Three Little Words Read Free

advisor, had turned it into a weekly he-said/she-said column. Somehow they’d never run out of topics to argue about.
    They weren’t mortal enemies or anything. They’d simply had a knack for annoying the other, getting under each other’s skin, and amusing readers in the process.
    Ava had turned away from him, begun messing with her phone, when the nurse returned. She directed her apologetic answer at Seth. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Lang is asleep in the chair beside Mr. Lang’s bed. I didn’t want to wake her. Mr. Lang is sleeping, as well. You could wait around, but visiting hours are over.”
    In other words, better luck next time.
    Unfortunately, he had that meeting at the bank tomorrow. There wouldn’t be a next time—not on this trip, anyway. And apparently the same held true for Ava.
    “Thank you for checking.” The dejected slant to Ava’s voice almost made him feel bad for teasing just now.
    The nurse sighed. “You heard me say Mr. Lang is sleeping , right? He’s sleeping . . . comfortably.”
    Clearly that was as close to an update as they were going to get. He didn’t know about Ava, but it buoyed him, at least. Ava only nodded, gave him a stoic “See ya,” and started down the hallway.
    He followed. “Wait, let me walk you to your car.”
    She stopped at the elevator door. “Seth—”
    “Didn’t you learn back in college it was futile to argue with me? I always win.” He popped into the elevator, knowing she’d follow, knowing she wouldn’t be able to help herself.
    The few times they’d actually seen each other in person in college, she’d never seemed to warm to him, was constantly saying each weekly column was her last. “ I’m sick of arguing with you, Seth Walker. You’re a pain.” But she always came back for the next argument.
    “You do not always win.” The closing door accompanied her hurled retort. “We wrote a total of fifty-six columns, every one accompanied by an online poll.”
    “I remember, Kingsley. I was there.” He punched the ground-floor button.
    “Of those fifty-six polls, the student body sided with me thirty-two times.”
    “Probably because you’re a pretty girl. And you were dating the star quarterback.”
    The doors closed at the same time as he clamped his mouth closed. Shouldn’t have brought up Ryan. What was he thinking? He’d seen how she reacted back at the dance.
    But instead of stiffening or slumping or frowning, a steady grin spread over her face. “You just called me a pretty girl.”
    “I didn’t mean—”
    “Don’t try to take it back, Walker. You said it.”
    “Yeah, well—”
    But before he could finish his argument, the elevator lurched. The lights overhead flickered. Once. Twice. Another lurch.
    And then dark stillness.
    “Uh . . . Seth?” Ava’s voice wobbled.
    Whoa. Freaky. He swallowed. “You all right?”
    “Are we stuck?”
    “Appears that way.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed to unlock it. No service, but at least the light helped him find the Emergency button. Seconds later a voice came over an intercom telling them maintenance had already been alerted.
    “Sit tight. We’ll have you on the move soon.”
    He dropped his phone back in his pocket.
    “Now what?” Ava’s voice came out tinny and concerned.
    “We wait, I guess.”
    He heard her shaky inhale, felt her tension even from feet away. He inched to her side, reached out his hand . . . felt her fingers.
    She jerked her hand away. “What’re you doing?”
    “I thought you were scared. I was gonna—”
    “Hold my hand? Ewww.”
    “Well, I’m sorry, but you’re over there half hyperventilating, and—”
    “Because I’ve always been afraid of getting stuck in an elevator. But that doesn’t mean I want you to hold my hand.”
    She better not think he’d meant anything more than kindness in the gesture. “What happens when you get claustrophobic? Do you faint? Are you going to start screaming any minute? At least we’re