Chapter 118

Ava’s POV

I’d been nervous before.

Nervous before work presentations, before interviews, before seeing Ezra again but this, this was a different kind of nerves.

Dinner with Alex and Emily.

The four of us at one table. The thought was almost absurd, like we were characters in some play where every line carried the weight of the past.

Ezra’s hand found mine as we stepped into the restaurant.

His grip was steady, grounding, and I clung to it like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

“You’re quiet,” he murmured as the host led us through the dimly lit space.

“I’m trying not to throw up,” I admitted, and that earned a soft laugh from him.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, but I could feel the tension in him too. His shoulders were a little too stiff, his jaw a little too tight.

The host stopped at a corner booth and there they were.

Alex looked up first, his expression unreadable, though I saw the flicker of surprise,