I took the drink and his hand, shaking it firmly. “I like him.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, but she was smiling so hard I could feel it in my own cheeks.
“What are you doing in town? You were weirdly vague when you said you were coming.”
“I’m here to visit with Gramps for a couple of weeks. And obviously, to see for myself what the auction delivered.”
Her laugh bubbled out, bright and familiar. “Still a menace.”
I shrugged. “Consistency is my brand.”
It was easy. Comfortable. As if we’d been on the phone this morning—which we had.
My phone buzzed again. Work. Because of course. I silenced it before she could see my face.
“You’re still glued to that thing?” Her lips twitched in amusement.
“Trying to keep the wolves at bay.” I flashed a smile I knew she didn’t buy.
Lucy kept talking, her voice a warm hum beside me as we found a patch of shade. Something about Liam’s countdown to this picnic, how he’d been “training” for the obstacle course like there was an Olympic medal in it for him.
I nodded, listening, but my eyes kept drifting over the crowd.
It wasn’t only the work hanging over my head making me restless. It was… anticipation. Or perhaps dread. Both, probably. Because there were firefighters everywhere, and no matter how much I told myself this trip was about Gramps and Lucy, there was a tiny, reckless part of me that wanted to know if he was here.
A challenge to myself. Proof that I’d grown up. That I was long past being that girl who’d let a single summer fling unravel everything she thought she knew about her future.
So, yeah. I scanned. And I told myself it was simply curiosity.
I’d nearly made it to the end of my burger when my eyes found another familiar face across the park, over by the bandstand. He was helping haul a table out of the way, one end balanced casually in his grip like it weighed nothing.
Diego Rivera.
The sight of him struck me in the chest like a stone dropped into still water.
God.
It was as if no time had passed.
He looked… good. Better than I remembered, which was saying something. Bigger. Broader through the shoulders. And that way he moved—unhurried, completely at ease, like he was in total control of himself and everything around him. I used to envy that about him, that calm, unshakable self-possession.
My lungs squeezed tight. My pulse tripped. And all at once I was twenty-one again, kissing him in the cab of his old truck, believing for that one wild summer that there might be a different kind of future waiting for me if I was brave enough to grab it.
He didn’t notice me. And right now? I wanted to keep it that way.
I forced my gaze back to Lucy before my brain could go completely off the rails. “I should go see Doc before it gets late—check in, let him know I’m here.” I brushed crumbs from my hands like I had somewhere else to be.
“You sure?” Lucy tilted her head, surprise flickering in her eyes. “Cord will be back soon. And you'll miss the fireworks."
“Tomorrow, I promise. Tell him thanks for the burgers.”
She narrowed her eyes at me but didn’t press. Best friends knew when to let you bolt.
I hugged her again, tighter this time, then turned and walked fast, weaving through picnic blankets and coolers, not trusting myself to glance back.
Of course he’s here. Of course, he looks better. And of course, he didn’t come over.
By the time I slid behind the wheel of my car, my hands weren't as steady as I wanted them to be. I fumbled with the keys for a moment before getting them into the ignition, my fingers betraying the calm facade I'd been working so hard to maintain.
