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She turned to find him watching her, his arms folded over his chest. Though his expression was shuttered, an emotion gleamed in his eyes that she’d never seen before.
Envy?No. What reason did Hunter have to envy her?
“Come on.” She tilted her head toward the door. “I’ll bet you didn’t know there’s a secret to Mariposa Street.”
“I didn’t.” Hunter followed her outside to the van. “What is it?”
“I’m not going to tell you.” She shot him a sideways glance and pulled open the driver’s side door. “It’s something only the property owners know.”
“So, what if I ask Lois or Gary?” He climbed into the passenger seat.
“They won’t tell you either.” She pushed the key into the ignition. “Destiny won’t tell you even if you flirt with her. I guarantee it.”
“You sound smug.”
“It might be nice to have something over you for a change.”
“Does the secret involve a curse or a wicked spell?”
“I wish.”
She caught his glance. Heat simmered underneath a twinkle of amusement before he turned to pull on his seatbelt. She drove back to the Outside Inn and parked along the street.
Hunter opened the door and nodded toward the ramshackle old inn. “Does this place have a secret, too? Or is it just the Mariposa buildings?”
“There are a lot of secrets in Bliss Cove.” Aria experienced a brief misgiving about showing him the Outside Inn secret. It wasn’t a good idea to let him in any further or to pretend like there wasn’t a huge obstacle between them.
But maybe if he actually knew more about her and Bliss Cove, he’d understand why she was so opposed to the Imperial plan. Maybe he’d even back off a little.
“Follow me.” She hopped out of the van. “I’ll show you this secret.”
She crossed to the front of the inn. A sagging picket fence lined the perimeter of the front yard, and an old wooden sign hung beside the mailbox.
Aria paused at the border of the lawn and pointed to a section of the sidewalk, where several sets of initials were carved.
“A.A.P.” Hunter squinted at the letters. “Is that you?”
“My sister Rory and I, and a few other friends, snuck out here years ago when they were pouring new concrete.” She shook her head with a smile. “Carving our initials ended up being stupid since it didn’t take people long to figure out who’d done it. The concrete company told Mrs. Higgins they’d redo it, but she wanted to keep it. She said it told people that Bliss Cove was the kind of town where no one minded if kids carved their initials into wet concrete. So they’ve been here ever since.”
“What does the A stand for?” He straightened, resting his hands loosely on his hips.
“Anne.”
“Ariadne Anne Prescott.” He said her name as if he were tasting it. “I like it.”
“My father was a scholar of Greek and Roman history and languages,” Aria explained. “He wanted to name me and my sisters after classical heroines. Calista, Ariadne, and Aurora, except Rory never liked her name, so that’s why she’s Rory. My mother is a big fan of nineteenth-century literature, so our middle names are from the Bronte sisters. Calista Charlotte, Aurora Emily, Ariadne Anne.”
“How did they manage to name you that without knowing they’d have three girls?”
“My mother had a whole list of other options,” Aria explained. “But my father said he just always knew he’d have three girls, like King Lear.”
Hunter chuckled, and the deep vibration sank into Aria’s veins. “Good thing he didn’t want to name you after King Lear’s daughters.”
“Right? We’ve counted our blessings, believe me.”
“So your sister Callie didn’t participate in the concrete art?” He indicated the initials.
“Oh, no. She was way too good for sneaking out at night and vandalizing a square of sidewalk. She was probably at home studying.”
