And he had taken himself away from them.
Eden’s eyes began to sting.
She sucked in a sharp breath in an effort to get a grip.
“I’d like to speak to Annelise for a moment, if it’s all right.”
Eden turned to Annelise. “Okay, first, Leesy, I appreciate your loyalty and your defense of the truth, and it’s a fine quality. But there are other ways of handling this situation, and you know it. I want you to apologize to Mr. Caldera and to Caitlynn and Caitlynn’s mom for resorting to physically fighting right now.”
“But—”
“Right now. Regardless of the provocation, violence is not the answer. You know a lot of words and you know how to use them, so there is absolutely no reason to fight, unless you’re actually defending yourself physically.”
“Shestart—”
Eden fixed her with a glare that ought to have reduced her to sparkly pink ashes.
Anneliseimmediatelysaid, “I’m sorry, Caitlynn, Mrs. Pennington. Mr. Caldera.”
But her lip was quivering. From frustration as much as woe.
“Caitlynn? Is there anything you want to say?” This was Jan Pennington in mom mode. Bless her.
Caitlynn was now looking down at her lap. “Sorry,” she muttered.
She showed no signs of wanting to look up ever again.
Another little silence fell. Eden looked around her again. At the couch, and the baseball, and the clock in the corner that had once been basically an orgasm countdown.
“You girls have so much in common,” Gabe said in that soothing voice that made everyone in the room unclench just a little. “You’re excellent students and charming, hardworking girls, and a little competition makes both of you better. Having a worthy opponent is something to be grateful for, because a worthy opponent in academics or sports make you try your best. There’s a lot to like about each other. So let’s talk about why youdon’tlike—”
“We do like each other!” Caitlynn and Annelise burst out at the same time.
Astonished.
Which clearly astonished the adults.
“Like, a lot,” Annelise reiterated, while Caitlynn nodded vigorously. And swiped her eyes with her hand.
Two bright little pair of eyes stared in puzzlement at Gabe.
A nonplussed silence fell upon the room.
Gabe said suddenly, almost sharply, as if he’d had an epiphany. “Caitlynn, what exactly did you say to Annelise?”
She ducked her head, embarrassed. “Her dad,” she mumbled.
“Can you speak up please.”
“I teased her about her dad.”
Eden curled her fingers into the arm of her chair.
“Whydid you do that?” Gabe kept his voice even. But she could see in the set of his shoulders how pissed he was.
“Because it’s the only thing that gets her worked up! I didn’t expect her to gonuts!” She looked at Annelise. Half in indignation, half in admiration.
“Caitlynn,” Jan Pennington said with great, strained patience, “why on earth do you want to get Annelise worked up?”