Of course she did. Because Kirsten lied. About love, about loyalty, aboutlife. Linc wanted to punch a hanging bag, break a board. Bench press three hundred—somethingto let this frustration free.
He settled for a deep breath, squeezing his fist. “And you’re going to believe her? She wasn’t exactly mother of the year, you know.”
“At least she was there.”
“Until she wasn’t.”
They stared at each other.
More harsh truth…maybe too harsh. What had Zoey said—something about truth gently delivered?
He was ruining this again.
“Look.” Linc tried to soften his tone, though the words felt like sandpaper on his tongue. “I didn’t have a mom either, you know.” He swallowed. “She died when I was really young.”
“Well, did you have a dad?” Amelia glared. “Because I didn’t.”
Linc struggled not to physically step backward at the emotional sucker punch. Did teenagers come with a manual on how to best hit a parental target where it hurt? Amelia was two for two. “I had a father for a minute.”
“And then what? You just chose to do life on your own?” She scoffed. “Guess I get that from you.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t want me here.”
“You don’t want to be here.”
She narrowed her eyes, dark like his. “Nice evasion.”
“Back atcha.”
Another stare-down. Linc refused to blink. If he let her win, she’d never respect him.
But maybe it didn’t need to be about respect right now. Maybe it needed to be about trust.
They had to start somewhere.
“Amelia…” Linc looked away, giving her the win. He scrubbed his hands down his face. Good grief, this collar was too tight. “I never said I don’t want you here. You were just a surprise.”
Her nose scrunched. “A bad one, apparently.”
“I didn’t say that, either.” He waited, letting that sink in—if she’d let it. A car drove down Village Lane. A few yards ahead, a couple walked hand-in-hand inside Chug a Mug, releasing the scent of freshly ground beans into the early evening air. “Are you finally willing to admit youwerea surprise, at least?”
Amelia lifted her chin. “Maybe.” Then she rolled in her lip. “You did seem pretty shocked.”
“Trust me, I’m not a good actor.”
She started to grin a little, then caught it.
He wanted more of those. Maybe she’d eventually relax enough to laugh with him.
She studied him. “Maybe I should drag you to the lamppost. Just to make sure.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You know about that?”
“Zoey told me.”
Of course she did. “I’ll go if you want. If you’ll believe me.”
