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“No place I’d rather be.”
“Not missing your family?”
“No. My family…”
“You hav
en’t said much about them.”
Striker sat down next to her and pulled her over to his lap. “As you well know, families come with good and bad. I didn’t get much good.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
He interrupted her apology with a kiss, and then rested his forehead against hers. “Like I said, there’s no place I’d rather be.”
“Me too.”
“By the way, where’s your mom?”
“Still at the inn. Peggy doesn’t cook.”
Striker laughed. “Enough said. I think there are too many cooks in those kitchens anyway.”
“I’m not a great cook either.”
“I bet you just say that. I remember some pretty good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You’re probably a great cook.”
Aine laughed. “I think you made them. And, no, I’m terrible. Ava will attest that I should never be allowed in a kitchen. I just offered to help chop the onions to be nice.” Her cheeks turned pink again.
“You don’t have any idea how pretty you are, do you?”
She put her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he heard her murmur.
“Aine, I…”
When he didn’t continue, she looked up at him. “What?”
“Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say.”
She nodded. “You’re lying, but that’s okay.”
He laughed. “I’m just really happy to be here with you. I feel like I’ve said it too many times.”
“You never have to apologize for saying you’re happy to be with me, Griffin.”
“I need to ask you something, though.”
Her eyes were still focused on his. “Okay.”
“We really haven’t talked about it, and we should have, before now, before I got here earlier in the week.”
“Are you about to tell me that your real name isn’t Griffin Ellis?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
Aine laughed. “Earlier when Ava and I were talking to Zary, Ava said all three of us deserve to be happy. We deserve to feel loved and safe. And I added that we deserve to be with men who tell us their real names. I was kidding. Sort of. I mean, my dad…”
“I get it and I agree. You deserve to be happy.”
