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Ava gave her a look of surprise before answering "No, should I be?"

Emma verbally kicked herself She liked Ava fine, but she was now stuck delivering the required five minutes of small talk when she could have walked out the door and been on her way "I just thought since you were ht be riding together"

"OhNoI’ to walk out with him"

Like most of her friends at Danvers, Emma had wondered more than once about the relationship between Ava and Mac She kneas an old friend of the family and that Declan had served in the ht there was so else there

"Do you want ?" Emma offered

Ava looked down at her watch and then back at the elevator as if willing Mac to appear "No, that’s okay, I probably just h"

Emma couldn’t help but notice how sad the other woman looked as she walked away Maybe they had ht, because it appeared that they were both waiting on adown at his watch yet again, Brant tried to hide his guilty expression It was already after nine and he knew that E mercy on hi to have to get hoht and needs to rest"

Clearly, pregnancy did have its advantages, Brant thought He shot Declan a grateful sood-bye to everyone, noting absently that Suzy had been unusually subdued during dinner She had also left the table several times, so Brant wondered if she was sick Gray see, as he kept a fir her toward the door When his cell phone rang as he alking toward his car, Brant was momentarily surprised to see his hootten about Alexia

He hit the CALL button, answering, "Stone"

"Hi, Brant, it’s Alexia Ierjust wondered when you were going to be home"

He was a little surprised by the question When he had invited her to stay at his hoined that he would need to check in with her Although he supposed it was a couest, no matter what the circu the ht and scare her "I just finished a dinnerand Ihave plans, so I’ll be late Was there so you needed?" Oh fuck, was that a sniffle he heard on the other end of the line? "Is everything okay?"

After a moment’s hesitation, she said, "Oh sure, ICarter called tonight and we had a fight He wants to see me and I refused I justneeded to talk, but it’s not iuilt ju up to choke hi for him to come home so that she wouldn’t be all alone Sometimes he really hated his constant sense of responsibility because he felt an overwhelht ho to do with love and everything to do with a--her in his arht of helping Alexia was dragging on hi with him, even if he couldn’t tell her the reason why There was nothing going on that he should feel guilty about He’d give her a call and then head home "I’ll be there soon"

"Really?" He could hear the hope in Alexia’s voice as he told her he’d be there in twentyit on speaker before turning his car toward hoh his body when he heard her voice She sounded so damn close he almost expected to see her in the seat next to hio any farther, she said, "You aren’t co, are you?"

He couldn’t keep the surprise fro tired but faintly a Did you decide to hit a bar or souys after dinner?"

God, how sio for the evening Sadly, though, he didn’t often take the easy way out in life and tonight would be no exception "No, I’ out a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding, he said, "E but silence from her end of the line, he quickly jumped in before he could chicken out "The wo, Alexia, is actuallywith me for a few days That’s why I didn’t want tosome problems with her current fiancé and askedafter his revelation that he looked over at his phone to make sure the call was still connected "U perfectly normal "Just out of curiosity, ould she ask her ex-fiancé? Did you stay in contact after your split or was it recent?"

"It was a few years ago and, no, today is the first time I’ve spoken with her since our relationship ended" Brant thought she soundednow and he couldn’t blaht about it in those terht Alexia out if the circumstances had been reversed Of course, Emma didn’t know the whole story and thatwith a family situation and doesn’t have any friends that she cantrust"

"It still see in those circu to wish he had just kept hisharder and harder to explain without telling her as going on and he couldn’t do that

"She has soether, she felt she could count on me for support Our relationship was built on a friendship and she had nowhere else to turn"