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“I really do,” Aria said. “Since I can be a bit of a loner, living here ensures that I get some socialization. I mean, I deal with people all the time at work, but that’s in a professional capacity. I’d probably just stick to my home if I lived on my own.”
Gareth leaned a hip against the counter, crossing his arms as he abandoned the water glasses. “Do you not like being around people?”
Having his attention so intently focused on her made Aria want to squirm. His brown eyes were warm, though, not at all judging.
He had obviously changed after work since he now wore a pair of loose worn jeans and a dark blue T-shirt with long sleeves. He didn’t look much like a doctor in the casual wear, but Aria found this version of him just as attractive.
“I don’t mind being around people I know,” she said. “Like these get-togethers. Since I know you—or I’m getting to know you—I feel more comfortable. That’s why Janessa was good for me when we roomed together. She’d take me along to parties where she knew people, and she’d introduce me to them. When I don’t have to rely on introducing myself, it’s a lot easier.”
Gareth nodded. “I have a couple of siblings that are like that.”
“You do?” Aria asked, because she hadn’t gotten that feeling from any of the ones she’d met so far.
“The two that are off at college are more like that. You’ll see that when they come home for the summer.”
“Are you close to them?” Aria asked.
Gareth nodded. “Now that I’m done with med school and residency, I’ve tried to cultivate a relationship with each of my siblings, though admittedly it’s harder to maintain that when they’re not here.”
Aria had no idea what it must be like to have so many people in a family. She would have been happy with just one sibling who would have been able to help her shoulder the burden of her mom’s sickness and the financial debt she had been left with after her mom had passed away.
Her thoughts went briefly to the test she’d taken at one of the DNA sites. She’d received notification that her results were back, but she hadn’t gone to the site to check what they were. Though she’d continued to receive emails from the company, she’d ignored them all without checking to see if they were actually notifications of a DNA connection or just generic emails about their services.
“I’m surprised you all seem to get along so well,” she said, pushing aside those thoughts. “With so many different personalities, I would think there’d be more conflicts.”
“Oh, there are,” Gareth said with a laugh. “You’re right. We do have a lot of unique personalities. Mom and Dad didn’t always step in to separate us when we argued or fought. They said we had to learn how to deal with our differences, and to work through whatever we were arguing about, making sure that when all was said and done, we were each in a good place.”
“Who did you fight with the most?”
Gareth grinned. “I bet you think I’m going to say Jay, but that wasn’t the case. We did have conflict, for sure, but I think Kayleigh and I argued the most.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“Since we were barely two years apart, she often felt that she should get things at the same time I did. She’d also get mad if I was allowed to do things, and she wasn’t. Sometimes, she’d take what I’d been given without asking, then she’d use it or hide it. So yeah, we had a lot of fights.”
“You seem to get along fine now,” Aria said. “From what I’ve seen, anyway.”
“We do,” Gareth agreed. “I think we worked out most of our differences growing up. Once I left for college, we began getting along much better.”
“Who are you closest to now?”
Gareth seemed to consider the question, which surprised Aria. She’d have thought he’d have an answer right away. “Really depends on the situation. I find I spend the most time with Kayleigh, Charli, and Janessa, so I’m probably closest to them.”
Though Aria already had a friendship with Janessa, she found that she really liked Charli as well. She was grateful that she got along well with the woman, since she was living with her. Hopefully, Charli also liked her and didn’t mind her presence in the big house.
“Guess we’d better get these drinks back downstairs,” Gareth said, turning his attention back to the glasses on the counter. He picked up the one empty glass and filled it. “Do you want to grab a couple of these?”
Aria came to the counter and managed to pick up three of the glasses. Gareth had less trouble picking up the remaining three in his larger hands.
“Lead the way,” he said with a nod toward the stairs. “And I’ll try not to trip and give you an inadvertent shower.”
Aria grinned as she headed for the stairs. Since she didn’t want to trip either, Aria kept her gaze on the carpeted stairs that led to the basement.
“Were you fetching water from the lake?” Kayleigh asked as Gareth handed her a glass.
“Or digging a well?” Janessa added when Aria gave her one.
“Or…” Charli began, then laughed. “Never mind. I can’t come up with anything.”
