Antonia’s heart sank as she listened to his matter-of-fact tone. Where was the talk about her book and how important it was? They’d argued about this very thing not but two or three days ago and now he was tossing back liquor and acquiescing all over the place. He wasn’t going to stop her, he wasn’t even going to throw out a mild objection. “You’re probably right.”

“You have to go back at some time, darling,” he said. “And when you do, you need a job.” Aiden held out his glass.

She regarded him and his glass warily. “Would you like some water?”

“No, love,” he said, shaking his head. “But who knows, maybe you’ll visit?”

Antonia took his glass and filled it with a single shot and handed it back. “I can,” she said carefully. “And you can visit me too.”

He nodded, forcing a smile. “Sure. We’ll just line up our tight schedules, book flights with precision, and spend four days with one another. Easy peasy,” he said. “With the time difference, we’ll just Skype at odd hours of the day, the rest of the time.”

“Aiden...”

“Yes, darling.”

“I don’t have to go now,” she said. “I could stay for the next week like I had planned.”

He nodded. “But that was before you found out you had a second chance.”

Unsure of what to say, Antonia simply stood there and watched the man she had feelings for wall himself from her. When Danny came back from his smoke break, she was still silent and Aiden had continued drinking.

“Ah, the professor is here,” he said, clapping Aiden on the back.

Aiden smiled. “You know I’m a constant presence when I come back to Tully Cross.”

Relieved of her bar duties, Antonia returned to the other side where she belonged. However, she was hesitant to sit with Aiden. His new distant attitude was unsettling after all they went through yesterday. She wasn’t expecting any brash proclamations of love, but she certainly needed him to say something more encouraging than “you should go.”

Danny flipped his towel over his shoulder. “How’d she do?” he asked Aiden.

“She pours fair and kisses even better,” Aiden said, tipping his glass toward the barman. “Beats looking at you while I drink.”

“Are ye sayin’ I ain’t pretty?” Danny asked, fluttering his lashes.

As the men shared a laugh, Antonia’s irritation pushed her to snap. “Can we talk outside?”

Aiden set down his glass. “Of course.”

He took his time getting off his stool and followed her wordlessly out the door into the cool damp air. Anger made her skin itch and her heart thud in her chest. If he wasn’t going to talk about their status, she was prepared to go back to the cottage and purchase her ticket.

He knew she was angry.

Aiden saw it in the way she held her spine erect and clenched her fists. She shoved the door open and let it swing without regard for him as he followed. Antonia paced the sidewalk, looking down at the ground. Even the cool country night couldn’t stop her steaming. “What would you like to talk about?” Aiden said, leaning against the side of the building.