I didn’t like the idea of Will going with Ava any more than I wanted to go with her. I looked pleadingly at Nathaniel, who offered a small, sympathetic smile back. I wanted to beg Will not to go with her, but I didn’t want to be a brat. He could take care of himself, and I trusted him. It was her I didn’t trust.

“I have to leave,” I said abruptly, and stomped back toward the house. “Thank you for everything, Nathaniel.”

“Ellie,” called Will’s voice behind me.

I ignored him and kept going, but he caught up to me as I climbed the deck stairs. He looked up at me from the bottom step and touched my sleeve.

“Ellie,” he said again, turning me around to face him. I looked down at him and chewed on my bottom lip.

“What?” I asked a little too sharply.

“I know what’s wrong.”

“Good job, Sherlock.” What was wrong with me? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“If you tell me not to go, then I won’t,” he said. “She can take Nathaniel.”

“No,” I said. “I’m sorry. It’s important that you go in my place. I’m just being… I don’t know. Just ignore me.” I continued to climb the stairs, but he took my arm a little more firmly and pulled me back.

His gaze was gentle and I melted inside. “I’m not going to ignore you.”

“I didn’t mean it literally,” I said, unable to repress the smile that grew with my words. Even with those pleading puppy-dog eyes, he was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen.

“I know,” he said, his hand softening around my arm, his thumb stroking gently, comfortingly. “But I meant what I said. I don’t want to upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” I lied. “I know how childish I’m acting over the whole thing, but I can’t help it.”

He smiled, taking my breath away. “It’s the same reason I disliked Landon when I first met him.”

I almost laughed. “He’s not that bad.”

“I thought there might be something between you two,” he confessed. “Because he wanted you.”

My smile faded. “And Ava doesn’t want you?”

“No, I’m very sure she doesn’t.”

I took a nervous breath and my lips trembled. “That’s impossible.”

He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t look away either. My pulse pounded heavier and heavier with each passing moment, and I ached from the tension. If Ava and Nathaniel hadn’t been staring at us from across the lawn, then … I don’t know what I would have done. But standing there without moving, looking at him as he touched me, was killing me.

“Good-bye, Will,” I said, and backed farther up the stairs.

“Good-bye.”

He didn’t break eye contact with me until I turned at the top of the stairs and let myself into the house.

I stopped channel surfing when I found one of MTV’s trashy reality shows, and frankly, it just made me feel more hostile than I already was. I sat on the floor of Kate’s room with my back up against her bed. She lay on her stomach above me, running her fingers through my hair and braiding and twisting random locks. The feeling was soothing and almost enough to make me forget about Ava’s intrusion and the stupid show I was watching on TV.

“I love your hair,” Kate said as she wound a thick piece of it into a doughnut on top of my head. “Do you remember when we were little and I used to call you Ariel from The Little Mermaid?”

“Yeah.” I changed the channel. Now it was some show on convicts in prison. Mild improvement, but surprisingly less violent than the girls fighting over some jerk on the last channel.

“And then all you wanted for months was a purple bra, even though we were too young for even training bras. You drove your mom crazy, so she bought you one anyway.”

“That purple training bra was amazing.” I grimaced at the TV as an inmate described the crime that had landed him in a maximum security prison.

Kate sighed as she yanked on another chunk of my hair. “And now push-up bras are amazing. It’s incredible how the world turns.”

I winced at the pain. “I’ll trade my hair for your boobs.”

“Never mind,” Kate said. “I don’t want your hair that bad.”

“I thought I’d just throw it out there.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“Why are you so crotchety tonight?” She tugged even harder on my hair, and my head tilted back to look up at her.

“Because you’re pulling my hair, schizoid.”

“But it’s so pretty. What are you watching on my TV? I didn’t approve this.”

“I have no clue, but I think that guy killed three other inmates. He’s kind of hot in a homicidal sociopath kind of way.” I changed the channel again.

“Ew. You would like that. Wait—does this mean Will’s tats are legit prison ink? Is there something you need to tell me?”

I let out a very loud, obnoxious snort as I tried to keep myself from laughing hysterically. “No, trust me. And I don’t have a thing for guys in prison. Stop reading into everything like a shrink.”

Kate smoothed my hair back out as straight as it would go. “So are you going to answer me? You’re only getting more crotchety.”

“I’m only crotchety for the same reason you’re crotchety,” I confessed.