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And the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.

“Why?”

Aiden knows as well as I do. Except he’s not willing to say it out loud and for once, I’m happy to explain.

“You know why. To pay her back for what her mother did to this family. For my mother…You know.”

Aiden waits, silent, for me to continue.

“I’m not saying I’ll actively do anything to her, but if she insists on staying, she’s not going to find me welcoming or friendly. And I don’t want you rushing in like a white knight to play her rescuer,” I warn. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

Aiden holds his palms up in front of him like he’s read my mind. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything.”

“Your paws stay in your pockets.”

If Gilli insists on staying, then she has to deal with the consequences.

Aiden leans against the table, staring at me curiously. “You sure this is what you want? Come on. She’s just a girl. We’ve been through enough, dude. We’ve up-leveled where a lot of other people wouldn’t,” he finishes.

“I don’t need a reminder about the past.”

Aiden has always had an easier time of it. Sometimes I wonder if it’s his superpower, his ability to learn and grow and adapt to change where others might stagnate. He’s had a rough fucking go of it, too.

But this cabin is our place.

It’s always belonged to us, not to Gillian or her sisters or her mother.

“Just…keep your distance,” I tell him. “Soon enough, she’ll get tired of the cold shoulder and she’ll make the right decision.”

She’d better. Otherwise she won’t like the person she sees when she looks at me. And I’ll hate the man in the mirror even more.

Chapter 6

Gilli

The door to the extra bedroom slams shut, my spine pressed to it and my heart thundering in my head.

The pulse is loud enough to override the bleating voice urging me to leave, right now, to get in the car and spray gravel in a hasty escape.

Soren Savage is here and I’m a wreck.

Why did he have to be at the cabin? Why is my luck so crappy that he’s here, and he admits that he hates me?

I’ve always suspected it, even though I’ve never done shit to the dude. He’s just a bully, like I told him. Big and brawny now, probably a gym rat, with a buff chest and tattoos. He’s let his golden hair grow out, and sports a neat beard and goatee combination.

Like some kind of Viking wannabe.

He’s so damn handsome he’d bring me to my knees if he were anyone else, a man with a kind heart and an attitude adjustment.

I lock myself in the room for the rest of the night, disappearing into the bathroom only once before dropping onto the mattress and tossing, restless, until morning.

A dull quiet rings through the house.

The view outside shows the still lake water in thedistance reflecting the placid gray sky. Although the day has started, the clouds keep most of the sunlight at bay and allow only freckled rays through on occasion.

I throw on a bra, a fresh pair of leggings, and a cozy sweater. My stomach flips angrily in a demand for food. I press a hand to the churning.

Coffee, at the very least, I assure it. The last I had was that gas station sludge.