Aiden gave her a thoughtful nod. “Oh, that’s good.”

She winked at him and continued. “Between the father who doesn’t talk to you and the neurotic mother who’s trying to act out some Oedipal fantasy, you were fucked from the jump. How I couldn’t see it is disturbing, and admittedly something I should work on. But you don’t need me, Derek. You need a therapist. You need Jesus. You need to get popped in the mouth. But you can’t have me anymore.”

Antonia finished with a heaving chest while Aiden pumped a fist in the air. A random woman, who couldn’t mind her own business, gave a low whistle. “Goddamn,” she said in a Southern drawl.

Aiden gave a throaty laugh. “I know,” he said. “It was beautiful.”

The pause on Derek’s end was plenty of time for her to catch her breath. Antonia had never told anyone off with that kind of conviction. She usually shrank from conflict, took the high road, or refused to rock the boat. But this boat was officially rocking and she was ready to sink it. “So this is it?” Derek said. “You just want to throw it away?”

Antonia took a deep breath. “You threw it away.”

“Mom was right about you.” His voice was a defeated and tired. “Book smart but no real breeding.”

Any other time, Vivian Rogers’s sentiments would have crushed her. Today they made her burst into laughter. “Yeah, your stuck up mom is probably right about that. I’m smart enough to know this about our relationship: you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, you dick.”

And with that, she hung up.

The random tourist woman, who had hung on to the conversation, applauded with vigor. “You go, girl!” she said before moving on.

Antonia blushed. “Holy shit, that felt good,” she breathed.

“Yeah?” Aiden said as he grabbed her by the arms and shook the nerves from them. “You wanna go for round two? I’m sure Clifden has a boxing club around here.”

Actually, she felt shaken by the amount of adrenaline flowing through her. She hadn’t realized how tense her shoulders were until Aiden massaged the space between her neck and shoulders. “I’ll pass,” she said with a chuckle. “I’d like to sit somewhere.”

He quickly led her to the nearest sidewalk bench and sat her down. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” she said, and truly believed it. “I needed that.”

Aiden took her chin in his hand and pulled her gaze to his. “I know,” he said with a smile. “Where did that come from?”

“My mother,” she said in a daze. “I hate to say it, but I think I channeled my mother for some of that.”

“I can’t wait to meet her...”

“I feel so...light,” she murmured, shaking out her arms. “Like some huge weight is off my shoulders and I can just live.” Antonia blinked, as if she were seeing him for the first time. His eyes were brimming with the pride and amazement that she was slowly beginning to feel. “Thank you for being there.”