Ava's Prize

by Cari Lynn Webb

  Ava waited for her mom and Dan to finish their rendition of another top-ten pop song, before she helped her mom onto the sidewalk. Dan drove away, already singing another solo.

  A receiving line waited for Ava and her mom inside Kyle’s suite. Every member of the contest crew stepped forward to welcome Ava’s mom with a hug and the assurance they’d help with whatever she needed. Kyle hugged her mom last. He remained by her side and walked with her into the theater room. They talked about the episode of Everyday Family that Ava had slept through. Ava frowned at their shared inside jokes. If she hadn’t been asleep, she’d have been aware and prepared now. Had her mom lectured Kyle about needing a date, too?

  Kyle said, “The best chairs are in here.”

  Barbra motioned to the coffee and tea set up on the side table. “I wasn’t sure if you preferred coffee or tea, so I brought both.”

  Grant walked in, his arms loaded with a stack of magazines. “I have reading material that I picked up after lunch. Kyle doesn’t seem to have anything other than gaming magazines.”

  Sam pulled a magazine from the stack. “This is a bridal magazine.”

  “I never said I knew what women liked to read.” Grant shuffled through the pile. “I grabbed one of everything.”

  “We wanted you to be comfortable.” Kyle rubbed the back of his neck as if unsure whether they’d succeeded.

  They’d surpassed comfortable and created a space that welcomed her mother. It also made Ava want to hang out for the rest of the day, too. But she had to finish her presentation. She had to secure a few side-jobs. She had to sleep, but not on Kyle’s shoulder in his too-comfortable room.

  Her mom leaned on her cane with both hands. “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble for me.”

  “It’s no trouble.” Kyle picked up several blankets in various weights and sizes. Most still had the ribbon from the store wrapped around them. “It can get cold in here. You might need one of these.”

  Ava eyed the different blankets Kyle draped over a recliner. The light throw looked soft. But the Sherpa fleece invited her to settle in for the night. The same way she’d curled into Kyle’s side and fallen asleep the other night. She popped several chocolate candies from the crystal bowl on the sideboard into her mouth and crunched down. The memory of Kyle’s warmth proved harder to crush. “Mom, can I get you some tea?”

  “Not right now.” Karen thumped her cane. “Grant and Ava, you need to get ready to present.”

  “Looks like we’ve been given our orders.” Laughter lightened his tone, but Grant followed orders as if Ava’s mom was his commander. He held his arm out to Barbra and left.

  Ava followed behind the others and stopped in the doorway. She looked back at her mom. “I’m a shout away, Mom.”

  Her mother waved, but her attention was on Kyle. Even with her brother and his wife, Ava had never felt so displaced. She lingered in the doorway and tried to swallow her urge to yell. Yell at Kyle to stop being sincere and considerate. Yell at him for buying so many blankets. Yell at him for turning her thoughts inside out.

  Kyle turned on the massive TV and handed Ava’s mom the remote. “If you want to continue watching Everyday Family, I can put that on.”

  “I’ll leave the show for you and Ava,” Karen said. “You both seemed to have bonded over your favorite characters.”

  Ava wanted to yell at her mom. There was no bond between Kyle and Ava. Kyle was too good to be true. No one was perfect. Couldn’t her mom see that?

  Kyle smiled. “Your daughter makes me remember the good.”

  See? Only someone too good to be true would say something so perfect. And make Ava think about things she had no time to think about. Like what if Kyle was really hers?

  “My daughter makes us all better,” her mom said. “Every single day.”

  Would Ava make Kyle better? Would Ava be better with Kyle beside her?

  “Thanks for sharing her with us these past few weeks.” Kyle sounded genuine.

  Ava had gained more than she’d given.

  “Well, I appreciate you welcoming her family here.” Karen pointed toward the door. “I saw the updated score wall when I arrived.”

  “It’s been entertaining among other things.” Kyle took Karen’s hand. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

  Ava rushed into the design lab and dropped into the chair beside Sam. She opened her notebook before she demanded Kyle explain those other things. Had it been exciting, memorable, eye-opening for him, too?

  Kyle walked to his workstation and booted up his computer. With everyone seated in their usual places, the afternoon work session could proceed like every other day.

  Except, this wasn’t like the other days. Ava wasn’t the only one distracted over the next hour.

  “That’s it.” Barbra came into the media room, looking like a stern headmaster arriving to take her unruly students to task. “This past hour, Grant and Kyle have been to the restroom three times and never drank one sip of water. Sam and Chad have refilled their water bottles four times. Grant has disappeared to look for extra paper three times. Ava hasn’t spent more than ten minutes straight at the computer.”

  Quiet settled over the room. Ava watched the entire group shift their attention to the floor and away from Barbra. They were all guilty as charged.

  Barbra walked over to the recliner beside Ava’s mom, sat and covered her legs with the new red plaid throw. “I’m going to stay with Karen until it’s time to present. The rest of you are going to get to work. No one comes in here until we call for you.”

  The group shuffled out, adding quick smiles for Karen, but avoiding Barbra. Ava hung back.

  “That includes you, too, Ava, most of all.” Barbra arched an eyebrow as if daring Ava to challenge her ability to look at her mother.

  Ava clamped her teeth together. She hadn’t gotten much done. Barbra was right. This was the distraction she’d feared. But her mom came first. Certainly, Barbra wouldn’t fault her.

  Satisfied, Barbra added, “We’ll be quite fine, I assure you.”

  If Ava had to choose anyone to be with her mom, Barbra would be her first choice. Ava respected and liked the older woman. During their short acquaintance, she’d come to value the older woman’s opinion on more than the contest.

  Karen handed Barbra a plate of desserts. “Want to bet on who comes back first, Ava or Kyle?”

  Barbra picked up a brownie. “They should focus on what’s right in front of them. It’s more important than any contest.”

  Her mom’s ready agreement followed Ava all the way back to the lab.

  If Ava focused on what was right in front of her, she saw a friend in Kyle. That was what she had to see. No matter what her mom or Barbra believed. Love wasn’t worth the hassle.

  Ava squeezed her forehead to push that word from her mind. She blamed her mom for putting love into her vocabulary. She hadn’t entered the contest for love. She’d entered for money.

  She picked up a pencil and stared at her notes. Her mom was in good hands. Ava shoved everything aside, concentrated on her invention and Sam’s voice.

  An hour later, she was called into the theater room to give her presentation to Barbra and her mom. Returning to the design lab, Ava settled in again, sorted through their feedback and tweaked her presentation with Sam’s guidance.

  “That’s enough for now.” Sam stretched his arms over his head and sighed. “At least until we’ve eaten.”

  Ava checked the time on her phone, surprised she hadn’t lost focus the past two hours. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

  Sam enlarged the presentation on the screen. “It’s a winner.”

  But would Virtual Vital Buddy win Kyle’s contest? Would it be good enough to earn a fifty-thousand-dollar paycheck? “We need to fix the third and last slides. I’m still not sold on the background color.”

&nb
sp; Sam tugged her hand off the mouse. “First, we eat.”

  Grant peered around the large monitor across from their workstation. “Did I hear food?”

  “It’s officially early-bird dinnertime.” Chad stood up and rubbed his stomach. “The presentations are done. We should be welcomed back into the theater room.”

  Ava stopped by Kyle’s workstation on her way out. “Making progress?”

  “Sure. Absolutely.” A quick click minimized the screen, but not the false note in Kyle’s voice. “How about you guys?”

  “The presentation is ready.” Excitement surged through her. “It’s a real device.”

  Kyle rolled his chair away from his desk and smiled. “That was the plan.”

  “I know. It’s just incredible to see it come to life.” Ava grabbed his hand and held on. “It’s amazing to hold the prototype.”

  He looked at her as if he thought she was amazing. Or maybe those were her inner thoughts spoken out loud.

  Kyle untangled himself and stepped away. His focus never retreated from her. “Shall we get in on the dinner conversation?”

  Ava blinked. His intensity urged her to reach for him again. Everything that had to remain unspoken swirled in his blue eyes. “Dinner is probably a good idea.”

  Because the ideas flowing through her were not good ones.

  She had to win the contest, not Kyle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  AVA SWIPED LIPSTICK across her mouth using the mirror inside the elevator to Kyle’s rooftop garden. Tonight was the night. The past four weeks had led to this moment. In less than an hour, she’d walk away a winner with money to attend graduate school and change her future. Or she’d be standing among the crowd, where she’d always stood, her direction the same as it had always been.

  She checked her hair in the mirror before the doors slid open. The only change to tonight’s event: she’d avoid the bathroom. Every bathroom. She’d coerced Iris into checking the guest list earlier that morning. Nikki James had been invited and RSVP’d yes.

  Ava stepped off the elevator, spotted Dan’s auburn head towering over the crowd and beelined for her friends and family. She took several deep breaths to keep from chewing off her lipstick. No matter what happened, she had shoulders to lean on tonight. More than she’d ever imagined.

  Mia wrapped Ava in a welcoming hug. She adjusted Ava’s hair over her shoulders as if she was preparing Ava for a photo shoot. “You look amazing tonight. There’s a wonderful glow about you.”

  Joann hugged Ava. “She looks happy. Truly happy.”

  That was only Ava’s annoyingly permanent smile. The one that had arrived after her food truck dinner and sidewalk kiss with Kyle. Despite Dan’s continuous teasing and constant inquiries as to its source, Ava failed to wipe away her smile.

  “It’s more than that.” Mia tipped her head and studied Ava through her camera lens.

  “That’s her open heart spilling through her and radiating out of her skin.” Karen sounded sage and wise and too much like a relationship expert.

  Joann eyed Karen and nodded, her voice equally all-knowing. “It’s the look of love.”

  Her mom captured her own widening smile with a hand on each of her cheeks. Mia clapped and pressed her joined hands under her chin. A new awareness shifted through each of their gazes.

  Ava shook her head. She wasn’t wearing the look of love—whatever that was. If she’d opened her heart to love, she’d know it. An open heart was just that...open. Open wasn’t love. Maybe she smiled more often, which should be a good thing. Her heart wasn’t connected to her smile.

  Surely, if she was in love, she’d know it already.

  She was not in love.

  Ava grabbed Mia’s glass of champagne and downed the liquid. The bubbles tripped over the catch in her throat. Or perhaps that was her open heart. She winced at Mia. “Sorry. Nerves.”

  “Here, have another one.” Mia took the empty flute and pressed a full glass into Ava’s hand.

  Drunk and in love. Not the combination she intended for tonight. Ava clenched the glass and squeezed her emotions into her heart. She tried to slam that lock on her heart back in place. Yet that was the problem with open hearts. They were impossible to close.

  “I’m so proud of you.” Sophie stepped beside her and wrapped her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “You’re the complete package—beauty and brains.”

  Not true. Her brain should be arguing against falling in love. Her brain should be listing all the endless reasons to avoid love. And all the problems with falling in love with Kyle. Her brain remained on mute. Once again, her irritating urge to smile curved through her. “Has anyone seen Kyle?”

  “He’s around.” Dan took her champagne and replaced the glass with a bottle of water. “Just doing what I was instructed.”

  “You’ll want to stay clearheaded tonight.” Her mom settled onto the couch. “You’ll probably have to speak to the press.”

  Like that, Ava wanted the champagne back. The last time she’d spoken to someone from the press, even her silence had been used against her. Sophie and Mia anchored her on either side.

  Mia set her arm around Ava’s waist. “Don’t worry. You won’t be alone this time.”

  But she was alone in love. She’d always vowed not to fall in love alone. She had no idea how Kyle felt. And she stood alone now with Kyle nowhere in sight.

  “If you don’t want to speak to the press, they can’t make you.” Sophie pointed at the guys taking seats on the couches around Ava’s mom. “Besides, we have lots of reinforcement from a former FBI agent, assistant DA, an ER doc and paramedic.”

  “Don’t forget, Rick is a former fire captain,” Mia added.

  “Perfect. Brad can interrogate the press for me. Wyatt and Dan can rescue the reporters if Brad’s tactics prove too intimidating. Then Drew can defend me if they decide to press charges.” Ava twisted off the cap of her water bottle and downed half. She failed to drown the anxiety that she wanted to blame on the news reporters. But the press hadn’t made her fall in love with Kyle. She’d made that error all on her own.

  “What about Rick?” Sophie asked, laughter in her voice.

  “Actually, he’s my first defense.” Ava scanned the crowd for a familiar head. Kyle would shield her from the reporters, too. That would only encourage her friends’ talk of love. “I figure he can get me down the fire escape in record time and to safety before the first question is launched.”

  “That’s a solid plan.” Mia adjusted her camera.

  “What are you planning?” Iris floated into the group, a swirl of color and light.

  “Ava’s escape from the press.” Sophie clinked her glass against Iris’s.

  “That’s probably wise.” The reserve in Iris’s tone contrasted with the bright, bold flowers on her dress. “I overheard Nikki James asking Kyle about Ava earlier.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Ava blurted. Heat pulsed into her cheeks and down her neck. She wanted to press the water bottle against her warm face. Kyle disliked the press. Would he dislike being in love more?

  Iris grabbed Ava’s arm. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “But for the record, there is something to tell.” Sophie eyed Ava over her champagne flute, speculation and understanding in her wide gaze. “Not to the press, but maybe to your best friends.”

  “Can I plead the fifth?” Ava asked. She cringed at the uncertainty in her own voice.

  “Maybe we should talk to Rick about her fire escape idea.” Sophie caught Rick’s attention with a wave.

  “Look.” Ava drew her friends’ attention to her. She’d need them once she revealed her open heart to Kyle: to celebrate or lean on. “If there’s something to share, I will. Right now, I just...”

  “You just want to keep your feelings private,” Iris finished for her. “As you should.
As your friends, we’ll wait.”

  “But not too long.” Mia tapped her elbow in Ava’s side playfully.

  Ava drew the women around her. Good or bad, she’d need each one of them. She could count on them.

  “Sophie, did you call me over here to join in on this group hug?” Rick asked.

  “I called you over to discuss fire escapes.” Sophie linked her arm with Rick’s. “Does there need to be a real fire in order to make use of one?”

  “Are you planning to burn the garden down if Ava loses?” The twitch in Rick’s frown ruined the seriousness in his tone.

  Sophie blinked, her voice bewildered. “I hadn’t even considered that Ava would lose.”

  Ava appreciated her friends’ unwavering support. “Grant’s idea is really good.”

  The trio looked at Ava as if it was bad luck to praise the competition.

  “Grant’s invention might be great.” Mia snapped several photographs of Sophie and Rick. “But yours is better, Ava.”

  Grant waited with several of his friends on the other side of the rooftop. He lifted his glass in a toast to her. He could easily have been standing in her circle. Or she could be with him. She wanted the best for Grant and she wanted to win. They’d joked about a tie, even discussed the chance with Barbra. Barbra had insisted a split decision would not happen. A procedure had been set into place specifically to break a tie in the formal contest rules. Win or lose, Ava had gained a friend in Grant.

  Yet she wanted her invention to be better. She wanted to build her future her own way, with Kyle beside her. He’d made her more willing to reach for the impossible. “I wish we could jump ahead and get the announcement out of the way.”

  Then perhaps those anxious jitters would finally subside.

  “Have you considered what you’ll do if you don’t win?” Dan asked.

  Ava’s gaze collided with Kyle. He stood with the judges behind the podium. Would she dare build a future with Kyle if her life remained the same? Would it be fair to Kyle? He deserved more than her part-time affection. She’d have to get another job. She’d never accept handouts from Kyle. Actually, she’d never considered losing both the contest and Kyle. She let her gaze track to her friends and away from Kyle.