Chasing Ava: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove) (8 page)

“No, I can’t go to dinner with you. I spend Sundays with my family. Besides, it’s not a good idea.”
 

“Ava, just think about …”

“I don’t want to think about anything between you and me. I appreciate your help with Randall. I am sorry for the ride stuff. I can give you gas money.”
 

“Keep your money,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m moving too fast for you. I can see that, let’s take it slow.” Listening to him would only encourage his pursuit.

“Your speed of acceleration is a moot point because we are not on the same course. Have a good night Dr. Masters.” With that, she took a step back, closed the door and turned off the porch light.

Logan had been dismissed. What had gone wrong? The more he replayed the evening’s events his gut twisted. Something was definitely askew with Ava’s response to the incident with Randall. Why hadn’t she just told the man to get away from her? Or walked away. He didn’t understand, but the fear he saw in her eyes was real. No way could she fake the physical reaction he witnessed. She looked as if she would collapse from acute pain at any moment.
 

The woman he had enjoyed all evening had vanished. Ava had dismissed him. He should be relieved that Ava had pushed him away. His focus should be on securing grant funding and the board position, but his body thrummed with desire for Ava. The hands free phone link signaled an incoming call. Recognizing the number he considered allowing it to go to voicemail. He connected the call.

“What were you thinking?” No greeting, straight to business. That was his mother.
 

“Hello mother. How was your evening?” He was not in the business of explaining his actions.
 

“My evening was fine until you sent Rebecca home and disappeared. How are you going to cement this deal if you refuse to spend any time with her?”
 

“I have the situation with Rebecca under control.” He could count on Darwin to soothe the waves on his behalf. His brother could charm any woman into submission.
 

“You didn’t network with one board member tonight.” That was not true. Randall Lester was on the foundation’s board of directors. Randall made him think of Ava.
 

He still wanted the little minx even though she had rejected his invitation. He smiled to himself as the car came to a stop under the covered drive of his remodeled colonial revival style home. The moss-draped oak canopies lining the brick paved streets were a stark contrast to Ava’s middle class neighborhood. The architecture of his home complemented the Queen Anne styled mansions on his cul-de-sac. He’d purchased the house five years earlier. The main house had five bedrooms with four and a half baths spread over thirty five hundred square feet. The detached two-car garage with a second floor apartment sealed the deal for him. The cover drive worked until hurricane season arrived, then having a garage was better than a backyard swimming pool.

Ava may have thwarted him tonight, but not before he saw the temptation to take him up on his offer brightened her coffee colored eyes.
 

“It’s late, mother. We can have this conversation during brunch tomorrow.” Sundays were reserved for golf with his father and Darwin. It wasn’t unusual for Graham his best friend or Gideon another doctor at the hospital to join them. His mother did not enjoy golfing and would join them for brunch afterwards.
 

“Logan.” He knew that tone, the pull on the leash. “You are close to obtaining everything you ever wanted. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. The family is counting on you.”

“Goodnight, mother.” The call connect button dimmed when he killed the engine. Family loyalty, an ever present weight kept him behind the steering wheel. He accepted his responsibility to his family, but he would have Ava.
 

This time it would be different. He would keep his emotional safeguards in place. No crazy love scenarios, he would stay in control of their interaction. Relationships could be built on mutual attraction and he had that with Ava. Recalling her warm vanilla and honey scent made his body stir with lust. He didn’t care that she wasn’t in a position to advance his career. He didn’t care that she lived on Main Street while he was born on Wall Street. Forget the social boundaries their relationship would most definitely slam into.
 

Ava was his.

Ava awoke feeling everything, but rested. Her night with Logan infiltrated her dreams. With him, she was a younger version of herself, before her foolish actions with Marcus. Knowing that the woman she had been, still lived inside of her should have been comforting. But it wasn’t. Logan had the uncanny ability to penetrate her defenses. And stupid as it was, she didn’t want to fight his allure. What if she was destined to repeat the same mistakes?
 

She forced herself to prioritize the days’ “to do list.” With her parents expecting her for dinner, she would go for a run before church. Nothing compared to a five-mile trek through nature to clear the mind. Kicking the bedcovers to the foot of the bed, Ava grabbed the cordless phone from the bedside table before she thought better of it, and pushed speed dial. She should talk with Lina before the morning was in full swing. The phone rang several times before she answered.
 

“Hey girlie, what took you so long to answer the phone? It must have been a wild night with Jace.”
 

“That’s one way to describe my night,” Lina said flatly. Ava heard the other woman yawn, seconds later the sound of running water filled the receiver. Lina didn’t offer any details about her night. That was strange. Lina was a play-by-play storyteller.
 

“You told Logan where I lived?”

“I did. I thought Randall Lester the Nurse Molester had gotten you. Logan was going all Incredible Hulk over the phone and I didn’t know what else to do. Please tell me you didn’t run out on Logan.” Ava confessed everything that happened up to Logan arriving at her door. Without the water distorting the sound. She could hear Lina shaking her head at her antics.

“Logan is one of the good ones. I trust … I think he’s okay.” Lina’s voice sounded strange, teary.
 

“I don’t know anything about him.” Though she did have lots of questions. Putting the phone on speaker mode Ava started her morning routine. She pulled socks and running gear from the middle drawer, selected a pair of bright orange running shoes, before heading into the adjoining bathroom.
 

“Ava, answer me this question. You spent the better part of last night with the man. Did you ask him any questions?”

“Yes,” Ava remarked with smug satisfaction. “I know he’s thirty-four years old.”

“I’ll play along. What else did you ask him, Miss Twenty Questions?”

“That was the only question I asked. I didn’t want to seem too interested.”

“What are you afraid of?” Lina’s voice was gentle now, no longer teary, but she still didn’t sound right. “Everyone in the ballroom could see you two were digging each other.”
 

“I don’t know. Do you really think he’s into me?” She was terrified of choosing the wrong man. Of being consumed by another person, till she no longer mattered. Her heart rate increased at the possibility of it happening again.
 

“Of course I do. You know I do not joke about male attention.” That was true. Lina could be counted on for a laugh, but not when it came to relationships. When Lina started dating Jace, she was so full of hope that he would be the one.
 

“Why would Logan be interested in me? Why would anyone? He doesn’t know anything about me.” Which was probably for the best. She knew she had his professional respect. It was stupid to put her reputation on the line.
 

“You are a generous, beautiful, intelligent woman. Why not you? He should be kissing your tired nurse’s feet in my opinion.” Ava burst out laughing.
 

“Anyone that touched my feet after a twelve hour shift is a saint. What about the race thing?”

“What about it? You aren’t ignorant enough to allow skin color to dictate your decisions,” Lina said, in a venomous tone. “The color of your wrapper doesn’t matter to Logan. I saw how he looks at you, how he held you in his arms. He sees how amazing you are, not your skin color.” Ava’s self-confidence soared at Lina’s words. But she didn’t miss that Jace had somehow screwed up last night. There was no ignoring Lina’s foul mood.
 

“Lina?” She proceeded with caution, not wanting to cause her friend any more pain. And talking about Jace was obviously painful. Usually, Lina was the first to tell Ava about her dates with him. “What happened with Jace last night?”

“Jace is a human turd. He’s lucky the beachcombers didn’t find him doing the turd float this morning. I don’t want to talk about yesteryear. Something else happened with Logan or you would have called last night when he showed up at your door.” Lina knew her well.
 

“He asked me on a date,” Ava said, shyly.

“And your answer was?”

“I said no, but in my defense everything happened so fast last night. First Randall, then Logan materializing out of the dark.”

“Ava! It’s been six years. Stop punishing yourself and Cricket.” Thank goodness the phone wasn’t at her ear. Cricket was Lina’s pet name for a clitoris. According to Lina, if a man knew what he was doing in the bedroom, the Cricket would let you know. Ignoring Lina’s comment she continued on with her story.
 

“He said he likes me. Wants to know me better. He used the word
involved
. I came to the party as a third wheel and I’m
involved
by midnight. It’s crazy right?” Crazy events should be labeled what they are, a temporary deviation from the normal state of being. Morning light burns away the folly of darkness.

“Slow down. Take a breath. It doesn’t have to be crazy. Logan is a man that tells you what he’s thinking. Do you know how lucky you are? You don’t have to play these games like the rest of us.” Her friend sounded disheartened.
 

“Oh, Lina, I am sorry. What am I doing, talking non-stop about Logan?”

“You’re thinking like a woman with her brains scrambled by a man. It’s about time.” Lina released a soft giggle.

The statement dropped a dose of reality at Ava’s feet.

“Lina, what if...?”

“Don’t say the words. Give yourself a chance. You are not the same person you were in college and Logan is definitely not the same type of man.”

“You sound sure about me.”

“I am. You’re stronger than you realize. You can have whatever you want.”

Ava wanted to believe her friend. Glancing at the phone’s digital clock, she needed to end this call now to get in the miles before ten o’clock church service.
 

“I’m about to go for a run, do you want me to come over later?”

“Don’t bother, I have to work the mid-morning shift today. Run an extra mile for me. According to Jace, my butt is too big.”

“That’s not true,” Ava yelled. “You have a figure celebrities would pay for.”

“I know. Jace was being a jerk, as usual. He wasn’t right for me, but there’s a man out there. My heart’s desire.” Lina the romantic. “You can have your heart’s desire too, Ava.”

“Thanks for saying that. I’ll call later tonight.” She needed to believe she could have her heart’s desire because life had taught her otherwise.