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“Whatever,” Aine said under her breath.
“Don’t leave in a huff,” said Ava, following Aine to the front door.
“I’ll come back later,” she said, closing the door behind her.
Aine looked up when she heard the sound of the electric front gate opening, wishing she could get down the steps and into the other front door before Striker saw her, but knowing she couldn’t. Instead, she took a deep breath and waited while he parked. The least she could do was say hello, like an adult, as her sister had suggested.
“Hi,” she said when he got out of the car and walked toward her.
“Hi,” he answered, smiling and shaking his head.
Aine’s shoulders tightened. Was he laughing at her? She turned away.
“Wait,” she heard him say before he touched her arm. “Someone told me I was going to see you sooner than I thought I would, and they were right. That’s why I smiled.”
Aine folded her arms, not knowing how to respond.
“This isn’t easy for either of us, Aine, but I’d really like it if we could be friends.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m sorry about the way our last conversation ended.”
What could she say? Her only regret was that they’d talked at all.
“Aine?”
“What, Striker?”
He raised his eyebrows. She’d only ever called him Griffin. “I mean it. I want to be your friend.”
“I can’t do this.”
When he reached out to touch her arm a second time, she shrugged away and punched the code into the keypad on the door. It clicked and she went inside, forcing herself not to look back. If she did, she’d say something she’d regret, or worse, throw her arms around him and beg him to take her back.
When the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and took a deep breath. Could she do this, or should she get on the next plane back to Oregon?
After thirty minutes, she decided her sister was right; she was behaving like an adolescent.
“Hey,” she said, walking back into the kitchen where Ava was feeding Sam.
“Uh, hi,” Ava answered, doing a lousy job of hiding the surprise in her voice.
“You were right. Striker and I dated, and now we’re not, and I need to get over it.”
Her sister raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t. Just accept that I intend to fake it until I make it, and I could use your support.”
“You’ve got it.” Ava set the spoon down on the counter out of Sam’s reach and hugged her. “Sorry about the tough love.”
“I needed to hear it.”
“Want to take Sam into town and do some shopping?”
“Absolutely.” Aine loved the many mom-and-pop shops and restaurants in the seaside village. “Maybe we could have lunch too.”
“I’ll go tell Tabon.” Ava took Sam out of the highchair and handed him to her.
