chosen her words so carefully after Ava had learned Nikki was a reporter for a local news channel. Nikki had never mentioned she moonlighted as a columnist for the “City Happenings” section in The Chronicle. “She was the one who told me that I should concentrate on winning Kyle, not the contest, because Kyle is the better deal.”

  “What did you say after that?” Joann asked.

  “Nothing. I kept silent.” Like she planned to do from here on out. She tossed the paper across the table.

  “There’s your problem.” Joann slathered jam onto every edge of her croissant, painting it a bright strawberry color.

  “Since when is keeping quiet a problem?” Ava wanted to smear jam across Nikki James’s picture and rub away her mocking grin. Childish, but warranted. “Mom always told me to bite my tongue until I had something nice to say. That’s a rule or something for every kid growing up.”

  “There are exceptions to every rule.” Joann lifted her jam-encased pastry toward Ava as if to emphasize her point. “Reporters are an exception.”

  “She would’ve twisted my words all around.” Ava crossed her arms over her chest and slumped in her chair.

  “Most likely she would have, seeing as she twisted your silence to suit her needs.” Joann studied Ava over her pastry. “So then, you aren’t trying to win Kyle, too.”

  No. Absolutely not. True, she was interested in Kyle more than she’d been interested in anyone in a long while. She was drawn to him. But attraction faded like a candle flame. Then she’d have to trust in those deep emotions—the ones that were supposed to be lasting and forever, yet never were. Winning over Kyle was a game her heart couldn’t afford to play. “There’s no room in my life for a man and all the messiness that comes with a relationship.”

  “It isn’t all messy.” Joann took a bite of croissant and chewed slowly, as if savoring the jam, even though it was the same jam she ate every morning at Ava’s kitchen table.

  From the distant look in the older woman’s kind eyes, Ava wondered if it was a memory, not the jam, that Joann savored. Would Ava ever look back on her memories with the same fondness and affection?

  Finally, Joann shifted her warm gaze to Ava. “There’s a lot of good to be found with the right man. And a lot of fun, too.”

  The sincerity and earnestness in Joann’s voice and face pinned Ava to the back of her seat. She wanted to believe Joann. But the childhood memories of her father walking out stopped her. “I’m afraid you married the only good one out there.”

  Ava knew well the decadelong struggles Joann had endured with her daughter’s addictions. Yet Joann and her husband had only strengthened as a couple, raising their two toddler grandchildren and supporting their daughter as best they could. Joann’s husband had stayed like husbands were supposed to, but all too often didn’t.

  “The right man is out there for you, too.” Joann finished her pastry and wiped off her mouth, as if that settled everything. “You just have to be open to the opportunity.”

  “The only opportunity I’m open to right now is the one that offers a fifty-thousand-dollar payout at the end.” Ava picked up her tea mug and warmed it in the microwave, ready to return to her normal morning routine and avoid any more talk of love and relationships. “That’s all I have time for.”

  Joann clearly had time for more. “Love comes in its own time and its own schedule. You need to remember that it probably won’t match your schedule.”

  “Well, love will have to call and make an appointment,” Ava teased. She checked the clock on the microwave. “Right now, I have time for a power nap before mom wakes up.”

  “When do you need to be at Kyle’s place today?” Joann asked.

  “After lunch.” Ava sipped her tea and burned her tongue. Setting the tea in the sink, she hoped the day would get back on track soon. “Mom has PT this afternoon. Then she’s joining Mia’s mom for a crafting demonstration of some kind. I should be home before she finishes.”

  “You can’t survive on power naps alone, Ava.” Joann set her breakfast dishes in the sink. The plates and silverware clinked together as if echoing the warning and censure in Joann’s voice.

  “It’s not permanent.” At least she hoped not. Ava dried her hands on her pants and avoided meeting Joann’s gaze. The older woman treated Ava like her own daughter and Ava adored her for that. But like her own mother, Joann often spotted Ava’s lies before Ava. “Right now, it’s the best I can do.”

  Joann held the newspaper out to Ava. “You might want to keep this for your scrapbook.”

  “Very funny. You’re aware that I don’t know the first thing about scrapbooking.” Ava shook her head but didn’t return Joann’s laughter. Everyone assumed Ava wasn’t sentimental. The truth was she kept a few very special items from over the years. The newspaper article wasn’t even close to making the cut.

  “Nothing like the present to learn a new skill.” Joann’s eyes sparkled behind her glasses.

  The older woman probably had a collection of scrapbooks at home from the memories she’d preserved. Despite the dark times, Joann always seemed to find something to appreciate. So
mething to cherish. Ava cherished each day with her mom. “I’ll stick with what I know. But I’ll keep the article. There will probably be questions this afternoon at Kyle’s.”

  Joann hugged Ava. “Get some rest and dream about your right man.”

  Finally, Ava laughed and set her alarm on her cell phone. “That I can do. Everything is better in dreams.”

  “Then dreams become reality.” Joann touched Ava’s cheek and smiled. “And you don’t want to sleep, because you might miss all the good parts of your life.”

  Ava covered her yawn and apologized. “If I miss something good, I’ll have to find it later.”

  Joann shook her head and pushed Ava down the hall. “Get to bed. I’ll clean up before I leave.”

  Ava walked to her bedroom and face-planted on her bed, the article still clutched in her hand.

  The crinkling sound jarred Ava awake twenty minutes too early. She tugged the newspaper out from beneath her hip. The article with Nikki James’s mocking grin drove her to Kyle’s place early.

  Recharged with caffeine and determination, Ava rushed through Kyle’s arcade room, not needing to be buzzed in as someone was leaving. She barged into Kyle’s personal apartment. He stood at the kitchen sink, looking out the window as if more interested in the cars on the street than the commotion Ava was making behind him.

  Ava pulled the article from her purse and skipped over any sort of greeting. “I never said any of this to her.”

  Kyle turned, a yogurt in one hand, a spoon in the other, and leaned against the counter. His smile offered an unspoken welcome. “Did you talk to Nikki James in the suite bathroom?”

  “I came out of the stall and she was sort of there.” Ava waved the newspaper between them. “She congratulated me. I washed my hands and left.”

  “You never said anything?” Kyle pressed.

  “Okay, fine. I answered her questions, but that was before she told me she was a reporter for some news channel.” Ava crammed the newspaper and her frustration back inside her bag. Kyle hadn’t made her talk to Nikki James. She’d managed that all on her own. “But Nikki never mentioned the newspaper part of her job.”

  “They never do give all the details.” Kyle tossed the spoon in the sink. “Although they always seem to come up with more than enough for their articles and news stories.”

  Ava’s shoulders slumped at the anger in his voice. “You’re mad.”

  “Irritated,” Kyle admitted. “And sorry you were ambushed in the bathroom.”

  “I believed the women’s room was sort of sacred.” Ava followed Kyle into the hall. “I thought there was some sort of unspoken rule about bathrooms.”

  “There are no rules with plenty of reporters,” Kyle said.

  He sounded just like Joann had that morning with the same disgust and censure. Was she the last one to get that particular memo? “I know that now. Next time, I’ll walk away.”

  She amended her rule about never walking away. If a reporter was involved, she’d step aside.

  Outside the conference room door, Kyle stopped Ava with a hand on her arm. “By the way, I’m flattered.”

  One side of his mouth tipped up, drawing Ava’s gaze. “Flattered?”

  “That you’re trying to win me, too.” His voice was quiet and tempting.

  Ava jerked her gaze away from his mouth. “I’m not...”

  Kyle touched her chin with his knuckles, closing her mouth and stopping her protest. “But there can’t be anything more between us than this.”

  He kept his hand under her chin. One simple adjustment, and he’d be cradling her face. One simple shift, and she’d be leaning against him. And the this that he spoke about became complicated and not so simple. “For now or ever?”

  His gaze locked on hers and his hand... His hand curved to cup her chin. His thumb stroked one time across her bottom lip. “Both.”

  One word that came out raw and rough. The lie was there in his one caress. Ava never stepped away. Never drew back from his touch. She kept her gaze fixed on his, open and unblinking, as if that would prove her next words true. As if that would prove he wasn’t lying, either. “That’s good. Because I feel the same. There can be nothing more between us.”

  “Then we both understand.” His thumb twitched against her skin.

  Ava understood. Understood she needed to keep her distance from Kyle. Understood the threat he posed to her heart. Understood how hard walking away right now was really going to be. She lingered. “Looks like it.”

  His hand eased farther behind her neck. His touch stalled the breath in her lungs and time itself. If she tipped her face up. If he leaned down. They’d have that one brush of lips against the other. Would their kiss be the truth or another lie?

  Ava bit into her lip and dug deep for her voice. She wasn’t willing to risk her heart to find out. “I think they’re waiting for us in the conference room.”

  Kyle blinked as if her words broke him from a trance like the snap of a hypnotist’s fingers. He released her and stepped back, far enough that she wouldn’t even accidently brush against him on her way into the conference room. The businessman replaced the charmer. Professional polish displaced the earlier tease in his voice. “After you.”

  Too quickly the distance between them seemed more than an arm’s length. Felt deeper, like the ache of something special lost.

  Ava should be happy. Should be pleased that he felt the same as her. That he hadn’t been willing to take the risk and kiss her, either. This was all part of that messiness she’d told Joann she didn’t want in her life.

  She sat in the chair the farthest from the one Kyle chose at the head of the table. But that only emphasized how far out of reach Kyle was. She ordered herself to stop being stupid. He’d only touched her face. Yes, his hand had been gentle and the warmth from his palm had extended into her toes. She couldn’t allow that to mean something.

  Ava concentrated on the conversation between Grant and Barbra, determined to remain as impartial and detached as Kyle.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  KYLE STARED AT the fingerprints on the glass conference table. A spray of glass cleaner would wipe away those smudge marks within seconds. He wondered how long it’d take to wipe away the imprint Ava left on him—an imprint that only etched deeper inside him with every minute he spent with her.

  Imprint or not, it didn’t matter. Ava was only a finalist. He hadn’t lied earlier. This was all they could ever be. If he still wanted to take her out into the hall and kiss her until they both forgot all the reasons they shouldn’t be together, well, he’d have to ignore the urge. He wasn’t certain he could ever recover from Ava.

  He tugged the rolled newspaper from his back pocket and tossed it on the conference table. “If you haven’t read the Sunday morning newspaper already, here it is. It’s interesting reading, as our very own Ava is a featured column.”

  Barbra rocked back in her chair, her attention on Ava, not the newspaper. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes widened behind her oval glasses.

  He should’ve known Barbra had read the paper already. She told her students quite often that well-informed was well-prepared. There wasn’t much that went on in the city that Barbra Norris wasn’t aware of.

  Sam grabbed the newspaper and slipped on his round black reading glasses. “How’d you get featured in the paper, Ava?”

  Grant leaned toward Sam and read over his shoulder.

  Ava’s palms smacked against the glass table, pulling everyone’s focus to her. She cleared her throat as if the sudden attention unsettled her. “For the record, I’m not trying to win Kyle.”

  Everyone around the table nodded, slow and in sync.

  Kyle focused on Ava, but she refused to meet his gaze. He’d told her they couldn’t be anything more. She’d agreed. That pleased him. Except now, slivers of disappointment, not satisfaction,
sliced through him.

  Ava rushed on, “I’m also not going to turn my sights on Grant if I fail with Kyle.”

  Again, the whole group nodded in unison, their gazes fixed on Ava. No one spoke.

  Ava touched Grant’s arm. “No offense.”

  Grant lifted his hands and managed to pull his smile under control. “None taken.”

  Ava exhaled. Her words came out less frantic. “That line about me playing Skee-Ball here every night is totally wrong. I mean, I have played obviously, since I own the high score. But not every chance I can find.”

  One more group nod, as if Kyle had coached them prior to agree to anything Ava said. He hadn’t, of course. That made their joint support of Ava all the more impressive.

  “Anything else?” Kyle asked Ava.

  “I think that covers it.” Ava slid her hands off the table and dropped back in her chair.

  Twin spots of pink stained her cheeks. She wore flustered quite well. If he’d doubted her before, he didn’t now. She wasn’t interested in being another one of Nikki James’s headlines. Unfortunately for him because he could’ve dismissed her from the contest. Easily severed his interest in her if she’d wanted to sell a Kyle Quinn story to the press. Too bad Ava wasn’t like a number of the other women he’d met recently—the ones more interested in their own fifteen minutes of fame.

  “We didn’t really believe anything in there.” Grant nudged Ava’s shoulder. “But thanks for clarifying.”

  Ava covered her face with her hands. “You could’ve stopped me.”

  “You seemed like you really needed to clear the air.” Barbra smiled and waved her hand to include the others. “We didn’t want to interrupt.”

  “Thanks for the support.” Ava kept her face covered and spoke around her fingers.

  “You’d do the same for us,” Sam offered. “We’re in this together.”