I laughed at her super-casual response, then shook my head at how adorable she was. Leaning forward, I gave her a kiss. “Keep the bed warm for me,” I murmured. She laughed as I pulled away. “I’ll call you when I land,” I told her.

She was nodding when my phone suddenly chimed in my pocket. It was a relief that I didn’t have to worry about her hearing it anymore, but it was still annoying to have to hear it. Gavin was never going to give up. Kiera raised a questioning eyebrow as she looked at my pocket. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Pulling out my phone, I glanced at the screen and saw that my assumption was correct. It was Gavin. “That would be my father with his morning message.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “There will be an afternoon and an evening one, I’m sure.” Probably more. And a few phone calls.

I instantly hit the button that darkened the screen. Kiera frowned as she watched me. “Don’t you even read them?”

Sniffing, I shoved the phone back in my pocket. “No. I never read them, and I never respond.” I lowered my head as guilt resurfaced. I’d almost forgotten that I’d accidentally hurt her last night when I’d…panicked. “That’s why I freaked out when you were going to. I don’t want him to be…encouraged.” I looked up at her. “I want him to stop.”

I thought she might argue again, but surprising me once more, she simply nodded in acceptance. “What does your sister think about you ignoring him?” she asked, then she cringed, like she hadn’t meant to ask that.

With a sigh, I moved to sit beside her on the bed. “She thinks I’m being stubborn. She doesn’t understand why I’m hurting him by refusing to…” My thought trailed off as I grabbed my phone again. “She asks me to give him a chance, every time I talk to her.” A fact that was incredibly frustrating. She wasn’t going to leave me alone either. Hailey telling me that stubbornness ran in the family was apparently an understatement.

While I mused on that, I heard Kiera murmur, “Wise girl.”

I lifted an eyebrow in annoyance, but Kiera didn’t press the issue. Instead, she held out her hand. “Can I read it?” she asked. My eyes involuntarily narrowed as something dark stirred inside me. Seeing my expression, Kiera quickly added, “I won’t respond. But I feel like someone should at least read them.”