Page 37 of Make It Last

I held a hand up. “No judging.”

“You know what gossip really is historically?” I shook my head. “A way women kept each other safe, a way to pass information in a socially acceptable way. Sure, sometimes it gets warped. But that was how women took care of each other.”

I eyed her. “Wow.”

“I contain multitudes, Tanner.” She waggled her brows.

I grinned. “Apparently.”

“Okay, fine,” she sighed. “You don’t want to gossip, so let’s watch a show together. Unless you need to go?” Her eyes bounced to mine, uncertainty flickering there.

“I’d love to watch a show.”

“Should we put all this up?” she asked, looking at the food.

“I’ve got it.”

“Oh no. Don’t be that kind of guy.”

“What kind of guy?”

“The ‘I’ll do everything, you just sit there’ guy.”

I stood, already gathering containers. “Uh, a guy who puts leftovers in the fridge? Not exactly running a marathon here. Go sit on the couch. Put your foot up. That’s what you’re supposed to do right now.”

Her cheeks flushed pink. “Okay.”

She moved slowly, her boot thunking against the floor, and I watched her as she settled onto the couch. Damn. There was something about Ava—vulnerability threaded with sassy boldness. She didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t the only one trying to figure out what came next.

I sat down on the couch beside her a few minutes later. “Are you going to take the leftovers with you?” she asked.

“They’re yours.”

Ava literally beamed at me. Every time she smiled, awareness sizzled through me. My heart kicked a little harder in my chest.

Chapter Sixteen

Ava

Sports analysis

“Tanner, you are a man for the ages.”

“For the ages?” he prompted, eyeing me curiously.

I sat on the couch with my foot propped up on the massive ottoman I’d shoved into the corner of the sectional. I’d found it was the best way to have the most space and flexibility for keeping my foot elevated.

“Yes. You brought me takeout. Yay! It was delicious. Also, yay! And you put away the leftovers. You even offered.”

“Ava, I live on my own. I generally do this kind of thing for myself on the regular.”

“Okay, fair.”

“So what are we watching?” he asked.

“Well, what do you like? I'm pretty easygoing.”

“You said you had picked a few shows to binge. Let’s go with your fave.”