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“Good.” He moved away from her and she turned, trying to follow the sound of his footsteps. Too late she remembered he was barefoot. And that he could be awfully stealthy when he wanted to be.
“You had stinky phases,” she said, hoping to provoke him into talking so she could figure out where he was from the sound of his voice. But apparently he was stealthy and sneaky because she heard nothing for a minute or so until there was the sound of something thumping onto either the kitchen table or the counter. “If you’re filming me standing here looking like an idiot, I’m going to be pissed.”
Zach laughed then, the sound closer than she’d expected. “Patience, grasshopper.”
“You’re not the one standing here blindfolded.”
“Easily bored, are you?”
“When I’m blindfolded, yes.”
He laughed again. There were a few more mysterious noises, and then his hand slipped into hers. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she said, curiosity burning. “Just don’t let me walk into anything.”
“Trust me,” he said, and she had to fight a shiver.
Trust him? It sounded easy. It sounded simple. She would love to trust him. Love to believe he’d always be there. But that would be beyond stupid. Because he was leaving. CloudFest was rapidly approaching. Then Zach would be gone. So she had to be smart. But still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t willing to let him take her by the hand and take her wherever he wanted to go. At least for tonight.
She’d half-expected Zach to lead her back toward the main house and put her in his car. But instead, they walked into the garden, Zach directing her carefully once they reached the grass. It made more sense, she supposed. Why leave when the whole purpose of this weekend was to hide away and enjoy the solitude.
After a few more minutes, her feet crunched back onto a gravel path, and she wondered if they were heading back to the beach. Unless she’d completely lost her sense of direction with the blindfold, they hadn’t headed inland. The sound of the ocean, which was almost always a background noise on most of the Harper estate, was growing louder, which confirmed her theory.
But then they crossed onto grass again instead of continuing down to one of the beach paths.
“Almost there,” Zach said encouragingly. He guided her for a couple more minutes, keeping her hand in his, fingers tangling together. It was foolish that his touch and the way he’d made sure she hadn’t so much as stumbled warmed her heart. But she was going to live with foolish for now.
“Okay,” Zach said. “Just stay here for a minute.”
He let go of her hand and, for a second, she mourned its loss. But then she heard a rustle and curiosity won out again. She strained her ears, trying to hear. But apparently one rustle was all Zach was giving her. She gave up and stood still, focusing on enjoying the warmth of the early evening and the sea air ruffling her hair, knowing that Zach would be back with her soon enough. Apparently that was all she needed right now to be happy.
“Ready,” Zach said, and she realized he was standing in front of her. His hands undid the knot of the blindfold and she opened her eyes cautiously, shielding them against the light.
At first all she could see was Zach, but then, as she caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of her eye, she knew where she was. On the small patch of grass behind—or in front of, maybe—Mina’s lighthouse. With a view of nothing but the ocean rolling out in front of them in endless blue.
“Here?” she said.
Zach smiled. “Remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” She stared at the spot. She hadn’t been here for a long time. Possibly not since the night of her eighteenth birthday, in fact. A night that was hard to forget.
A night that she suddenly remembered …
It had nearly been the perfect night. Leah surveyed the marquee from just inside the entrance. Her eighteenth birthday party. Or the tail end of it. An hour or so ago, just before midnight, her parents and the younger kids and the rest of the adults had all left, leaving the tent and the music to Leah and her friends. For anyone else it would totally have been the perfect night. A stack of presents taller than she was waited for her to open in the morning; the cake had been a wonder of cream and chocolate and sugar; her dad, Sal, had managed to make a speech that was funny without being completely humiliating, and everyone had had a great time.
Nearly perfect.
So close.
But not quite. Because there was just one more thing that Leah wanted for her birthday.
She scanned the tent again. On the dance floor, Faith was dancing with Eli, the two of them lost in the music. A few others were up and dancing too. The rest were talking in groups at the tables or, she suspected, had sneaked out to see what nooks and crannies could be found on the Harper property to make out in.
Ivy was sitting by the bar, talking to the bartender rather than drinking.
The one person she couldn’t see was the only one she was looking for.
Zach.
