“You’re asking me?” Sam said, her eyes wide and incredulous. As if her opinion had never counted for anything before.
“Well, seeing as how you love her, and considering you’re a member of this family, of course I’m asking you.” Ari reached out to rub Sam’s shoulder, but the girl jerked away and opened the car door instead.
“Spank’s a member of the family, too. Elena always said so and you’re giving her away. How do I know they won’t give me away next?” With those words, Sam jumped out of the car and ran for the front porch.
She’d revealed her biggest fear at last. One Ari knew her parents would find much more difficult to assuage than anything else on her mind.
Ari followed Sam into the house, then sat through the session between her parents and Sam, in which Elena and Nicholas laid down the laws in their home. Respect for one another was paramount. By taking off without letting anyone know, Sam had violated the rule. She’d worried the family and had to be punished.
Shockingly, Sam had taken the punishment well, reinforcing what Ari already thought—the young girl was looking for proof that Elena and Nicholas wouldn’t abandon her. By including her in the family rules and punishing her for disobeying, her parents had come through for her.
Thanks to that night’s revelations, Ari could suddenly relate to Sam more than ever. It wasn’t that Ari feared being sent away, but she had always feared being on the outside looking in. Being the twin nobody understood. Being the one who wasn’t a real member of the family because she was too different.
The difference was, Ari had had the support system all along. She’d just been too stubborn, too convinced her way was the best, too high and mighty in her ideals to consider anyone else’s way. And in doing so, she’d closed her family out of her life and out of her heart. And she’d shut herself off from fun, spontaneity, and anything that even remotely resembled Costas chaos. Like Sam, she’d pushed away those who loved her most—her parents, her sister, and now Quinn. But understanding didn’t guarantee that a lifetime’s worth of feelings and habits could change.
Or did it?
* * *
Quinn let Ari into his room, unsure of why she was there. Sam was safe, and as far as Quinn was concerned, Ari had no reason to visit him now. He shut the door behind her, then leaned against the wall, arms folded, and waited. The ball was in her court.
“Sam’s grounded for the next month.” She shifted on her feet uncomfortably.
“She’s lucky it isn’t the rest of her life,” Quinn muttered.
He’d obviously relaxed her because Ari laughed. “That’ll come if she attempts a stunt like this again. My father’s a huge believer in respect for family, and making them worry the way she did . . .” Ari treated him to a mock shiver and his gaze was drawn to her breasts in her tight tee.
He groaned. Focusing on what he couldn’t have was pointless. He’d learned that early on in life. What was it about Ari that made him forget all his hard-learned lessons?
“Sam needed them to react and thank God they came through,” Ari continued, oblivious to his inner thoughts. “They acted in Sam’s best interest, not theirs. She must be the first kid in the world who welcomed punishment as a sign of love.”
Quinn nodded. Because he’d been raised in the same type of environment, he understood the teenager’s way of thinking. “If your parents can figure out how to keep her in line, more power to them. I really do think they’ll be good for her.”
He knew this in his gut because he, too, had looked for signs of being cared for. He’d just never found them. Not even with this woman who knew all the right things to say and do, but was too afraid to take the risk and be herself.
Ari shook her head. “For a teenager, Sam said something so profound, it floored me. She said that since my parents always called Spank part of the family and they were giving her away, what if they gave her away next?”
“So this was a test.”
Ari nodded. “One her other foster parents failed.”
He pushed off the wall and strode to the center of the room. “Then bless Elena and Nicholas.”
Ari followed him, getting into his space. “I was so scared before I found her. I’m still scared,” she admitted in a soft, husky voice.
She met his gaze with relief and more in her eyes. But he didn’t know what she wanted from him now. He only knew he sensed a turning point. An honest admission she hadn’t planned in advance and one he wasn’t about to let pass.
“Scared of what?” he asked, his hands clenched at his sides. All his self-control went into not touching her, not reaching out, not pulling her into his arms.