I self-consciously ran my fingers through my tousled hair. “Well, what are you here to talk about?” I asked, trying to squash the awkward silence we’d fallen into. We couldn’t just stand here and stare at each other all night.
“Look, I’m not here to fight,” he began.
“Shame,” I said. “I was looking forward to going a few rounds.”
He gave me a sharp look, much like he used to when we were kids and I said something outrageous. The tiniest smile threatened to blossom, but I held it back.
After a beat, he chuckled. The low, smooth sound carried around the room and hit me right in the stomach. My abdominal muscles clenched.
“You haven’t changed one bit,” he said as if small talk would help us avoid the minefield that I knew was lying somewhere in our path.
I shrugged. “Good.”
“Are your parents still in Springfield?"
My eyebrows furrowed. “Of course. They’re practically built into that town.”
He smiled.
His parents had moved years ago. I heard Lincoln bought them a fancy house down in the Florida Keys. His mom always wanted to retire in Florida. I hated how entwined our families were… and how entwinedwewere.
“Did your dad ever fix that snowblower your mom begged him to give up on for three winters straight?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. My old man fancied himself a bit of a mechanic. He created more disasters than he ever fixed. Those three winters were comedy gold for Lincoln, Ethan, and me. My amusement didn’t last long. I almost choked on my next giggle because being reminded of how terribly things ended between us was like a stab in the heart. Before Lincoln and I ever foolishly thought we were meant to be, we were friends.
“He finally brought a new one and claimed the old one was out of style, anyway.”
He snorted. “Sounds like your dad.”
“What is this, Lincoln?” I asked, starting to feel agitated. We were getting too close to digging up the past, and I didn’t like it.
His eyes collided with mine. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t just come here to make small talk, did you? Or did you come to warn me about being too nosy again?” He gave me the impression he hated that I was in LA. That was why I decided to ignore the rumors I’d heard about drug use at Jaden’s party. For one, Lincoln was already riding my ass about asking too many questions. Besides, maybe minding my business—and Jaden’s—was for the best. Allan would be pissed if I got sidetracked.
“No…” His eyebrows furrowed. “At the party, I didn’t mean to come off…”
“Like such an asshole?”
He sighed. “Ava, come on. I’m trying here. Can’t you just work with me?”
I folded my arms. “On what exactly?"
“I’m trying to catch up…”
I made a little sound that bordered on disgust and disbelief. “Oh, really? You mean you forgot where I lived for twelve years? You know, my phone number changed only a couple of years ago.”
His jaw flexed, and his nostrils flared. “Hey,youtold me to never call you again.”
“I was nineteen, pissed, and hurt!” I threw my arms up in sheer frustration.
He stared at me for a while, and I saw the rising anger bleed out of his eyes and shoulders. “Ava… I…”
“Just forget it, Lincoln. We don’t need to catch up. Okay? I moved on a long time ago, and I’m sure you did, too.”
His eyes skated away from mine. “Yeah, I heard you got engaged.”
When his gaze dropped to my left hand, a subtle crease appeared between his eyebrows. I curled my fingers, wanting to hide from him. There was no ring, and I was afraid he’d start asking questions, so I snapped.
