Eyes back on the road, I turned the car onto a winding road. “Is she still doing okay?”
She beamed at me. “She is. Thanks for recommending that center. She likes it there, and she’s on the mend. She sounds so good—steadier, happier. Her brother has visited her a few times.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah. She has a long way to go, but…”
“She has you,” I finished. I reached over and squeezed her hand. She laced her fingers through mine without hesitation.
Her phone rang again, and she sighed as she silenced it with a swipe of her finger.
“Everything okay?” I asked, still holding her hand.
“Sure. It’s just the editor from The Los Angeles Times again.”
I chuckled. “You say that so casually.”
She smirked. “Alright, I admit I internally freak out every time a big publication like that calls me. I mean, I’m still pretty much a nobody, a beginner investigative journalist.”
“You’resomebody, baby. Your star is on the rise.”
She blushed profusely. “Maybe accepting an offer from one of those media giants would be good for me, but I want to stay independent. Free from all political, corporate, and other influences. I want my name and work to stand on truth and nothing else.”
“I gave her hand another squeeze. “Then keep it that way. You don’t need backing from any of those giants. You’ve already proven that.”
Ava gasped when I pulled into the narrow driveway of a beach house. “Lincoln, this place… This is where we came on our first weekend getaway. It’s still here.”
“Yup,” I said, grinning as I cut the engine.
She covered her mouth, stepping out of the car slowly. Her gaze swept over the structure. “I wasnineteen,” she mused.
Coming to stand beside her, I surveyed the place. “And I was twenty-one.” My mind stirred with memories of that weekend so many summers ago.
Back then, I’d rented the place on a whim, thinking it would impress her. But it had ended up being more than just a romantic gesture—it was the first time we’d truly been alonetogether. Just us, the ocean, and love that was probably too overwhelming for our young hearts.
After I grabbed our bags, we walked up the steps together, and I unlocked the door with the same key the owner had mailed me last week. The hinges creaked as it swung open, revealing the familiar open-concept space with sun-bleached hardwood floors.
“It’s the same,” Ava whispered.
“It is.”
She turned to me with a giggle. “So this is why you insisted on coming all the way to Massachusetts on a whim.”
“Happy birthday… again, gorgeous.”
She jumped up and down like an excited kid in a toy store. “Oh, Lincoln, this is a lovely birthday gift.” She fiddled with the necklace I’d given her at this same house for her nineteenth birthday. I was shocked she still had it. She admitted she hadn’t been able to part with it even after I left. “You’re very good with birthday gifts.”
Dropping the bags, I swept her up into my arms. “I try…”
Our mouths met in a hot kiss that would have lasted longer and evolved into something more if I didn’t have to get her out of here. I had another surprise for her, and we had to leave so everything could be set up. So, I reluctantly pulled away.
“Let’s get settled and head down to the beach,” I said. “I want to see if everything else around here is still the same.”
She smiled eagerly. “Sounds good.”
We ended up exploring more than the beach. We visited souvenir shops and bought a few things. We walked for a while, hand in hand, letting the past and present blur together. She was relaxed and completely unaware that I was stalling.
I checked my watch, thinking that I’d kept her away from the house long enough. Surely, everything was ready.
