My mouth opens and closes. “Yes, but…please don’t say a word about it.”
“Erin clued me in a little before you got here…Bruce wouldn’t be happy. I know that much from the way he flipped when I wanted to get to know the Whitmans. He still hasn’t fully recovered.” She makes a face and then looks over at Chloe. “And I have a niece! She’s adorable.”
“Thank you,” I say, turning to smile at Chloe. She’s leaning against Dylan’s chest, looking very cozy.
“It’s been so hard not to talk to you. Milo, Uncle Anthony, and Aunt Kathleen have been great. For the longest, only Milo knew.”
“I need to have a word with him.” I laugh lightly, but it stings that my cousin didn’t let me know about my sister.
“I think Milo’s already barely hanging by a thread with Bruce, dating Goldie.” She looks at Dylan again. “I can see why you’re keeping this quiet. I’ve been surprised by how—what is the right word? Hotheaded?—he can be.”
That makes me laugh, because she’s definitely going easy on him.
“Volatile…unhinged?” I say. “Yeah, he doesn’t think clearly when it comes to the Whitmans.”
I look at Dylan apologetically, but he seems unfazed.
“I found that out the hard way,” Ava says. “Pretty much ended the relationship I thought we were starting.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s just not right. Makes my anger toward him seem petty in comparison. I’ve been trying to work through the anger about him not telling me about you,” I say, facing Ava again. “It’s not working.”
She nods. “We can be mad on alternating days. Schedule it. Share custody of the resentment.”
I snort. “Great idea.”
Then she looks at me and her face changes, her eyesfilling with tears again. “But right now? I’m just…happy. I’m so happy you’re here.”
I hear sniffling and glance at Erin. She rolls her eyes, wiping under them. “Not getting emotional at all.”
Ava leans in again, voice dropping. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What were you like as a kid?”
I swallow, blinking hard.
“Lonely,” I say honestly. “But also imaginative. I spent summers pretending the lake was an ocean and my backyard was a forest and?—”
“And you were a mermaid,” Ava finishes, eyes bright.
My jaw drops. “How did you?—?”
“Because that’s what I was pretending.” She shrugs. “I’m quite a bit older than you, so my mermaid probably didn’t have as much style as your version, but…yeah.”
I laugh, even as tears fill my eyes again.
“I wish I’d known you,” she whispers. “Back then.”
My voice trembles. “Me too.”
Chloe yawns, and we all turn to look at her. She’s about to fall asleep.
Ava takes my hand, squeezing it. “I know you probably need to get her to bed, but can we do this again?” she asks quietly. “I mean—can I know you?”
My heart expands even more.
“Yes,” I say, no hesitation. “Please.”
