Authors: Caroline Mickelson
Ava pushed away her salad and put her napkin aside. “How are your grandparents?”
Ah, he wondered when, or if, she’d ask about his family. It was progress that she’d brought up the subject of his family before he did. “We lost Abuela almost three years ago.”
“Oh, Mateo, I’m sorry.” Ava reached out to touch his hand. “How is your grandfather?”
Mateo sucked in his breath. She’d handed him the perfect opening and if he was going to go ahead with this whole crazy plan it was now or never. The image of his grandfather’s delighted face when Mateo told him that he was engaged flashed through his mind. He could do this. He would do it for his grandfather. “I’m glad you asked, Ava, because that’s the reason I wanted to speak with you. I need your help.”
Chapter Three
Ava questioned her sanity all through the night and well into the next morning. She’d spent a fitful night tossing and turning, replaying her evening with Mateo over and over in her head. Seeing him again after a decade had been startling. He had grown up but so had she. Yet, in another way, in a more fundamental way, they were much the same as they’d been then. Heaven knew the chemistry was the same. At least on her end. Mateo Ortega, every sexy inch of him, made her knees weak. His warm smile and charming manner apparently made her mind weak too because she’d agreed to meet him over at the house on Miller Avenue first thing in the morning. But he wanted more than a walk through. He’d warned her of that much.
He had a proposition for her, so he’d said. But that had been all he’d said, refusing to say more until she agreed to meet him again.
Well, it was morning and she was on her way to view the property and hear his proposition. Did Mateo want to arrange a lease purchase instead of a straight out purchase? Why hadn’t he just asked last night? Or, for that matter, if that was what he had wanted, why not just speak with her realtor? She shook her head. He wanted something. But what?
Ava turned the convertible off of Central Avenue and onto Miller. Her eyes greedily drank in the familiarity of the neat row of houses on either side of the street. So much had changed, most of the homes had been repainted, re-landscaped, and most likely, resold to new owners. But it still had the feel of a street where families lived. She slowed as she reached the driveway to the property.
She turned off the engine and looked over the exterior of the house. The property management company had done a fine job of keeping everything well kept up. But still, there was an air of loneliness that pervaded it. She rested her head against the seat’s neck rest and closed her eyes against the wave of memories that assailed her.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Ava jumped, her eyes flying open. “Oh, Mateo, you startled me.” She tilted her head back to look up at him. He stood by the hood of her car, his arms folded over his chest. He was wearing a red polo shirt emblazoned with the name of the local elementary school and a pair of khaki chinos. He looked wide awake, energetic and perfectly at ease. “Did you just call me sunshine?”
He grinned. “Guilty as charged. What can I say? I’ve always been a morning person.” He opened her car door and she stepped out.
She’d dressed casually, choosing a bright yellow peasant style blouse, white denim capris and white Keds not knowing what the condition of the house was going to be. It looks like she needn’t have worried. If the exterior’s upkeep was a clue, she knew she wasn’t about to be assailed by dust bunnies. Painful memories were going to be the bigger threat.
She looked up at Mateo. “Okay, I’m here. What’s your proposition?”
He grinned.
How had she forgotten that dimple?
“Sorry, I never conduct business without breakfast. Personal rule.” He turned and headed up the front porch steps, stopping only to wave for her to follow him.
Ava stood staring after him for a moment. Mateo Ortega was so…so…so assured. So confident. So in control, almost to an annoying degree. It would serve him right if she got back in her car and headed off to her office to start her day. But one glance at him holding the door open for her told her what she already knew. Breakfast it was.
She followed after him but hesitated on the top step. She suddenly was filled with trepidation at the thought of going back into her childhood home. House, she corrected herself. It was a house. Not her home anymore. She took a deep breath and stepped into the house.
Ava stood next to Mateo and looked around. From the small entry way she could see into the living room. She pivoted around to get a look down the hallway that led to the two bedrooms. Her feet felt heavy but she forced herself to look into both bedrooms. Her old room was still painted the light purple she’d picked out when she was ten. The color had faded but her memories hadn’t. She could still see the girl she’d been laying on the bed, a stack of books always at hand. How many hours had she spent reading and how many words had she consumed during her pre-teen years? The books had kept her company when her mother was at work. She sighed.
“Ava, are you okay?” Mateo asked.
She glanced up at him, appreciating his gentle quietness. She nodded wordlessly.
“Good,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how hard it would be on you to be back.” He put a hand on the small of her back, his touch light. “Will it be too hard for you to see your Mom’s room?”
She shook her head, a sudden lump in her throat making it hard to speak. Mateo understood. But that shouldn’t surprise her. The entire Ortega family had been amazing during her mother’s illness. Often, in the years following her mother’s death, she’d wondered how she’d have gotten through those dark days without their presence, without their help, or without their kindness.
Mateo moved around her to open the door to the master bedroom and then he stood back to allow her to enter. Ava took a deep breath and stepped into her mother’s room.
The blinds were drawn against the morning sun so it took Ava’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the lack of light. This room, like the others, was empty. Empty of furniture, and to Ava’s immense relief, empty of sadness. Nostalgia and relief hit her at the same moment. The memories she’d expected. But the lack of sadness was a welcome gift, and she was relieved that when she looked into her mother’s room that it didn’t feel like the sickroom it had been in the last few months of her mother’s life. Then the house had felt more like a hospice than a home. Now it felt like a vacant property. It was as if a weight she hadn’t known she was carrying was somehow lifted.
She smiled up to Mateo. “Everything looks great. So clean, so well taken care of too.”
“Tia Sylvia and Tio Oscar kept an eye on the place. If ever a single ocotillo or palm tree needed trimming, they were on the phone to the rental property company.”
Ava smiled gratefully. “Please thank them for me.”
Mateo looked down at her for a long moment. “You can thank them yourself, you know. They’re still your neighbors.”
Ava shook her head. “They’re not. I don’t live here anymore.” Suddenly needing some space, she headed into the kitchen. Everything looked so pristinely clean and orderly. A little dated compared to her condo, but that was to be expected after more than a decade.
“Come sit and have some breakfast, Ava.” Mateo was just behind her now, radiating a quiet confidence that she envied. He sounded so sure of himself, so comfortable in his own skin. But then, he always had.
“There’s no furniture,” she said, but once she turned to face the breakfast nook, she realized she was wrong. A card table with two folding chairs sat squarely in the center of the small space. Fresh white daisies in a mason jar sat in the center of the table, along with two bright red plastic plates and cups. White plastic silverware lay atop red and white gingham paper napkins. She pointed to the table. “What is all of this?”
“Breakfast,” Mateo said as he sidestepped around her and pulled out a folding chair as if he were the head waiter in the finest of dining establishments. “I hope you’re hungry.”
She was, but that was beside the point. She couldn’t let him act like they were on a date without calling him out on it. Last night he’d done the same, and last night she’d fallen into a cozy, easy conversation with him and lost all track of time. But she was certain that making a habit out of it would be a very bad idea. “Don’t you have to be at school?” she countered. “Isn’t a bell ringing somewhere?”
He laughed. “Even the principal is allowed to be tardy sometimes. I have a wonderful support staff, Ava. My kids are in good hands.”
“Your kids?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you had been married.” He certainly hadn’t said a word about a wife, an ex-wife or children last night over dinner.
“No, no wife, no kids. Not yet, anyway.” He motioned again for her to sit in the chair he held out. “I was referring to my students. They’re great kids and we’ve got a wonderful community of learners, educators and parents.”
Ava digested this as she watched Mateo pull a layer of aluminum foil off of her plate. She glanced down at a slice of quiche and fresh fruit, surprised at how hungry she suddenly felt. She appreciated the effort Mateo had put into breakfast, even if she didn’t know why he wanted to meet with her. Or what he wanted to speak to her about. Then a thought struck her. “Mateo, how did you get a key to the house?”
He settled himself in the folding chair opposite her. “Your realtor gave it to me.”
Ava’s eyebrows rose. Jessie should have cleared that with her first. Surely it wasn’t standard practice to give prospective buyers the key to an empty property? Perhaps Jessie had fallen victim to Mateo Ortega’s charm and had made an exception for him. She’d ask later.
“Have some juice.” Mateo poured orange juice into a red plastic cup and handed it to her. “Unless you’d prefer coffee?”
Ava glanced down at the juice, her breakfast, then at the daisies and decided enough was enough. She stared straight into Mateo’s warm brown eyes. “What is it that you want?”
He looked at her for a long moment before he spoke. “I just want you to hear me out.” He held up his hand when she started to speak. “Without interruption.”
After a moment’s consideration, Ava nodded. Whatever it was, she’d hear him out. Mateo was an Ortega, and being back in the house reminded her of what an important part the entire Ortega family had played in her early life. She owed them. “I’m listening.”
**
Mateo felt surprisingly nervous now that he finally had Ava’s attention. In his mind, when he’d been thinking of just the right way to approach her, everything had seemed so much more straightforward. Now, not so much.
“Mateo,” Ava said, “What is it that you really want from me?”
“A favor.” He bit his lip. This wasn’t the time to turn back. “I want to get married.”
Ava sat back in her folding chair. “Married? I guess congratulations are in order.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Not really. I mean, yes. Maybe after she agrees to marry me.”
“So you wanted to see me about the house?”
“This isn’t about the house, Ava. It’s about us.”
Her eyes widened. Not a good sign. He spoke quickly to cut off the protest he knew she was about to make.
“Ava, my abuelo is sick. He has cancer.”
He watched her face transform from frustration to compassion as his words sunk in.
“Oh, Mateo, I’m sorry. Truly I am. Last night you mentioned he hadn’t been well but I didn’t think you meant anything like this.”
When she reached across the table and touched his hand, he felt a rush of warmth spread throughout him. The feeling gave him courage to forge ahead. “We are all heartsick. Ava, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when he’s gone.”
She nodded. She knew. It was as if they were members of a painful club, those who had lost loved ones to cancer.
He blew out the air in his lungs, trying to no avail to relieve the pain pressing on his heart. “The cancer is at a very advanced stage and Abuelo has only a few months to live, if that.”
“Where is he?” Ava asked, her voice low and laced with compassion. “Has he been moved to hospice yet?”
He shook his head. “No. He’s at home, next door with Tia Sylvia and her family. He insists he wants to stay at home as long as possible.”
She nodded, her eyes filled with understanding. “Just like my mother.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Mateo was grateful for Ava’s compassionate response to his news but he was unsure what to say next.
“Mateo,” Ava said, “Listen, I know there isn’t much that matters that I can do but I think I see what you were asking. You and your fiancée want to move in here right away to be close to your grandfather. I completely understand.”
“You do?”
“Of course, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. Let’s put a rush on the paperwork and in the meantime you two are welcome to move in as soon as you’d like.”
Mateo smiled and squeezed her hand. “Thank you for understanding. I know Abuelo will be happy to have us close. You should have seen his face when I told him I was engaged. It’s impossible to put into words how thrilled he was, he said it was a dream come true.”
Ava nodded. “I think it’s a wonderful way for him to spend his last days, watching you begin a new life with your new wife.”
“I’m more grateful than I can say, Ava.” Mateo stood but didn’t release his hold on her hand. He liked the feel of it in his. “So I guess the next thing to do would be to tell my fiancée that we’ll be moving in.”
“Seems like the next logical step,” she agreed. “I’ll just get out of your way so you can make the call.”
“No, no need to go.” He drew Ava to her feet and took her hands in his. “Ava, we’re moving in.”
Incredulous, she stared up at him for a moment. “What?”
It was now or never. Mateo took a deep breath. “Ava, will you marry me?”
Chapter Four
Ava stared up at Mateo. “Have you lost your mind?”
“That’s not the answer I was hoping for,” Mateo said. “Ava, I’m serious. I want you to agree to marry me.”
“And I need you to snap back into reality.” Ava looked around the small kitchen, at the table with a carefully prepared breakfast, and then finally back at the man who stood before her for some clue as to what was happening. “What is going on?”