“No?”

She pulled up to the cottages, right behind her rental car and cut the engine. Antonia faced Aiden and shook her head. “I didn’t. Because I met Derek about a month later at that sports bar. When he approached me, my brain went to mush. As my mom would say, I didn’t use the sense god gave me and I fell for him immediately.” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop and properly assess them. These ideas had never occurred to her before now. In her Chicago apartment, Octavia told Antonia that she’d eventually have to ask herself the question, Why Derek?

Now she knew.

“I didn’t want to be Bloody Mary anymore. I looked at Derek and saw one of Vanessa’s valuables. He chose me and I was grateful for it.”

Aiden remained silent.

“To use your metaphor, it’s a thick rope, Aiden,” she explained. “I didn’t start hacking at it until I ran from his apartment. Until I came here and met you. You help me cut the last frayed edge when he called me.”

He frowned as he reached over and cupped her face in his palm. “Oh, darling.”

“And if we really want to mix our metaphors, I grabbed my seal’s coat from him. I’m free to do whatever I want on my own timeline. I’m done with stupid things like Vanessa, fifth grade nosebleeds, and men who walk all over me,” she said with a sad smile.

“Of course you are, my love.” Aiden stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You can be whoever you want to be.”

Antonia reached out and laid her hand on his chest. “Believe it or not, you can too. After all these years, you saw your version of Vanessa, only much worse. Your father...” What could she say about a man who was laid out by his own son after a twenty-plus year absence? “You might not find what you need from him. You have to give yourself what he couldn’t or wouldn’t give you.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I don’t need anything from him.”

She shook her head. “That’s not true and you know it.” She pointed her finger against his chest. “He took something in there a long time ago and you’re hoping he’ll give it back.”

Aiden exhaled and hung his head. “Antonia...” His hands closed over her finger, pressing it against his beating heart. It thudded through his sweater as her own broke in response.

With her free hand, she took him by the chin and lifted his face. “You had the confidence to punch him in the jaw,” she said, biting back a grin. “But you’re also going to need confidence for this next step. You’ll have to let go of the hurt and give that little boy what he needs now.”

He chuckled and tried averting his shining eyes. “You’re giving me the confidence lecture now, Ms. Harper?”

Antonia leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. While she searched his gaze, she gave him a tentative kiss, tracing the seam of his lips with her tongue until he allowed her entry. Antonia gripped the back of his neck and pushed forward. When she felt a single tear wet both of their faces, she wiped his cheek with her thumb. Antonia kissed him as if it could erase his pain. It wouldn’t, but it was worth trying.