“I offered.”
Awkward silence fell between us as I pretended to study the whisky bottles behind William’s counter.
“So … how are you both?”
“Good.”
“How is Ally really doing? You know, after the chickens? She was pretty upset.”
“She’s getting there. Even talking about getting more chickens.”
“Oh, that’s good. How are you?”
I frowned and repeated, “Good.”
Aria snorted. “You’re not big on the talking, huh?”
I shrugged, not sure what she wanted me to say.
She leaned in. “I just want Ally to be happy. To settle down. To stop … to stop doing impulsive stuff.”
“Impulsive stuff?” I bit out.
“Look, you don’t know Allegra’s history. But this is not the first time she’s done something insane and paid for it. I don’t want her getting hurt again.” Concern etched Aria’s features. “I’m worried that she’s just built to self-destruct. I don’t want that to be true … so I really hope that whatever is going on between you works out. For both of you.”
Agitation thrummed through me. It was seriously difficult to keep my tongue in check. Because Allegra was right. As much as her sister might love her, she didn’t know her. Aye, she didn’t know the real reason Allegra went off the rails in high school, but it was clear she’d started to believe Allegra was just a fuck-up.
And fuck that.
I scoffed. “You don’t need to worry about Allegra self-destructing. The mere fact that you are tells me that in less than two months, I know and understand Allegra more than you ever tried to in twenty-five years.”
Aria’s jaw dropped just as William returned to the counter.
“How much?” I asked abruptly.
William frowned at my tone and told me.
I swiped my card over the payment terminal, feeling Aria’s eyes on me but refusing to look at her. Thanking William gruffly, I grabbed the bag with the bottles of NA and strode out of the shop.
A few seconds passed and I heard her heels on the cobbles behind me. “Jared, wait!”
Anger still thrummed hotly in my blood, but I stopped. Aria rounded me. The woman was taller than me in her sky-high shoes. Indignation snapped in her green eyes. I’d always found her a bit too cold and aloof for my tastes, but right then, she wasas fiery as her sister as she growled, “What the hell does that mean?”
I shrugged. “Just what I said.”
“No one knows Ally better than me.”
I gave a bark of incredulous laughter and I moved to pass her. “You know fuck all about Allegra.”
Aria gripped my biceps. “What don’t I know?”
Shrugging out of her hold, I gave her a hard look. “Everything.”
I’d barely given her my back when she pleaded in a broken voice, “Jared, please.”
Instant remorse cut through me when I glanced back and saw the tears she struggled to hold in.
Damn it. I’d never seen Aria Hunter anything but composed, cool, and intimidatingly assertive. Seeing her vulnerable made me feel like an arse.
