Page 18 of Make It Last

“Both. Smart-ass.”

As I drove away, I reminded myself it was just pizza with a friend. So what if I thought Ava was cute?

As I walked down the hospital hallway a short drive later, pizza box resting on one forearm, I could hear Ava laughing with someone. My lips tugged into a smile. Her joy was infectious. She created a sense of lightness inside me. I didn’t even know what to think about that.

“Hey, hey,” I called as I peered around the doorway.

Ava grinned, waving from her hospital bed. “Hey!”

Holly stood by Ava’s bed and glanced over. “Well, hi, Tanner. I heard you had a date with Ava.”

I kept my expression neutral. “Told Ava I’d bring her some pizza.”

“Because you are a good guy, and that smells freaking amazing,” Holly said as she approached.

I lifted the box higher. “Oh no, this is for Ava.”

She winked as she went past me, mouthing, I like Ava. Holly closed the door behind her on her way out as I approached Ava.

Ava shifted her shoulders against the pillows, wiggling her free foot happily. “I know this isn’t really a date and you’re just bringing me pizza, but I’m so grateful. Holly brought some paper plates for us,” she added, gesturing toward a counter across from her bed.

Ava insisted the pizza be on her lap, so we carefully positioned it to accommodate her elevated leg. “You don’t need to be that careful,” she murmured, gesturing at it. “I hate my ankle. It’s an idiot.”

A laugh rumbled in my chest. “I don’t think anyone’s ankle is an idiot.”

Ava shrugged nonchalantly. “Let’s eat. This smells amazing.” She rubbed her hands together.

Somehow, wearing a hospital gown with her hair pulled up in a ponytail and tendrils escaping around her cheeks, Ava looked absolutely adorable. As we settled in to eat, beyond the fact that I was starving, I could have spent days on end with Ava. It was just easy with her.

She polished off four pieces of pizza, wagging her finger at me as she lifted the fourth one. “Don’t you say a word about how much I’m eating.” As I reached for my own slice, she muttered, “My ex told me I was chubby.”

“What? Oh, hell no. That is not okay,” I said flatly.

“Right? It’s not.”

“You didn’t believe him, did you?”

Ava shrugged, and my heart twisted at the uncertainty that flashed through her gaze. “I mean, it’s not easy being a woman in the world. We’re picked apart no matter what we do. I know maybe I’m not as skinny as some, but this is how I’m built.” She gestured her hand up and down.

All I could recall was the feel of her lush curves against my back when I carried her down the mountain. “I don’t know your ex,” I said, “but I’d kick his ass on your behalf. You’re beautiful, so he can fuck all the way off.”

Chapter Eight

Ava

Hospital gowns & kisses

You’re beautiful.

Tanner’s words reverberated through my thoughts like a rumble after a thunderclap.

I set down my slice of pizza. “Tanner! You did not just say that.”

“Say what?”

“That I’m beautiful.” I gestured to myself.

“Ava. Are you blind?”