Avery scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. There was practically a high-voltage cable between you and Eli Lockwood.”

“Okay,” Aria relented. “He’s gorgeous. I’m not blind.”

“It’s more than that,” Avery insisted. “Something happened between the two of you.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Give me a little credit, Ri. You were blushing like a schoolgirl all night.”

“We made love,” she admitted.

“Whoa.”

“What?” Aria asked. “You said you could tell.”

“I could tell something had happened, but I didn’t realize you’d gone that far.”

“It’s not a big deal, is it?” People had one-night stands all the time. Not her, sure. But others. It was the twenty-first century, for crying out loud.

“For you, it’s huge.”

“What do you mean ‘for me’?” There was an insult attached to that comment; she was sure of it.

“You’re a great friend, Ri. You know that. But you’re emotionally challenged when it comes to men.”

Ouch. Okay, perhaps Avery was right, but it wasn’t relevant. Eli wasn’t her boyfriend, nor did she want him to be. Those knee-knocking kisses were fantastic, but she wasn’t going down that road again.

She. Was. Not. Interested.

“It’s not a big deal,” she reiterated. “It was a once-off.”

One that she’d regretted a hundred different ways already tonight.

“It’s too bad,” Avery remarked.

“What’s too bad?”

“I wouldn’t mind getting sweaty with your Elijah, but it’s never going to happen.”

Aria felt a twinge of jealousy. Why should it matter to her that Avery found Eli attractive? “Why not?”

“He’s only interested in you. Duh.”

Aria grinned, feeling quite satisfied with herself. Then she realized she’d played right into Avery’s hands. Oh, no. What was she going to do with herself?

CHAPTER 16

Early Monday afternoon, Aria knocked on the Lockwoods’ door. She couldn’t believe she was here, but she had made a promise to help Teri. It wouldn’t be fair if she abandoned that promise because she’d crossed a boundary with Eli.

“Teri!” she called when no one answered the door. “You in there?”

Teri opened the door and looked at her warily. “What are you doing here?”

She supposed she deserved the censure after what Teri had witnessed at the beach. As a woman with two older brothers, she knew no girl wanted to see their brother necking. In public, no less.

“I was hoping to see you,” she replied. She was also praying Eli was not at home. His development had been approved by the council that morning, so she assumed he would be at the work site, supervising the contractors while they got started. “I wanted to know how your date went the other night.”