“You were?” Unexpected annoyance drifts into my tone. I’m putting it down to surprise. I’m surprised she’s being so brutally honest with me. I should follow her lead. Open up. Yet everything is telling me it’s too soon. She’s swaying back and forth without knowing all the details, without really knowing me, leaving me concluding that the age difference must be one of her issues, along with this fierce intensity. Because it really is quite frightening. “Will you come home with me?” We’ll talk. I’ll remind her. Take her back to the places we went to only an hour ago.

“No.”

I sag, fucking knackered by the walls she keeps adding more fucking bricks to. “Please, Ava.”

“Why?”

Why? Isn’t it fucking obvious? I release her a bit, but not too much. “It feels right. You belong with me.” The words just come, with no hope of being held back. I’m being honest. It’s a step in the right direction. Although her monster frown is a little worrying.

“So who does Sarah belong with?”

“Sarah? What’s she got to do with anything?”

“Girlfriend,” she says, and I gape at her, completely stunned. Girlfriend? What the . . . Oh no. She thinks . . . Sarah? Good God, how did she come to that conclusion?

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’ve been ignoring my calls and running away because you thought . . .” I force myself to release her, aware that my hold is tightening by the second. “You thought me and Sarah were . . . Oh, fucking hell, no.”

“Yes,” she yells, and I move away, stunned. Sarah? “She’s not?” she asks, her beautiful face a picture of confusion and . . . relief. There’s relief. Jesus, how did I allow her to believe that? How did I not see?

No woman will accept you as long as we’re together.

Fuck.

Frustration grabs me, and my hands go to my head, gripping it, stopping the mammoth headache from taking hold. “Ava, whatever made you think that?”

She’s on the verge of laughter. I have no idea why. This is the least funny thing ever. I’ve been going out of my mind trying to figure out how she could brush me off so easily. My age. The sparks. I considered it all. But Sarah? “Oh, let me see.” The smile she hits me with is pretty fucking insulting, to be honest. Like I’m stupid. “Maybe it was the kiss in the hallway of The Manor. Or when she came looking for you in the bedroom.” She looks up briefly, as if mentally recalling every valid reason. “Or it could be her frosty reception to me. Or perhaps it’s the fact that she’s with you every time I see you.”