"So it's really the other twin that's the ass." Olivia chuckled lightly beneath her breath.

It was breathy. Barely there. Tired.

And I didn't like it. I hated it, actually. Because all that hot air that had filled her earlier was suddenly gone. She was deflated.

All the enthusiasm for history, vanished. All that curiosity about the past....retired.

And I wasn't sure where it had gone, but I wanted it back. Even though she has been driving me crazy with all this talk of keeping Rosecrest, now I wanted her excitement back.

Because this was driving me a different sort of crazy, and it was so much worse. I hated it.

"Sounds like it," I muttered finally in reply to her comment.

Liv kept her distance from me, practically leaning away from where I sat next to her. But while I'd been reading from Lady Whitley Ash's diary, I kept noticing Liv's eyelids fluttering, her chin dropping. And god, I wanted nothing more than to wrap her under my arm and tuck her beneath my shoulder.

Now she was staring at the ground, watching as her fingers fidgeted with a blade of grass.

"Olivia, are you tired?"

It was getting to be late afternoon, and after the drive here and the swim and everything else, I was sure she was feeling a bit of exhaustion.

"No, I'm not tired." She mumbled the words quickly, but it was anything but convincing.

Still, with a small bit of hopefulness, I asked, "Well...did you want to talk?"

I knew it was probably a long shot considering the way she had stormed away from me before. And sure enough...

"No, I don't want to talk." She sighed wearily. "Just leave me alone, Ash."

I was still holding the old journal open and snapped it closed. Liv jumped a little, startled. "No, Olivia. I won't leave you alone."

Her brows furrowed. Confusion—pure, honest confusion—filled her expression. She wasn't exasperated or annoyed or any of that. She was simply confused. And that nearly killed me, too. "And why not?"

Sighing, I said, "Because I know better now."

That didn't get the reaction that I was hoping for. Her face scrunched up even more. "What?"

"Liv." I cleared my throat and then readjusted the way I was sitting against the stone wall so I could face her. The decaying rocks jutted into my back, but I tried to ignore it. This wasn't really about being comfortable at the moment. "Liv, you don't really want me to leave you alone." I studied her face, silently urging her to look up. I wanted her to look away from that piece of grass that she'd been fascinated with. I wanted her to look at me.

And then she did. There was warmth in those brown eyes—a warmth that felt like home.

I only hoped she felt it, too. There might have been a chance that she did because she didn't look away. Swallowing, I added, "And I don't want to leave you alone, either."

"Why?"

She was still confused. How could she still be confused about this? Hadn't I said it before—hadn't I told her how I never really wanted to go? Hadn't I said that I wanted another chance?

But I didn't say any of that. Instead, I muttered, "I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

"I don't."

With an arched brow, I asked, "Are you sure? Because I'll tell you. We can talk about it, and I'll tell you, Liv. But only if you're ready."

Maybe she didn't hear me before. Maybe she didn't understand. I would say it all again. I would spell it out for her, tell her how much I still loved her.

But then Olivia said, "I can't—I can't, Asher. I don't think I'll ever be ready."

It was my turn to frown, my turn to wonder what the hell was going on. Hadn't she beckoned me to her earlier? Hadn't she called me like a siren to the water's edge? Did I simply imagine that? "Liv...I don't—"

"I'm sorry, Asher. If I—if the way I acted—I know it...but then..."

None of her words were creating actual sentences, actual thoughts, but somehow I understood it.

It seemed that I hadn't imagined anything. But she was regretting every bit of it. And all I wanted was to do it all over again.

Fucking hell.

With another deep sigh, I said, "Olivia, it's fine."

What else was there really to say?

She blinked up at me, clearly surprised. "It is?"

And that's when I realized—with the breeze blowing through her damp hair and her eyes glowing golden with the sun's reflection and the open look about her face—that shit, there were actually a lot of other things to say.

And I was going to say them. Before the end of the day, I was going to say them. But not now, not when she looked like she wanted nothing more than to have my reassurances and lie down.

So I said lowly, "Yeah, it's fine. I'm pissed about other things, but not about that."

She nodded, swaying a little as she still tried to keep her distance from me. And I damn near rolled my eyes at the whole thing.

"Liv, why don't you lie down for a while. Spread that ginormous scarf thing out on the ground and rest."

It seemed like she was done fighting it because she murmured something beneath her breath but then did as I suggested. But as she settled onto the soft fabric, Olivia surprised me. Curling into a ball on her side, she looked about for a place to rest her head. And then she decided on my legs, which were stretched out before me. Liv snuggled her face into the tops of my thighs, and I smiled.

And then in a sleepy voice, she asked, "Will you keep reading?"

"Sure," I murmured.

I couldn't help it. I reached out, running my fingers through her hair. She stiffened for a moment, and I hoped she wouldn't swat my hand away. But then she nuzzled her head against my slacks again, relaxing beneath my touch.

Somehow managing to open Lady Whitley's diary with one hand, I found the page where I'd left off. Her entries were actually getting a bit interesting. I couldn't lie and say I wasn't a tad bit intrigued on where it was going with all of this twin business.

I cleared my throat and continued to stroke Olivia's hair.

Time seemed to stop a little as I peered down at the scrawled text. Because right now, it was just me and Liv and history.

Our history. Rosecrest's history.

Just us.

"Sawyer Pearce thinks himself quite clever, it would seem. But we shall see how he likes being the center of such schemes. Yes, we shall see."

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