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“Hey, big boy,” Aine said, kissing his cheek. Sam rested his head on her shoulder, and serenity ran the length of her body. She never dreamed she could love someone as much as she loved her nephew.
“Striker is downstairs,” Ava told her when she came back up.
“I saw him.”
“Oh.”
“It was fine, Ava. Like you said, no big deal.” It actually had been a big deal, but she had no intention of admitting it.
Ava touched the tip of Sam’s nose with her finger. “Ready to go shopping?”
Sam smiled and reached for his mother.
As Aine followed them out to the car, she wondered if Striker would still be at the house when they got back.
The village of Cambria was separated into two parts by a long block of open space. Ava suggested they spend the morning on the north side, have lunch, and then spend the afternoon in the southern part of town.
“We should stop by Stave and pick up a bottle of wine before we go back to the house later,” suggested Ava.
“Good idea,” answered Aine, hoping that when they did, they’d see Alex and Peyton.
Alex was married to Doc’s younger brother Maddox, and Peyton was married to another of his brothers, Brodie. Since they both had little ones, they weren’t there very often. The tasting room served wine from Doc’s family’s winery, Butler Ranch, as well as from Alex’s family’s Los Caballeros. From what Aine understood, they also featured wine from several other regional wineries.
“Don’t forget Christmas is a little over a month away,” Ava reminded her when Aine took full advantage of lavishing presents on her nephew at both the bookshop and toy store. “You could save some of these gifts and give them to Sam then.”
“Or I could come back and buy more.”
Ava smiled and shook her head. “You’re going to spoil him.”
“That’s the idea.”
By the time they came out of the kitchen-gadget store, Aine was starving. “Can we eat at the place next door to the garden shop?”
Ava nodded and answered, “It isn’t Tabon’s favorite, because it’s strictly vegetarian, so I’m all in.”
They sat on the outdoor patio since there were heat lamps, so they could enjoy the restaurant’s lush gardens.
“I want to plant a vegetable garden this year,” Ava told her.
“Where?”
“Good question. I’m not sure how long we’ll be in California.”
“Do you think you’ll be here for Christmas?”
“You say that as though you won’t be.”
“I didn’t plan to be gone that long.”
“But…never mind.”
“Say it, Ava.”
“No offense, but it isn’t like you have anything to get back to.”
“How nice. I guess you’ve forgotten that I have a boyfriend.”
“Is that the only reason you’d go back?”
