“You’re crazy.”
“Be patient, princess.”
Ava stopped walking. “Don’t call me that, Tabon.”
He turned around and looked at her. “Sore spot?”
She nodded. “Very.”
“Who called you that, Ava?”
She studied him, her eyes didn’t blink.
“You can trust me,” he murmured.
She crossed her arms and looked back out at the ocean. “My mother.”
“Tell me about it.” Again he kept his voice soft, hoping she would trust him enough to share why it affected her in the way it did.
“She didn’t use it in a positive way.”
He walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. “Go on.”
“I didn’t have an ideal childhood,” she said, moving away from him.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Tabon stood his ground next to her, wishing she hadn’t moved out of his reach.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” she muttered. “Boarding school was the best thing that ever happened to both Aine and me.”
He continued down the dirt trail, and Ava followed.
“Tell me about boarding school,” he prompted.
Ava told him about meeting Tara and Penelope first. “Quinn didn’t arrive until a month later.”
“Did you know right away that you’d be friends?”
“Definitely.” Ava smiled and then told him about their first year together. There was a certain amount of sadness underlying her story, but he sensed it wasn’t due to being away from her parents.
“Oh!” she said, suddenly seeing where he’d led her. “It’s built into the hillside.”
The coffee bar had once been an ice cream place that was, as she’d said, built into the hillside near the estuary. Back in the day, it was a tourist destination, but once the ice cream part of it closed and the coffee business took it over, it became a locals’ only hangout.
“Well, if it isn’t Razor Sharp,” said Andie, the owner.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said when she came around from behind the bar to hug him.
Razor caught Ava raise an eyebrow when Andie hung a little longer than necessary, and winked.
“What can I get you?” Andie asked, looking only at him.
“Before we order, Andie, I’d like you to meet my dear friend Ava. Ava, Andie and I went to high school together.”
“He was my prom date. We were king and queen, as a matter of fact.”
Razor inwardly cringed and wanted to throttle Andie when he saw Ava’s reaction. Was any of that necessary information?
“How’s Steve?” he asked.