“Did you date someone in the service?” Evan asked, and immediately Ava tensed up. He saw her eyes glaze over a moment, and then she took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to answer that.”
“I did date a man in the Army. He was overseas and in Iraq for six years. It was tough on him and a different kind of hard once he returned to civilian life.”
The waitress dropped off the check and Evan paid the bill. The three of them got up to leave and when they went outside, Colton stopped Ava.
“What happened to your Army soldier?” Colton asked, again with an attitude, and Evan thought he sounded angry or accusatory.
Ava straightened out her shoulders and stared up at Colton.
“He was my husband, Colton, and after waiting until he was done doing his duty in the Army and after only about two months of marriage, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died. That’s what happened to my Army soldier.”
Evan was shocked, and he was filled with mixed emotions. Ava had suffered greatly. That was obvious. She had been hurt and her heart broken in a different way than his from Chelsea, yet just as badly, if not worse. He was about to say
something to her as they walked down the sidewalk, but Colton beat him to it. Evan watched as Colton wrapped his arm around her waist, turned her toward him as he held her in his arms.
“I’m sorry about your husband. You sure do get under my skin like no other woman or person I’ve ever met.”
Evan stood next to her and waited for her reaction. She appeared uncertain, yet completely captured by Colton’s hold on her.
“I guess I’m glad to not be typical or even like that brunette from before.”
Colton lowered his face toward Ava’s. “Honey, you’re anything but typical and have way more class than that brunette. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Sorry, but starting off as just friends just ain’t gonna happen.”
He covered her mouth and kissed her deeply. Evan waited for a sign of struggle or something to show she wasn’t interested, but instead, he saw her wrap her arms around Colton’s shoulders best she could and kiss him back. Evan never felt happier in his life. This was going to be the beginning of a miracle. He just knew it.
* * * *
Ava was lost in Colton’s kiss. Although he was a big man, filled with muscles and solid as stone, his kiss was gentle and filled with promises. When he finally released her, he didn’t just pull his lips from hers, instead he laid soft, tiny butterfly kisses along her lips, her jaw, and then to her ear. She heard his rapid breathing and was grateful it matched hers. The man sure did pack a hell of a punch. He rubbed her arms then took a hold of her hand.
“How about that walk?” he asked, and she nodded, then swallowed, feeling a bit overwhelmed at his sudden three-sixty personality change. As they strolled along the sidewalk, she felt Evan take her other hand. She glanced at him and he smiled. Shyly she lowered her eyes as they made their way toward a bench by the lake.
She sat down, crossed her legs, and fixed her skirt then folded her hands on her lap. Colton sat on her right and Evan on her left as they looked out toward the water.
She felt a bit at peace for the time being as she absorbed the people walking around, the kids playing kickball on the grass, and the multiple couples enjoying the warm summer day. In the back of her mind, the uncertainty of what this week would bring clawed at her moments of happiness.
She felt Evan inch closer, as he placed his hand on her knee.
“It’s nice at the park. Colton and I never really got to come here as kids.”
She turned toward him. “Why not? Wasn’t it always like this?”
Colton placed his arm over the back of the bench and her shoulders as he crossed his ankles.
“No, it’s a lot nicer now. Our mom didn’t always have the energy,” Evan began to say when Colton cut him off.
“It doesn’t matter. That was over twenty years ago. This is nice though. Again, Ava, I’m sorry for my attitude before. Believe it or not, I’ve never even gone out on a date. It feels like I’ve been in the service forever,” Colton admitted. She looked up at him. His firm jaw was tilted up toward the sun. She noticed the shadow of whiskers along his neck and the slight wrinkles by the corners of his eyes. The sun was bright, and he was handsome as could be.
“Jonathan and I knew one another since elementary school. We hadn’t actually started dating until high school and even then, we were always together, so there was never a first date. We did go to senior prom together, so I guess that counts as a date. He enlisted the summer before his third year in state college. He wanted to go. He wanted to serve in the war and was compelled to do it.”
“That must have been tough, him leaving you like that?” Evan asked as he caressed her thigh. She felt the tiny sensations moving along her skin. God, he was so good-looking, and his green eyes held hers a moment as she stared at him.
“I guess it was, but we were best friends.” She smiled.
“Is that why you said friends first, back there in the diner?” Evan asked, and when she lowered her head and clasped her hands on her lap, she felt Colton caressing her shoulder.
“I suppose.”