“Oh, that goes without saying, sweet.”

“Good. That is settled then.” Because she would just feel awful eating in front of him, especially if what she was eating was what he had paid for. No, Ava was going to be one of those girlfriends that insisted that she pay, even if her pocket money was limited. Maybe she could borrow from her brother – their father gave him more anyway.

Speaking of…When Gormley and Theo appeared, she smiled, always happy to see the two of them. Up until ffleurbert, she would spend every second that she could with them. Unlike most older brothers, Gormley saw of her as a friend just as much as a sister.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no problem,” Ava answered. “It’s fine.” Because her brother and cousin were sweet, really. Maybe protective but they would never be purposefully rude. Or at least she hoped not. Then again…protectiveness could often times lead to that.

Ava nodded along with ffleurbert though she could tell from her brother and cousins’ expression that they weren’t too thrilled with the speech they were being given. She watched as her brother tried to be patient. It was harder for Theo though. He opened his mouth but Gormley nudged him in the side to keep him quiet.

“Oh we understand. We’re just used to spending a lot more time with her.”

Theo nodded. “We see that she’s here,” he answered, rolling his eyes, “it’s just kind of hard to spend time with her when she’s snogging her boyfriend.”

“We weren’t snogging!” Ava insisted before giggling. “Well, maybe a little.” She even blushed.

Gormley shook his head and Theo grinned, leaning against the wall close to them. “So, what are your intentions for my dear cousin?”

Ava gasped. Oh no. She had heard about these kinds of conversations but had never been parley to one. “Being sweet to me, that’s what, Theo!” She looked at ffleurbert apologetically. “We may need to find a place of our own sooner rather than later.”

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