And maybe it was because of how things had changed between us recently—and the fact that I was now hyperaware of everyone who looked her way—but I noticed something I hadn’t before. Ava was acknowledged, but never spoken to.
It happened twice more over the next hour. People coming to see Drew, people coming to see me, and Ava getting the “oh, hey!” tacked on at the end, or a simple up nod. People were always pleasant to her, but she was always secondary to us.
She never reacted. Just smiled and returned to her notes each time like it didn’t bother her.
But her lack of reaction told me everything. This wasn’tnew for her. This was just her life. It wasn’t like she was invisible, but she wasn’t the focus.
And I don’t know why that bothered me so much, but now that I’d noticed it, I couldn’t seem to stop.
“Have you heard from Mom and Dad?” Ava asked after a while, her voice tentative.
The fallout with Drew’s parents over his relationship with Harper Tinsley had been far worse than I’d expected. The Dumontiers had always been a close-knit family. The fact that they’d let the Tinsley/Dumontier feud hurt their relationship with their son was crazy to me.
But Drew had made it clear he wasn’t giving her up, even if it meant not talking to his parents.
“Nope,” Drew said, popping theplike he didn’t care, but I knew he did.
“Drew,” Ava started.
“What?” He looked up from his flashcards, jaw tight. “They haven’t called, and I’m not going to be the one to break first. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ava sighed, setting down her highlighter. “I’m not saying you did. Are you still planning to stay here this summer?”
“Yes.” The word came out hard, making it clear it wasn’t up for further discussion. “I’m not playing happy family with people who can’t accept that I’m in love with Harper. I’d rather stay here and spend the summer with her.”
Drew had always been intense—about hockey and protecting the people he cared about—but this was different. This was a guy who’d drawn a line in the sand and refused to back down, even if it cost him.
“They’ll come around eventually,” Ava said softly. “They’re just stubborn.”
“Yeah, well. So am I.” Drew’s expression softened slightly when he looked at his sister. “You’re still going home though, right? Working at the dance studio in Meadowbrook?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Good. Someone should keep an eye on them. Make sure Dad doesn’t work himself into an early grave and Mom doesn’t redecorate the entire house out of boredom.” He paused. “Just—don’t let them guilt you into taking sides, okay? This is between me and them.”
“I know.” Ava reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I’ve got your back. Always.”
Drew turned to me. “What about you? You doing the construction thing for my dad again?”
“Yeah, he offered and the money’s good.” I shrugged. “Tony at the rink also asked me to run the kids hockey camp this summer. It’s just a few days a week, like the camps we did as kids. Should be fun.”
“Wait, seriously?” Drew looked genuinely interested. “That’s cool, man. I didn’t know you were into coaching.”
“Eh, figured it’d be fun to give back, and it’s not like I’ve got a ton going on this summer. It’s just fundamentals—skating, passing, shooting. Nothing crazy.”
“I’d offer to help, but…” Drew gestured vaguely, and I knew what he meant. Because of this rift with his parents, he needed to work this summer at the gym, and all his free time would be spent with Harper and Rory.
“If you ever want to drop by, the kids would lose their minds. Campus hockey star showing up to teach them how to deke?” I grinned. “You’d be a god.”
Drew laughed. “Maybe. We’ll see how the summer shakes out.”
We all went back to studying for our finals, and I wasn’tsure how much time passed when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Ava
Looks like it’ll just be you and me in Meadowbrook this summer.
I stared at the message.
