Ignite: Book 2 (The Heat Series 1)

by MJ Masucci

  She put her suitcase in her bedroom and proceeded to clean up the mess they had made before she unpacked, then she went through her mail including her portfolio statement. She looked at it and realized that in the past four years she had earned a seven-figure return on her investments. Jack had aggressively invested in areas that were gaining. He had told her that at her age, she could afford to be aggressive. She had no plans to retire for many years.

  As she unpacked, she pulled out a sweater that she had found in her closet in Georgia. Brooke had mistakenly taken it to the hospital for her thinking it was something she regularly wore. When she left Georgia after the accident, she had left it hanging in the closet and never took it home with her until now. It was big on her, but it was cashmere, and she liked the feel of it.

  She put it on and snuggled her hands into the pockets. Her hand touched a folded piece of paper. She pulled it out; it was from Xander, dated two days after their accident. Why hadn’t she found it earlier? This letter was almost four years old. She read his bold handwriting.

  Ava,

  By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. It’s a decision I know you wouldn’t let me make if you were awake. I think the best thing for us is to be apart. I don’t deserve you. Deep down inside, I know I never did.

  The three months I spent with you were the best of my life. Please don’t look for me. I won’t be telling anyone where I’m going. I know I said I want you for always but I know I can’t have you. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you with all my heart because I do.

  Xander

  Ava read the letter over and over before she crumpled it into a tight ball and hurled it across the room. Riley jumped off the bed and was batting it around the hallway. She picked up the letter and smoothed the wrinkles, then folded it and placed it in the back of her special lingerie drawer. She never went in there anyway because she had no reason to for the last four years. Why all of a sudden was Xander coming up everywhere? The graduation roses, the lavender rose painting at camp, the text and now this letter. It was like forces were trying to get them to come together.

  She went into her kitchen to see what she had to eat. She hadn’t eaten very clean when she was away. Her family was not into that, and Natalia had served several southern favorites from her youth. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that she no longer ate those things. So she made due and just ate moderately, however, she did indulge in two things at the birthday party: a bag of kettle corn and a bowl of vanilla soft serve. They were two of her favorites and so bad while being so good. But now she was home and determined to continue what she had started.

  She still had some small containers of plain yogurt. The grapes had seen better days, but some of them were okay to eat. After her snack, she packed away the rest of her clothing and toiletries. She was going through her kitchen drawer and found a menu for Soul Burger. Why hadn’t she thrown this away? She hadn’t eaten a Soul Burger in years. She paged through the menu remembering the tasty goodness she shared with Xander. Their onion rings were awesome along with their seasoned fries. She shoved the menu deep into the drawer and closed it.

  That was not food for someone who wanted a healthy body. Even though Xander had eaten burgers almost daily when they were together, and his body was more than healthy, it was fine for him. She shook the memory of his beautifully sculpted body out of her mind. She was starting to feel heated. Even after all these years, she could still picture him naked like it was yesterday. She trudged to get the laundry finished and layout what she would wear to work the next day, her first day back in nearly a month.

  The next day, Victoria was in a foul mood as apparently the date she wanted for her wedding was unavailable at the venue she selected. As Victoria had stacked several folders on Ava’s desk with notations in each, she tucked her head down and worked through as many of them as she could. She made sure to keep out of Victoria’s way until she left at 1:00 PM.

  The last thing she needed to do before she left was drop the work off in her office. Victoria was on the phone. She motioned her into the office, and Ava sat down, waiting. From the conversation she heard, Victoria might get her way. The venue had a cancellation on the very day she wanted to have her wedding. The only the problem was that it was a late afternoon time and she wanted an early afternoon.

  “Very well. We will take that time slot. Yes, my fiancé will come by with the deposit.” Victoria hung up the phone with a smile on her face.

  “I get to have my wedding on the day I wanted. What luck. I thought you left already?”

  Ava didn’t want to mention Victoria’s rule that she go over her work before she left for the day, every day no matter what.

  “I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need anything else before I leave for the day. I have a study session with one of my former classmates at 3:00 PM.” It was a lie, but Ava didn’t want to get stuck here all day. It seemed that after she had graduated, she had lost her passion for research.

  “Then, by all means, go ahead and leave. I know it’s important that you get to study. If you need some help, I can assist. It has been several years since I took the exam, but I’m sure I can give you some pointers. Have a nice holiday.”

  “Thank you, Victoria. You too.”

  Ava got up from the chair and left the office. When she got on the street, she put on her sunglasses. The early July sun was bright and the heat oppressive. She felt uncomfortable, but it was better than Georgia humidity. Maybe she would go for a run when she got home. She didn’t feel like doing cardio in the gym today. She was sure she could deal with the Manhattan heat because it was nothing like she had experienced earlier in the week in Georgia.

  She tried to run a little while she was with her family. One morning, she went running on the same road where she had the accident with Xander. Several miles down that road was the site of where the SUV had rolled over the guardrail and down the embankment. She stopped to examine the thick steel and saw that the gouges were still there.

  The guardrail had been bent but was still intact. The grass and weeds had grown back, and there was no indication of what had taken place. She turned to continue her run, passing the spot on the way back without even a glance. It was old news, and nothing would alter what happened or its aftermath.

  Getting home from the office, she dug through her dresser drawer to find her lightest weight shorts. Then she pulled on a sports bra and slipped on her sneakers over ankle socks. She filled her Camelbak with water and shoved her keys and well as cell phone in the side pocket. She stretched in her foyer, strapped on the Camelbak and went down to street level.

  The streets were full of pedestrians enjoying the early summer sun. She hadn’t been to Washington Square Park in several years as it brought back painful memories. But today she was going to give it a try. If she felt depressed, she could always run on the street. She headed to the park, only a few blocks away from her apartment and started to run the streets of its perimeter.

  She saw the park was a bit busy for a Wednesday, but the streets that bordered it were manageable. She weaved her way through strollers, couples holding hands and teenagers on summer break.

  She was going full-speed and passed by a man on a bench with his head down, but she didn’t get a good look at him. Then she did turn, and before she could approach him, a group of mothers with several small children in strollers crossed her path. By the time she got around them, he was gone.

  She shook off the feeling that it could have been Xander, as the man had long hair and a beard, and kept running through the park. Then she thought she recognized another person, a runner in front of her. His crew cut reminded her of Tim, and she called out his name. The runner turned, and it was indeed Tim Bartlett. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to her because their last interaction was not so pleasant. But he was cordial.

  “Ava, so good to see you.” He extended his hand. They were both dripping with sweat, and it was the best greeting he could offer.

  “
Tim, what are you doing here? I thought you lived in the Bronx?”

  “Not anymore. I was offered a position here in the city. I decided to move before the school year starts. The pay is better, and they already have an ongoing robotics program. I was told I could be a co-instructor.”

  “That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you.” There was an awkward silence between them before Ava spoke again, figuring there was a reason she saw Tim and only thought she saw Xander. “Tim, I just want to apologize for the way I acted. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  Tim wiped at his face with a small towel he had in his waistband.

  “Ava, I understand your hesitancy to have contact with other men but eventually you’ll have to do it. Either that or you’ll end up alone. You are much too beautiful inside and out to not have someone share your life. I just want you to see what I mean.”

  Ava bent down to tie her shoelace that didn’t need retying. While she did it, she searched for the right words to say.

  “Can we start over again? I don’t want to see you and have this weirdness between us. Can we forget it happened?”

  Tim smiled at her. “It’s already forgotten. Maybe we can have lunch or dinner sometime in the next few weeks? I don’t have to start preparing for the new semester until the third week of August. So that gives us plenty of time to come up with a date.”

  Ava noted he emphasized the word date. “Yes, that would be nice. I’m still working part-time while I study for the bar. I’m already fed up, and it’s only the third of July. I have several months before I registered to take it.”

  “Do you want to run with me? I still have another two miles to log before I can call it quits,” Tim said, glancing at a distance monitor strapped to his wrist.

  “I want to go at least another mile so I can run with you. Maybe I will even make it five today instead of four.”

  They started to run together. Ava was able to keep up with him and even passed him at times. When they were finished, they stretched and sat on one of the benches.

  “Do you need any water, Tim?” Ava said as she sipped from the Camelbak. Tim opened his backpack and withdrew a bottle of water, drinking it practically in one gulp.

  “You don’t use a water system?”

  “I had one, but the hose sprang a leak. With the move to my new apartment, I haven’t had a chance to purchase a new one.”

  They sat on the bench together enjoying the slight breeze. She looked at her watch and saw that it was after 3:00 PM. She needed to get home and shower. She had a dinner date with Rachel.

  “Tim, I have to go. I have a dinner date with my cousin at five. By the time I shower, get changed and get over there it will be close to that time.”

  Tim looked at her with disappointment. “I’ll text you when I get settled in my apartment and maybe we can have some lunch.”

  “Or, you could just meet me at our family barbecue tomorrow. Since you just moved and don’t know anyone, you can get some great food, and there are always a lot of people there. You could make new friends. I’ll text you the address, ok?” She rose from the bench as Tim broadly smiled on his, and she started walking towards her apartment.

  She hadn’t had time to think about the man on the bench that could have been Xander since she had been talking to Tim. But now as she walked the same path where he carried her home when she injured her knee, she missed him even more. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to dredge up the ghosts of her past.

  Ava turned on the shower and stripped out of her sweat soaked clothes. Everything was so wet with her sweat that she hung her clothing on the towel bars. If she had thrown it into the laundry, it might become mildewed. She looked at herself in the mirror.

  Her stomach was taut, and her abdominals and oblique muscles were visible. She had just enough definition to have a six pack but not enough to be called to overly muscular. Her arms and legs were well sculpted with muscle, enough to look athletic but not enough to take away from her gentle curves. She was proud of herself for getting her body in top shape, adding the muscle weight to make her healthy but not gaining fat like when she was in high school. Now if she could get her head together, she would be fine.

  As she soaped her body, she felt a longing. She calculated in her head when she last climaxed. It had been over a week. She didn’t want to do it with her family around. What she needed was to feel a man’s touch rather than the artificial feel of her vibrator or her fingers. It had been over four years since she had sex with a man. Her soapy fingers slipped down to her clit, and she began to gently rub. She moved her fingers in a clockwise fashion gyrating her hips until she climaxed. It had only taken a matter of two minutes.

  Rachel was late. She usually was on time, and Ava was getting worried as she sat alone in the restaurant’s bar. She kept checking her phone waiting for a text or call but so far nothing. She sipped a gin and tonic with a twist of lime, her favorite summertime drink. A man sat down next to her and offered to buy her a drink. He was not her type. Not that she had a type, but as long as it wasn’t Xander, he wasn’t her type. She held up her drink to indicate that she was fine. He tried to strike up a conversation and she worried she might have to get rude with the man. Fortunately, Rachel saved her by arriving.

  “Rachel, where the hell were you? You had me worried.”

  Rachel hugged her, “I’m sorry. The last client I had insisted on seeing more fabric samples after we had decided on one. I had already let all of my employees go home so had to lug the fabric books from the cabinets myself. Then she wasn’t sure if she wanted white. I didn’t want to be rude, but I think I am going to let Rigo handle this client. He can be so charming when dealing with difficult clients.”

  Rodrigo Bartolomeo Vicaria was Rachel’s husband of three years. She met him when she attended The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Both he and Rachel were designers. He approached her four years ago to ask if she wanted to form a partnership. He had been designing wedding dresses for the elites of the world and had more business than he could handle.

  They briefly dated when they were in college, and he knew her skill and talent as a designer. After eight months of collaboration, Rigo again asked her on a date. Rachel already had affection for him, and it only grew once they started dating again.

  Several months later, he asked her to marry him. She had a large wedding with three hundred guests of family, friends, and colleagues. Ava served as her maid of honor. It was yet another event that Xander Wilder did not attend (though Rachel had told her that he did send a gift).

  Ava had to agree with Rachel about her husband. “He is charming. He charmed the pants right off of you, didn’t he, and you are one tough cookie.”

  Rachel laughed, “Yes, you’re right, but I couldn’t see my life with anyone except him.” Rachel was harboring a secret. She was almost two months pregnant with her first child. She saw how pained it made Ava to be around Sandra, and decided it would be better to keep this information to herself. It was hard for her because she had shared a lot with Ava, and often they supported each other. But this was one thing that she could not reveal just yet.

  After they moved to a table and placed their food order with the waitress, Ava zoned out. Rachel brought her back to earth.

  “Yoohoo? Remember me?” Rachel said as she tapped her on the arm.

  “I’m sorry, Rachel. I have a lot on my mind today.”

  “Tell me. Isn’t that why we are having this dinner? So we can talk?” She felt sheepish saying it when there was a big secret she was keeping.

  Ava told Rachel about what had happened with the graduation roses, the painting at camp, the text and the letter she found. All of these signs of Xander were eating away at her.

  “I don’t know what to do, Rachel. I want to believe that maybe Xander is coming back to me but if not, then why is he doing these things?”

  “Ava, I have known Xander all my life. We practically shared a crib together. I can’t say what I think is going through his
mind, but I can say he is a tortured soul. The both of you are. There was no closure with your relationship. It just stopped.”

  “I can’t move on until I know. And there also is a man that is interested in me. We shared a kiss at camp, and I pushed him away. He was so hurt that he didn’t talk to me for the rest of the time I was there. This afternoon, I met him in the park while I was running. He said he would like to take me to lunch and I blurted out he could come to the barbecue tomorrow. What do I do if I start something with him and Xander comes back?”

  “Ava, that is the choice you need to make for yourself. Do you think this man could make you happy?”

  “I don’t know. He is sweet and nice.”

  “Does he make your stomach do flip-flops?”

  “I haven’t really given him a chance to know that.”

  “Maybe you should then.”

  For the rest of lunch, Ava seemingly concentrated on her food. She was thinking about what Rachel said. Could Tim make her happy? Did Xander want her to wait around for him to make up his mind? Before they left, Rachel asked if she could take a road trip with her the next weekend to Montreal to see a high-end client. Usually, Rigo would go, but he was going to be in California meeting another client. Rachel wanted to spend the weekend shopping in Montreal and then on Monday, meet her client.

  “Yes, I think I can go. I have nothing going on that weekend and Mondays, and Tuesdays are usually light. I want to take things slow with Tim. It might not turn into anything, but at least I should try.”

  “You might be surprised. Don’t get me wrong. I love Xander, but I think he could have handled this situation much better. You can’t spend your life waiting for him. If he wants you, he will surface.”

  That’s what I am afraid of most; he will surface when it’s too late.

  When Ava arrived at the barbecue the next afternoon once she finished studying, Tim was already sitting on the steps of the brownstone waiting for her. He chastely kissed her on the cheek, and they trotted up the steps and into the house. Aunt Mavis greeted them, and Ava introduced Tim, then she took him outside to meet the rest of her family. While everyone, including Rachel, seemed to like him well enough, Samantha was suspicious. When Tim was discussing a computer issue with Jacob, Ava pulled her to the side.