Aiden gathered her into his arms and hugged her tight. “Of course, darling. But you were the one who stood up for yourself.”

“You’re right.”

“The past is in the past,” he said intently searching her for gaze. “You don’t have to carry the baggage anymore.”

Antonia shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

“‘Can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,’” Aiden said with a laugh. “I’ve never heard that before, but I’m liable to add that to my vernacular.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Finally getting the chance to tell someone off, is like...getting the chance to take off your bra after a really long day.”

Dinner with Antonia was certainly entertaining.

Aiden snuck a quick glance at her chest. “Is that so?”

The Clifden seafood restaurant was busy that evening with tourists who were still milling around after the oyster festival. In the warm glow of the candles at their table for two, Aiden listened to Antonia chatter away with a new vigor in her voice. By the time their dessert had arrived, she was giddier than a school girl, giggling and waving her fork around. “I’ve never felt that powerful in my life.”

“Who’s next on your list?” he asked, taking a bite of bread pudding. “An old boss, maybe?”

Antonia ran her fingers through her curls and sat back in her seat. “Don’t tempt me,” she said. “But we’re not here to talk about Derek. The past is in the past.”

“What would you like to talk about, darling?”

“Something fun and potentially embarrassing.”

He narrowed his eyes as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “This seems like a potential mistake, but I like being impulsive.”

“Excellent. Tell me about your first girlfriend,” she said, licking the sticky toffee from her fingers. “What was she like?”

Aiden could watch her lick sticky things off her fingers all night, but he was a little puzzled by her sudden interest in his past love life. He thought he had succeeded in keeping the conversation light and pleasant. “Why on earth do you need to know that?”

“Pretend we’re playing truth or dare,” she said with a smirk.

He nodded in recognition. “Okay then I should probably pretend to be a sixteen-year-old girl too?”

“If it helps.” She was teasing him.

“Well I can’t play truth or dare by myself, Antonia,” he reminded her. “I need a willing partner.”

She sat back against her seat and regarded him suspiciously. “Fine, but...”

“But what?” he asked. “A dessert game sounds like fun.”

“But the dares should be within reason.”

He shook his head as he helped himself to ice cream. “I’m not too old to remember the rules of truth or dare. I don’t think there’s anything that can be considered ‘unreasonable.’”

She saw what kind of corner she’d walked herself into. “I think we’re old enough to know what reasonable is.”

“I suppose that depends on how badly we want the truth from one another?”

Her perfectly shaped brow arched under her curls. “Okay...”