Ava rinsed out her coffee mug and glanced for what felt like the hundredth time at the clock on the microwave. Nine forty-eight. She’d showered and dressed and eaten breakfast, brushed her teeth and put on her makeup. Not too much, although she invested more time than usual in the application of those cosmetics, knowing she wanted to look as good as she could in front of Gabriel, even as she chided herself for caring about something so frivolous when she knew he probably wasn’t paying any attention to her appearance. Why should he? With all the important things he had occupying his mind, she doubted she was taking up too much space in there.
Despite all her morning preparations, despite dutifully checking her email and watching the local news and doing anything else she could think of to
