Antonia cringed.

“It’s Uncle Aiden’s girlfriend, Nana,” Soircha shouted.

“What?” Clare said a little too loudly. The older woman came swiftly to the front door with a worried expression. But when she saw Antonia her, she lit up. “Oh my goodness, it’s Antonia.”

Soircha rolled her eyes. “I know, Nana.”

“Hi,” Antonia said, giving a weak wave.

“Dear me, let her in for heaven’s sake,” Clare pulled open the door and rushed Antonia inside.

“I’m sorry for intruding like this,” Antonia replied.

“Goodness no! It’s no intrusion; this is a delightful surprise,” Aiden’s mother took her by the shoulders, ushered her straight to the living room, and pushed her onto Aiden’s gray sofa. “Can I make you some tea?”

“Um, that’s not—”

“—Soircha, be a dear and fire up your uncle’s kettle.”

Antonia was overwhelmed. She was sitting in Aiden’s quaint home; it was exactly the kind of place that she would love to live. His eclectic décor mirrored her apartment back home with its interesting wall art and mismatched furniture pieces.

“It’s so lovely to meet you in person,” Clare said, seating herself across from Antonia. A large round coffee table separated them. Aiden’s mother was a very attractive woman. Her kelly green eyes sparkled as she looked Antonia over. A knowing smile spread over her face. “I can see why he’s so depressed.”

Antonia’s mouth fell open. “I’m sorry?”

Clare let out a hearty chuckle. “You’re involved with my most dramatic child, you know that? The row in the country must have been a banger because he came back in the foulest of moods.”

Antonia bowed her head in embarrassment, her body slumped in despair. “Oh, I’m an idiot...”

“My dear, you’re in love!” Clare said with glee.

She looked up. “What?”

“And he is too.”

“Excuse me?”

Soircha appeared at her side with a plate of cookies. “My uncle is in love with you,” she said in a serious voice. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and held out the plate. “Biscuit?”

Antonia shook her head. She was too scared to believe it. “How do you know?”

“He sounded insistent when he described it to us, right Soircha?” Clare asked.

Soircha nodded. “Oh yes, that’s why I sent you a Facebook message. He wanted to find you. He wanted to see you before you caught your plane. Like the movies!”

“But...” Antonia trailed off in a daze. He loves me? What about all that nonsense he threw at her last night?

“You should tell us what happened,” Soircha said, sitting beside her, starting on the cookies herself.

“The girl’s right,” Clare said with a nod. “We can’t work our magic until we know the full story.”

Antonia sat back against the couch, experiencing a gamut of perplexing emotions. As she stared at the coffee table, she tried her best to recount what happened in Tully Cross. “I told him about my job interview and how I had to leave soon,” she said in a dull voice. “When he didn’t respond the way I wanted him to, I threw his issues with his father in his face.”