Page 94 of Rise Above

She whirled to face me. “Hush, James.”

Aife smiled. That smile did things to me. I found

my arms wrapping around her, and Aife buried her face into my chest as her arms tightened around my waist. I reveled in the feeling of her pressed against me. She was always a comfort to my soul. My heart raced at the same time my body settled.

“Hi Talon,” Aife said, smiling brightly at me. “How

was your Thanksgiving?”

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“Filled with food.” Grabbing her hand, I led her to

the living room. “Might as well get the interrogation over with while you’re here. They are going to ask a million questions.”

“That’s fine. Is it nice to see them again?” She

sounded upbeat, happier than on the phone.

“Yeah, it’s been great! My brothers are crazy, but I

have missed them. They’ve been doing so well with work. I’m so proud of them.” I smiled at her. “How was seeing your family?”

Her face fell slightly. “It was fine.” Her voice was

almost devoid of emotion.

“Aife?” Grabbing her hand again, I rubbed my

thumb over her knuckles. “You don’t have to lie or pretend with me.”

“Really, they were fine.” She smiled weakly. “They

just always treat me like I’m made of glass. It can be hard seeing them when I’m doing so well. I understand their concern, but they take it too far sometimes.” Aife tugged her long sleeves further down her arms.

She was being intentionally vague about her

experiences. It bothered me a little that she still wouldn’t fully open up with me. Aife was my best friend; I told her everything. I didn’t like that she still hid parts of herself from me because I wanted to know everything about her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, darling.” I kept her hand in mine.

“You want to talk about it?”

Her big, beautiful eyes met mine. “When we are

back in Chicago.”

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I nodded as my family came barreling into the

living room. Each of my brothers carefully eyed Aife, doing whatever they did to surmise if she was worthy, I guessed. They all introduced themselves before sitting down. Mom noticed our hand holding, but she didn’t say anything. A bright smile filled her face though.

“So, Aife, tell us all about you.” Mom handed her a