Page 40 of Settling the Score

Astrid, beside her, squeezed Sienna’s upper arm as soon as Aiden had turned his back.

‘Well?’ she demanded, as soon as he was out of earshot. ‘What happened?’

His mouth on hers. Heat. Desire. His arousal. Need. Sienna’s insides slicked with warmth as memory after memory sliced through her, forcing her to recall those passionate few seconds down on the shore. But when she turned to Astrid to confess the whole sordid event, the words just wouldn’t come out.

Astrid was one of her best friends in the whole world, the woman who’d put her life on hold to try to mess with Aiden for the way he’d screwed Sienna around. And it was only a kiss. But somehow, the kiss felt private, and if the girls knew about it, they’d presume it was all part of Sienna getting her revenge on Aiden. They’d want to talk about it, to ask her questions, and Sienna didn’t know if she could answer those questions yet. Even to herself.

‘Nothing,’ she said with a shrug. ‘We looked for flags, got overheated, had a quick swim, came back.’

‘That’s it?’

His tongue tangling with hers. His hand on her back, pressing her forward. His tattoo and ass…

‘Yep. That’s it.’

Astrid pulled a face. ‘Ugh. I was sure being together for so long would shake something loose.’

‘Nope,’ Sienna denied, cheeks heating at the lie. ‘Honestly, I’m starting to want to abandon the whole idea of revenge,’ she said with a shrug. ‘At least, my part in it. I don’t think flirting with Aiden then walking away is going to pay him back for what he did then.’

Astrid put an arm around Sienna’s shoulders. ‘No, but it may make you feel a smidge better about it.’

Sienna’s eyes prickled with unshed tears. ‘Honestly, seeing him again, maybe I’m more over the whole idea of revenge than I realised.’

And somehow, she wondered if that was true. It had been so easy to demonise Aiden when he’d just disappeared from her life. But seeing him again, and in the context of his relationship with Blake, being here at a family wedding, she couldn’t keep seeing him as wholly bad. There was some good there, too.

So he’d run away from Ashbury Falls. What had she expected? That he’d stay there twiddling his thumbs ’til she was finished school? And then what? She’d never had the same college prospects as Aiden. He was always going to get headhunted to one of the big schools.

But they wouldn’t have necessarily broken up, she reminded herself.

They could have stayed in touch, even just as friends. It was losing him in that capacity that had hurt her almost more than anything.

‘It’s just kinda complicated,’ she finished with a shrug.

‘Hmmm.’ Astrid pursed her lips. ‘Well, it’s up to you, of course, though I will tell you, the others aren’t going to want to scale back their operations, you know.’

Sienna stopped walking. ‘What operations?’

Astrid’s grin was serene. ‘You didn’t truly think they’d let you have all the fun?’

Fun? Fun? Sienna blinked. ‘Oh no. What have they got planned?’

Astrid winked at Sienna. ‘The less you know the better, love. Plausible deniability, and all that.’

* * *

In the small slice of time Sienna had alone in her room, she googled his tattoo.Ad Meliora.

Hurt twisted around her heart like a boa constrictor. She wouldn’t have thought it was possible to feel any more hurt because of this jerk, but discovering that he had the Latin equivalent of ‘towards a better future’ inked into his skin was like a kick in the teeth.

Better.

Future.

Away from her.

Away from Ashbury Falls.

That’swhat he’d been thinking back then.