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CHAPTER ONE

(Maya)

Doing a double-take, I almost dropped the pile of dishware on Ava’s kitchen floor “Say that again”

Setting place table, she replied, “I invited Ryder”

Yeah that hat I’d thought she said Hell “You … Why would you do that?”

“I was talking to hiroceries, I casually ether, and then it see the plates fro them on the placemats “I didn’t actually expect hiledhome from his trip last week Everyone should have friends”

Oh, they should Indeed they should And despite that Ryder didn’t see me—well, to be fair, notwith—I’d still be fine with Ava inviting hi

I foldedcupid”

Her head snapped up “What? No No, I’d never try to set you up with someone who isn’t ready for a relationship Just the same, I wouldn’t mess with Ryder that way Especially when it’s possible he’s still grieving Sam doesn’t see on inside a person”

Very true And when it came to someone as self-contained as Ryder, we really had no clue But considering that he and his pregnant girlfriend had been attacked by a vampire and that he’d been the only survivor—a survival courtesy of vampirism—it was no wonder he had no wish to talk about it I couldn’t even begin to iine how he must feel My heart went out to him

“There’s no bad blood between you two,” Ava went on, gathering cutlery fro deal if he was here It’s not, is it?”

I wouldn’t exactly find it easy to spend an evening with a guy who had way too et used to it, considering we’d both spend eternity on such a sether There’d be no real way to avoid him “No No, it’s fine I was just surprised And worried that you were going to try so”

“That’s not my intention, I swear It’s just that he hasn’t mixed a lot with the people on the island”