Challenge Accepted

Sitting across from Roy, the man who had captured her mother's heart, the man who had somehow brought all these other women into her house, was more than a little awkward.

Especially after last night.

Ava had not exactly planned on having breakfast with him. Getting up early was normal enough. She liked running before the rest of the world was properly awake, when the streets were quiet and the air still had that coolness that disappeared once the day got going. After getting back from her run, she'd expected to grab something quick, shower, and get on with her morning.

Instead, Roy had been sitting in the kitchen.

Everyone else was still asleep, including her mother. That was hardly surprising. Not only was it early, but the way the woman had carried on in the bedroom the night before had made it pretty obvious that sleeping in was going to be necessary.

Ava had heard them. Hell, half the neighbourhood probably heard them. There really wasn't any avoiding it. The house wasn't exactly built for privacy when someone's headboard sounded like it was trying to escape through the wall.

Walking into the kitchen and locking eyes with Roy had produced an awkward little moment neither of them seemed prepared for. Panic had crossed his face first.

Then relief.

Ava wasn't entirely sure what he'd been expecting. Maybe he had thought she'd be weird around him. Maybe he had been worried that knowing what had happened upstairs would change things between them. And who could blame her if it did? Before her mom started dating Roy, home life had been pretty predictable. Now there were three potential roommates, her mother had apparently fallen head over heels for a man who had several other girlfriends, and the master bedroom was going to become a nightly sound effect.

Still, the other women weren't really a problem. In fact, they seemed great. Michelle especially. If Ava had met Michelle under any other circumstances, she was pretty sure the two of them would have become friends almost immediately. They liked a lot of the same music. They liked a lot of the same movies. They had enough in common that conversations with Michelle never felt forced.

Their taste in men was apparently a different story.

Not that Roy was all that bad. At first, Ava hadn't understood what her mother saw in him. He just hadn't seemed like her type. Her mom could have practically any man she wanted. Jessica was beautiful, clever, successful and confident. She walked into a room and somehow made it feel as though she belonged there more than everyone else.

So why Roy?

Maybe the answer was sitting right across from her. Roy drank his coffee quietly while Ava picked at her avocado toast. There was something almost disarming about the way he occupied the kitchen. He didn't seem to need attention. He wasn't trying to impress her or fill every silence with conversation.

The longer Ava watched him, the more she started to understand.

Roy wasn't movie-star handsome. He was something else. His face was gentler than she'd first noticed. His eyes were kind, too. That was probably the word she would have chosen if someone had asked her to describe him.

Kind.

When Roy looked at someone, it felt as though he actually saw them. Not just what they were wearing or how attractive they were or whether they could do something for him. There was an attention in his expression that made Ava feel as though he might notice something about her that even she hadn't figured out yet.

That was weird.

It was also kind of nice.

Then there was his body. Ava had always assumed that being fit was part of being attractive. Running had made her feel better about herself, and she liked knowing that her body could handle whatever she asked it to do. Ricky worked out constantly, too. He liked showing off his abs and talking about his workouts and generally behaving as though his reflection was his biggest fan.

Sitting across from Roy, though, Ava found herself reconsidering that whole idea. Roy wasn't tall. He wasn't lean. He had a soft stomach that pushed gently against his shirt when he sat down. And somehow, that didn't bother her nearly as much as she thought it should. Actually...

Ava stared at him for a moment too long before looking back down at her toast.

Maybe there was something appealing about a man who didn't seem to be constantly worried about whether everyone thought he looked good. Ricky was always showing off. Roy didn't seem to have anything to prove. The thought lingered.

A man like Roy seemed comfortable with himself. There was something reassuring about that, something Ava hadn't realized she found attractive until now. Her thoughts wandered further before she could stop them. For one strange second, she imagined what it would be like to sit beside Roy rather than across from him. To lean against him. To touch him. To feel that softness for herself.

Ava blinked.

What the hell?

The daydream vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Her attention snapped back to the kitchen, where Roy was still drinking his coffee, apparently oblivious to the brief little detour her brain had taken.

Ava lowered her eyes to her toast.

Okay.

That had been weird.

Roy was attractive. She could admit that now. Maybe even very attractive. But he was also her mother's boyfriend. And Ava already had a boyfriend of her own.

Ricky.

That should have settled the matter. Instead, it made something in her stomach twist. She was supposed to see him that morning. Ava frowned.

Did she actually want to?

The question hadn't occurred to her yesterday. Ricky had always just been Ricky. Her boyfriend. The guy she'd expected to keep dating because that was what happened when you were dating someone you liked. Except suddenly, the idea of spending the morning with him felt exhausting.

Ricky was fun. He was energetic. He was good-looking. He was also kind of a show-off. Ava had never really thought much about that before. Now she couldn't stop noticing it.

Maybe eighteen changed things. Maybe turning eighteen had made her look at her life differently. She wasn't a kid anymore. At least, that's what everyone kept telling her. So why was she still dating someone who sometimes acted like one?

The thought was uncomfortable. Maybe she was outgrowing Ricky. Maybe she was starting to want something different. Something more serious. Something that didn't revolve around showing off at the gym, taking selfies, or arguing about which restaurant had the best burgers.

Ava looked across the table again.

Roy took another sip of coffee.

Something about him seemed... settled. Mature. Not old. Definitely not old. Just like he knew who he was. Maybe that was what she wanted.

Not Roy specifically.

Probably.

Hopefully.

But a man like Roy? Ava wasn't so sure that idea was ridiculous anymore.

Roy finished his coffee and stood. The scrape of his chair against the floor pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I've got to get to work early," he said. His voice was quiet and friendly. "Hopefully I'll see you later, kiddo. Tell your mom I said goodbye."

Ava smiled automatically.

"Sure."

Roy put his dishes in the dishwasher, gave her one last smile and headed out. The front door closed. Silence settled over the kitchen. Ava's smile disappeared.

Kiddo.

She stared at the doorway.

"Kiddo?"

Ugh.

That was not how she wanted to be seen. Maybe she was doing something wrong. Maybe Roy simply couldn't see her as anything other than Jessica's daughter because that was how he'd first met her.

But Ava was eighteen! She was a woman! A young woman, sure, but still. And if Roy was going to be around for the foreseeable future, she didn't want him looking at her like she was some little kid tagging along behind her mom.

The thought irritated her far more than it probably should have, but it had taken root and now had begun to grow.

Picking up her phone, Ava unlocked it and opened her conversation with Ricky. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard. Then she typed.

She stared at it.

Then added:

Send.

No response came.

Ava hadn't expected one. Ricky was almost certainly still asleep. Oddly, she didn't care. The moment the message disappeared, Ricky was already fading from her thoughts. No guilt. No second-guessing. Not even much curiosity about what excuse she'd eventually give him.

For once, Ava had an entire day ahead of her.

She could go for another run later. Maybe do some shopping. Maybe talk to Michelle. Maybe figure out exactly what she was feeling before making any stupid decisions.

And there was still dinner. Ava's eyes drifted towards the stairs. If her mom invited Roy over again that night, she'd have another chance to spend time with him. A chance to show him that she wasn't a kid. A chance to show him that she was eighteen. A chance, maybe, to figure out why the idea of that mattered so much to her.

A small smile crept back across her face.

A whole day open for her, and a man to impress. It was a good thing she liked a challenge.