Spiritual. That was the only way to describe how truly soul-deep she’d felt the connection to Isaiah. That’s the only reason she’d gotten the courage to blurt out the idea she’d been kicking around about leaving with him—and he’d said he was thinking about it. That made it real and she’d been running that scenario through her head today too. But all of that would sound stupid out loud.
“That good, huh?” Ember cackled. “Guess that means you’re babysitting, and none too soon. I’ve been wanting to check out this bar in Bastrop, so it’s perfect timing.”
“A bar?” Havana wrinkled her nose. “That’s a dumb place to troll for a man.”
“I’m not trolling for anything,” she shot back. “It’s field research. I’m thinking of opening my own place. What makes you think I’m hot for a man anyway? They’re all losers.”
“Isaiah’s not,” Aria protested at the same moment Havana said, “Speak for yourself. My fiancé is brilliant. A liquor license is frightfully expensive, so word to the wise if you’re serious.”
That was the first Aria had heard about Ember having permanent plans that involved Superstition Springs. It put a squiggle in her stomach to think that her sister might be here to stay on the eve of Aria deciding it might be time to find her own adventure. Jury was still out on whether she could actually do it, and this new twist threw the concept into an even more uncertain light.
Oh, goodness. Why would she let anything Ember did sway her? She’d never had one lick of consideration for Aria’s feelings on the matter when she’d hightailed it out of town. Havana either. Aria was an adult who could jolly well make her own choices about a future that may or may not include living here.
And she felt daring enough in that moment to do it.
“I am serious,” Ember said as she crossed to the sink to deposit her empty cereal bowl. As she rinsed it out, she called over her shoulder to Havana. “You and Caleb have been recruiting all of us like mad, spouting on about pitching in to make the town viable. This is my contribution, a sure-fire hit. People always like to drink, don’t they?”
“What do you know about running a bar?” Havana asked.
“What do you know about running a town?” Ember countered with raised eyebrows in what Aria did think was a fair point. “I can learn something new, same as you. Thanks for the vote of confidence, by the way.”
Havana sighed. “It wasn’t a vote of no-confidence. Why do you always think I’m not on your side? I’m glad you’re here. This town needs locals far more than new blood, especially those of us who grew up here. We’re the ones who are going to sell the town to newcomers. Right, Aria? I’m counting on you to take the reins on some stuff.”
Just as Havana’s pointed comment sank into Aria’s stomach, coating it with greasy guilt, her sister shifted her gaze to connect with hers. Well, of course she’d think Aria was on board with digging in to make the town a success. Why wouldn’t she? Aria had never breathed a word of her dream to be the one who did the leaving this time.
Wouldn’t they all be in for a shock when she picked up and sailed out of town without a backward glance?
“That’s kind of rich coming from you,” Aria muttered before she could help herself.
Havana did a double take. No shock. Aria never spoke that way to her sister, but maybe it was time for a change around here.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Havana asked, one hand on her hip, and it was nearly comical how much she looked like Ember, who had just said the exact same thing to something Havana had lobbed at her.
“That you never think about how I’m the only one who never left,” she said and apparently it wasn’t only a man who could rile her temper. “You and Ember took off without even a backward
glance. You left me here. And now you’re expecting me to help figure out how to get people to stay?”
“Oh, honey.” Her sister’s mouth crinkled as she absorbed Aria’s ire. “Are you still upset about that?”
“What was your first clue?” she spit out and took a deep breath. Long the peacemaker, she couldn’t keep ruffling feathers. It just wasn’t her style. “I mean, I’m not still upset. It was a long time ago. It’s just…”
How was she supposed to explain that while she’d worked on forgiving Havana and Ember for abandoning her, it didn’t mean she was okay? That it didn’t still affect her. It did. It was one hundred percent the reason she couldn’t figure out whether she was coming or going with Isaiah.
That’s when a knock sounded at the door. Isaiah. Happy to cut off Havana’s laser-eyed focus, Aria’s gaze flew to the still-closed door as she weighed how badly she needed to see him against how quickly she could get her sisters to vacate the premises before she let him in.
Isaiah won, solely because there was little a solid dose of him couldn’t fix. She darted across the living area and let in her caller, who was here to see her.
The moment she flung open the door, Isaiah blew across the threshold and gathered her up in his arms to drop her into a blistering kiss. Every nerve in her body ignited, draining her of all sense of time and place. The man had a wicked way with his mouth that rendered her mute and stupid, but then what did speaking and thinking matter when he was kissing her? She had no interest in either, not when he held her like he’d found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
“That was worth the price of admission.”
Dully, she registered Ember’s sarcastic voice through the haze of Isaiah that had stolen her wits. She broke off the kiss with extreme reluctance and nuzzled his face with hers. “I think our audience needs to go before you do that again.”
“I scarcely noticed them,” he murmured, his eyes warm and inviting and most importantly, trained on her and not even bothering to check out the women in the kitchen. “How fast can they leave?”
“Fast enough,” Havana called with a forced laugh. “We know when we’re not wanted. Come on, Em. Let’s go hang out at Ruby’s so you can tell me more about your ideas for a bar.”
“Really? Because I have a lot of ideas.” The sarcasm hadn’t quite drained from Ember’s voice but she followed Havana from the kitchen all the same, skirting Isaiah and Aria who gladly moved a few feet closer to the longhorn-uterus painting to give them room to exit Serenity’s apartment.