Digest: Speaking of GL, what's in store for Ava?
Smith: She has her eye back on Coop again. She's hoping to get back together with him. She's really focusing on working for Alan Spaulding and really spending her time getting over Alan-Michael. I don't know which direction they're going to go with Ava, to be honest with you. I would love it if Coop and Ava could fall in love on the show and have a huge wedding! We need more young people on the show to get married.

Digest: Any words to share about Michael Dempsey's (ex-Alan-Michael) departure?
Smith: I'm really sad that we lost Michael. I really enjoyed working with him. One of the great things about daytime is that people come back all the time and I don't think it's good-bye. I think our paths are going to cross at some point and I hope that I get a chance to work with him again. I really enjoyed him. He's such a nice guy and a wonderful family man. I'm bummed out.

Digest: Does Ava have a potential dark side?
Smith: I think Ava's not necessarily going to become like Olivia, but I do believe she's going to start experimenting with the power she has [at Spaulding], becoming a little bit more manipulative. Ava's realizing she has quite a lot in common with her mother. That could be a really fun and interesting storyline if they work as a tag team together.

Digest: Can you give us a taste of what's in store for her plans to keep Coop away from Ashlee?
Smith: I think that you're going to see that Ava's intelligent and crafty in the way that she wants to keep Coop away from Ashlee. She's not 100 percent selfish, but she's riding the line 50/50.

Digest: If things don't work out with Coop, who else do you think could be a love interest for Ava?
Smith: I don't think there's anyone other than Coop. There's so many different ways this could go. I think Cyrus could be fun [for her] to hang out with.