Kiki sent backYou are! Just let me know if you need somebody to come shove her off her high horse.
Regan grinned.I’ll keep it in mind.
The bathroom door opened then, so she sent a good night and set her phone down.
“All yours,” Ava said with—was that a tiny smile?
“Cool.” Regan grabbed her stuff and scurried into the bathroom.
* * *
Ava rubbed the towel against her damp hair as she watched Regan close the bathroom door behind her. She blew out a breath, only then realizing the underlying stress of sharing a room with somebody she’d had fired. Several years ago or not, warranted or not (it was), it was still ultra uncomfortable to share space with somebody who didn’t like her.
It was really only because of the day’s whirlwind of work and unexpected information that she’d been able to set it all aside and focus on why she was there.
That’s what I need to keep doing, she said to herself as she rubbed lotion into her legs.Remembering why I’m here. I earned this spot. Ideserveto be here.
And apparently, so did Regan.
While she found that hard to believe, she had to admit that it was possible for people to grow and change and learn, and it had been years since they’d worked together. And Liza Bennett-Schmidt was a well-known stickler for competence and creativity. She’d have never accepted Regan if she didn’t have what it took.
Bit of a hard pill for Ava to swallow, but there it was.
With a sigh, she plugged in her blow-dryer and sat at the desk, which she’d arranged as a vanity instead, as there was a mirror on the wall above it. She was almost finished drying her hair when Regan exited the bathroom. Ava’s back was to her, but she could see her in the reflection, boxer shorts leaving a lot of leg that Ava had to force herself not to stare at.
It would certainly be helpful if Regan wasn’t a woman who was fun to look at.
Hair dry, she unplugged her dryer and wrapped the cord around it, then set it to one side. She moisturized her face, then arranged all her toiletries in a neat row before she stood up and pushed her chair in.
Regan was already under the covers, and Ava could feel her eyes on her. When she glanced over, Regan gave her a small smile.
“Hey, congratulations on your carrot cake. It was really good.” Ava’s shock must’ve been visible because Regan snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so surprised.” Then she turned off her bedside lamp and rolled over, and that was the end of that.
“Thank you,” Ava said quietly.
Sleep was elusive. It always was when she slept in a new place, in a new bed. Plus, she was used to the constant soundtrack of the noise of New York City. Here in the Catskills, it was disturbingly quiet. She saw 1:00 a.m. on her phone. Then 2:17. She must have finally dropped off because the next thing she knew, Regan was shuffling around and headed into the bathroom.
It was 5:27.
Ava stared at the ceiling for a moment before accepting that there would be no more sleeping for her. Tossing off the covers, she got up, pulled her leggings and a hoodie from the drawer, and got dressed. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, found her Nikes, and tucked her phone into the hoodie’s front pocket, then headed out.
The mansion was surprisingly quiet, nobody in the dining room. She wasn’t quite ready for coffee yet. What she wanted was fresh air, so she let herself out the front door. While the sun wasn’t fully up—and wouldn’t be for another twenty minutes, according to her weather app—it was light enough for her to wander without worrying about getting lost.
The grounds were huge. She’d noticed a large pond in the back when looking out one of the windows, so she headed in that direction, hoping to be able to walk around it. The quiet in the house extended to the outdoors, though she noticed the birdsong beginning to pick up as the sun crept toward the horizon.
Ava loved spring. The whole concept of it—clean slate, new beginnings—was something she could get behind. God knew she was ready for that kind of thing for herself. She was in a rut. Career-wise. Creatively. Emotionally. Relationship-wise. She was beyond ready to dig herself out of it. She just wasn’t sure how and had hoped maybe learning from one of her baking idols could help. She hadn’t expected the competition part. The financial possibilities. She’d felt fairly calm and confident upon her arrival, but now…?
Ignoring the dew on her sneakers, she kept walking toward the pond, then stopped when she saw deer. A mama and her two fawns were grazing on the fresh young grass that ran in a lush circle around the pond, and the sight was honestly almost surreal. The sun peeked over the horizon behind them as they munched…it was breathtaking. Ava stayed completely still and just watched until they moved along. Shewas no stranger to wildlife, having grown up in the suburbs in upstate New York, but she’d been in New York City for more than a decade now, so seeing deer in their natural habitat, just enjoying breakfast and not worrying about getting hit by a car or shot by a hunter, gave her a peace in her heart she hadn’t felt in a while now.
As she did a couple laps around the small pond, she felt herself relax. She was good at carrying and handling stress. Too good, actually. She was so good at it that she didn’t realize when it was too much. And she’d been dangerously close to “too much” when she’d been accepted to this retreat. She hadn’t even realized it then, but she did now: These eight weeks were exactly what she needed. Despite the fact that they were ending up slightly different than she’d expected when she got there, they were still time away from her stressful job and an opportunity to learn from the best.
She’d take it.
On her way back around the mansion, she came upon a van pulling up the driveway. When it stopped, Ava recognized the assistants stepping out. They waved and shouted good mornings to her as they headed inside, and Ava hadn’t realized they weren’t staying on the property with the rest of them. Maybe there just wasn’t enough room.
Whatever. The walk and fresh air had done their job. Ava felt awake, invigorated, and ready to face the day. And when she got back to her room, Regan was gone, which she didn’t want to be relieved by but was.
“All right,” she said quietly to the empty room as she gathered clean clothes for the day and headed toward the bathroom. “Let’s kick this day in the ass.”
