He grins at me while I want to stay rooted to the spot despite the insistent tugging on my hand, I ultimately decide to follow along, heart drumming hard in my chest, loud enough that I think Ayden can hear it.

We head up to the front stoop, my luggage wheels not cooperating with me until we’re standing in front of the door; Ayden’s already rung the bell, still holding onto my hand, practically bouncing on his toes, he looks so excited.

And honestly, I suck up all of my insecurities and worries and figure that I know at least two other people in the country right now, and I’m going to get to see them soon.

I gulp one more time as the door swings open, and we get attacked by Ayden’s dog, Raven, a German shepherd, and border collie mix that sniffs me for two seconds before going to his dad and whining high in his throat, tail wagging fast enough to create a breeze.

I glance away from the happy display to find Mrs. Stone and Mr. Stone both standing by the doorway, glancing between the two of us, and since Ayden is preoccupied with his furry baby, I go ahead and introduce myself.

“Hello,” I say, holding out a hand for a shake. “I’m Aria. It’s so nice to finally meet the both of you. Oh, hi, pup,” I stammer, my extended handshake thrown off as Raven turns his attention to me, sniffling around my legs, and somehow poking his cold, wet nose underneath my T-shirt and making me yelp once it makes contact with my skin.

“Ah, cold, cold nose!”

Ayden laughs, wrestling the dog away, and then finally wrapping an arm around each of his parents and squeezing them close, making all three of them laugh and laugh.

It’s such a nice sight to see and makes me long for the people I used to call home—Maddie and Raleigh—more than I can begin to bear.

Later, you can see them later. You’re at least on the same continent now though, eh?

“Well, come in, come in!” Mrs. Stone says, waving both Raven and I inside, even from the stranglehold Ayden has on the both of them. “I’m sorry you’ve caught us in a state. Raven already knew Ayden was here and couldn’t be stopped. Eh, boy, is that right?” Mrs. Stone says, leaning down to pet Raven’s dark head, the dog barking in what I think is excitement.

I love dogs, just never had the privilege of owning one, only ever hanging out with one for an extended period of time, and I’m looking forward to the next three nights with hopefully Raven curled up at the foot of the bed. That would be nice.

“How was the flight, sweetheart?” Mrs. Stone asks, Ayden with his arm around just his dad now, the two of them walking deeper into the house, and I realize that Mrs. Stone is talking to me and not her son.

“Oh, ah, long,” I say, grinning. “I’m not the best flyer, as I’m sure Ayden will tell you.”

“Never really been on one myself,” she says. “I prefer trains and buses. Ah, look at you, just as lovely in person as you sound over the phone.”

“Oh,” I say, squirming under the compliments. “Uh…” I say intelligently, still dragging my suitcase behind me, shoes discarded in the entranceway, the tip-tap of Raven’s nails against the flooring signaling how very happy the dog is, winding around the Stone men.

“I’m very glad to be here. Is there anything I can help you with? Oh, what’s that amazing smell?”

Mrs. Stone beams at me, and I stop in my tracks—the exact kind of smile that Ayden wears when I’ve been particularly lovely to him. I get that smile a lot, it seems, and now I know where it comes from. “I’ve gone and made some fresh chocolate chip cookies, they’re—”

“Ayden’s favourite,” I laugh, covering my mouth with my hand. I was able to brush my teeth after getting off the plane, but cold brew is cold brew breath, and I want to be careful. “They smell amazing, and I’m sure they’ll be delicious.”

“Come on, sweetheart, you look dead on your feet.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “The jet lag is catching up with me, but I’m going to try my best to stay up until the evening, hopefully. Fingers crossed.”

“Mum, Aria and I can take Raven to the park for a little bit, since I haven’t seen my boy in so long, right, boy?” Ayden crouches down to his dog, gets a thousand dog kisses, laughing all the while.

“You don’t need to ask me for permission, Ayden. Won’t you settle in first? Have a cup of tea? The caffeine will help, I’m sure.” Mrs. Stone says, moving us through the living room and into the kitchen where the smell of cookies is the strongest. Ayden goes over to the lit oven, bending down practically in half to look at the cookies laid out there in the middle, the smell absolutely intoxicating.

“Aria,” Mr. Stone says, and my heart flutters with nerves, because even though it appears that Mrs. Stone likes me, maybe Mr. Stone won’t, and then that’s going to be a problem. “How was the flight?”

“She had a hard time, Dad,” Ayden says, glancing back over his shoulder at me. “Second time flying, and it was a long-haul flight.”

Mr. Stone winces in sympathy. “Seems you and Olivia are more alike than you know.”

Ayden gets to his full height, towering over both of his parents, slinging an arm over both of their shoulders, and squeezing them close to his body. The pair of them seem delighted to be in this particular predicament and all I can do is grin at all three of them, Raven whining by their feet. “Ah, it’s so nice to be home.”

“It would be nice one of these days to come and see you in Toronto, was it?”

Ayden rolls his eyes at his dad. “Yeah, Dad. Toronto. It’s only an eight-hour flight.”

“Eight hours?” Mrs. Stone gasps. “I’d rather die.”

“Mum…seriously?”

Mrs. Stone keeps shaking her head, shuddering at the thought. “Eight hours. No, absolutely not. Listen to us blathering on, let’s get you sorted, the both of you, and then you can relax.”

Mr. Stone leads the way upstairs, grabbing onto my suitcase before Ayden can get to it, and I stammer out at least fourteen thank yous in a row, following him up the creaky stairs until we’re on the second landing and brought into a bedroom with a double bed, and a bookcase pressed up against the opposite wall.

We all look down at the bed awkwardly until Ayden starts laughing nervously, rubbing at the back of his head, until all perceived awkwardness is broken by Raven jumping up onto it and lying down like he belongs there, which is fair.

“There’s towels here and here,” Mrs. Stone says, indicating a pile on a tiny nightstand with said towels, a set that is pink and the other a baby blue. “And we’ve got everything stocked up in the bathroom across the hall here, but if there’s anything in particular you need, please let me know and I can pick it up for you.”

I nod dumbly, feeling my cheeks begin to burn. I have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all, but the whole situation makes my skin itch, and I kind of want to make a run for it to escape the sensation. I stay in my spot though, expressing gratitude for them opening up their home for me to stay a few nights.

“We’ll leave you to it then, and the cookies should be ready in another fifteen minutes or so. I would suggest coming downstairs as quick as you can before this one”—Mrs. Stone jerks her thumb over her shoulder to indicate her husband— “burns his tongue right off trying to eat as many as he can.”

“Olivia, honestly,” Mr. Stone says, scoffing, but the way he doesn’t look at Ayden or me says it all.

I laugh, absentmindedly petting Raven’s head, taking a seat on the bed with a groan while Ayden’s parents leave us alone, leaving the door wide open. “I know that if I don’t get off this bed right now, I’m going to want to sleep, which is inevitably going to ruin the rest of my week.”

Ayden huffs out a breath, running a hand through his dark hair. “Not your entire week, Aria.”

I fight back a yawn but end up losing anyway, yawning loud enough that tears leak out of my eyes. “Better not. We have plans, and I can’t be traipsing around London, trying to take it all in while being sleepy. No way.”

Ayden grins, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Maybe just a quick nap,” he says, climbing onto the bed with me, laying me down on my back, an arm slung over my waist while he faceplants into the bed with a happy groan.

Raven’s still somehow lying down in between us, all nice and warm pressed up against my legs, and it really doesn’t take much for me to close my eyes on a sigh and fall asleep.

Just a quick nap then. Just a quick one.