When they pulled apart, Lila was standing in the doorway.
“Are you guys having a moment?” she asked. “Because I can come back.”
“Get over here,” David said, holding out his arm.
Lila grinned and joined them, and David held both his daughter and granddaughter as fireworks continued to light up the sky above Circle Pond.
Eve
At two in the morning, the party finally began to wind down.
Residents drifted back to their homes, calling out final Happy New Years.
William and Julie were cleaning up with a few neighbors’ help.
Mia and Nolan had disappeared somewhere, probably for a walk around the pond.
Lila had gone upstairs an hour ago, exhausted but happy.
Eve found David sitting on the front steps of William’s house, Chaos lying beside him.
She sat down next to him, their shoulders touching.
“Some night,” she said.
“Some night,” David agreed.
They sat in comfortable silence, watching the last of the neighbors head home.
“So,” Eve said finally. “What happens now?”
“Now?” David turned to look at her. “Now I figure out who I am when I’m not running. Who I am when I’m not hunting.” He took her hand. “And I’d very much like to figure that out with you, if you’re willing.”
Eve’s heart swelled. “I’d like that.”
“I have a lot to work through,” David warned. “Twenty-eight years of trauma doesn’t just disappear overnight.”
“I know,” Eve said. “I’m a trauma surgeon, remember? I understand.”
David smiled. “I know you do. That’s one of the many reasons I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Eve’s breath caught.
“I know it’s fast,” David continued. “I know we barely know each other. But Eve, from the moment I bumped into you on that pavement, something just... clicked. And now I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
“I feel the same way,” Eve admitted. “And you’re wrong. It’s not fast. Mary knew. She wrote it in that book. She knew we were meant to find each other.”
David’s eyes misted. “Nancy always was the smart one.”
He leaned in and kissed her. Soft. Sweet. Full of promise.
When he pulled back, he kept his forehead pressed against hers.
“Stay,” he whispered. “You and Mia and Lila. Stay in St. Augustine. Give us a chance.”
“I have a job in LA,” Eve said. “Mia has hers too, and Lila has school.”
“I know,” David said. “And I would never ask you to give up your lives. But maybe... maybe we could figure it out. Long distance for a while. Visits. Holidays. And then, when you’re ready, when it feels right...” He pulled back to look at her. “Maybe we could build something here. Together.”
