Page 114 of Settling the Score

‘Me too.’ Melanie grinned from where she was curled up on the sofa, a small red ribbon around her plaited hair. Though they were no longer neighbours – Aiden and Sienna had moved into the big, beautiful house they’d always walked past (the one Aiden had all but promised he’d make Sienna hers when he could) and were painstakingly restoring it – but Melanie was still a regular fixture in their lives. If anything, the house was closer to the school than Melanie’s, so it was easy to stop in on her way home, to share the news of her day or grab a sandwich. Being so close made it easier for Sienna to be away from home, which she frequently was. At least when she was there, she got to spend lots of quality time with the girl she loved like a daughter. ‘I can’t wait to finally meet them.’

Sienna scrunched her nose. ‘You’ve met my friends.’

‘But not, like, all together, at the same time. He says it’s like nothing I can imagine.’

‘He, being Aiden?’

Melanie nodded, and Sienna laughed softly. ‘Well,heis not wrong.’

Sienna took a moment to turn slowly and take in the lounge room. It was the first room they’d fully finished re-doing, carefully returning the historic charm of the place, while updating the wiring and features to make sure it was safe and modern. The bedrooms had been renovated just enough to make them comfortable for this weekend – when the original Karma Club crew, plus the honorary members (including Chuck) were coming to stay, and Sienna couldn’t wait to play host and show them her town. Though she hoped they’d forgive Aiden for having hidden remote-controlled crickets in all of their rooms. He’d laughed, when she’d told him the truth of that noise, especially when it had been a part of what had driven them back together, but he’d sworn he’d get his own revenge, when the time was right… which apparently it now was.

In the end, Aiden hadn’t hated coming back to Ashbury Falls. Everything he’d felt on that score had, they’d decided, been about running from how much he loved Sienna rather than the place itself. Now that he’d accepted his feelings, Ashbury Falls had earned a different place in his heart. Though his father was the only dark spot on their horizon, they rarely saw him. He’d given up on going to church, and from what they heard, he seemed to be in a committed relationship with a bottle of liquor, each and every day. He was beyond help, beyond redemption, and they had agreed that they’d just let him do him.

Living well was their best revenge, anyway.

Coming back to Ashbury, Aiden had been determined to do something about the way it was morphing into a town with no hope and no prospects. Bit by bit, he’d started investing in the place. He now co-owned the diner, the hardware store, and was in talks with the Titans about co-funding an ice rink in town, on the basis that Aiden and Blake would personally run recruitment and training sessions for talented young kids like they’d been.

They split their time almost equally between New York and Ashbury Falls, with the exception of the odd trip to the UK, to catch up with Paige and Olly. Though they also did their fair share of trans-Atlantic travel, with Paige never wanting to go too long without face-to-face time with her girls.

Sienna was always careful about Aiden’s generosity. She’d worked so hard all her life, and asserted her independence wherever possible. But in one way, she’d allowed him to help financially – as a loan. He’d hired an incredible team of lawyers to work on her father’s case, and Sienna had every reason to think this would be his last Christmas behind bars. Not only that, they’d been so impressed with the briefs Sienna had put together that they’d asked her to intern for them over the summer.

She’d agreed, for the experience, but Chuck’s offer was still very much in her mind.

It was no bad thing, she considered, to have such great possibilities, and she knew that whichever she chose, it would be right for her, because she’d work hard, and because she deserved to succeed.

Since that fateful night in Chicago, Sienna had done a lot of thinking about life, and families. Melanie wasn’t her daughter, and yet she occupied that space in her heart. Cynthia wasn’t her mother, yet Sienna truly loved her as she would have her own. And her friends – well, they weren’t family, but they were every bit as dear to her as family ever could be. There wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for them, and knowing that loyalty and love was reciprocated made her feel as though she was going through life with the biggest and best support network anyone could ever want.

Christmas magic was heavy in the air, but Sienna didn’t need it. She had everything she’d ever wanted, and then some.

Just desserts had been served to all – it was just very lucky that they’d happened to deserve the happiest of endings imaginable.

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