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I ignore that my bag has toppled over, because he is walking toward me. Three wide strides. And then he’s pulling me into his chest and burying his nose in my neck. And all of the pain of the last six months evaporates in a single moment.

He smells the same. Like Electric Pulse or Voltage Strike. Like home.

“What are you doing here?” My words are muffled against his shirt. He lets go just enough for me to look up.

“What are you doing here?” He cups my cheeks and bends so his forehead presses to mine.

“I was on my way to see you,” I say, “in Florida. I take back everything I’ve said about Hallmark movies being unrealistic. It turns out it’s far easier than you think to get Pensacola, Florida, mixed up with Peñíscola, Spain.”

He laughs, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a long time. “Well, I was on my way to see you too, but then—” He shakes his head. “I don’t even know how to explain it. Even if I did, I’m not sure you’d believe me.”

I pull away so I can look at him. “Try me. I have become very open-minded as of late.”

He swallows, then closes his eyes for a moment. “This is going to sound like I’m losing my mind, but I swear…” He opens them again. “I booked a ticket to come see you in Liverpool. I know that we agreed to give each other space. And I get why we did it. I do. I don’t ever want to resent you—or you me. But the second you were gone, it didn’t feel right. It felt like I left half of my heart up on that roof.”

He brings his hands to my face, his thumbs stroking my jawline. “You were right about me going to Nashville. I needed to try. But the longer I was there, the more I kept thinking…it doesn’t really mean anything without you, Annalise. You’re not the person I needed to leave behind to live out my dream. You’re the one I want with me while I’m doing it.”

A tear escapes, rolling down my cheek. He wipes it with the pad of his thumb. “I know I should’ve told you all of this six months ago,” he says. “I should’ve fought harder, or at least said more up there on that roof instead of nodding and pretending I was fine with all of it. But I’m saying it now.”

He tips my chin upward, holding my gaze. “I’m still so unbelievably in love with you, Annalise.”

My entire body reacts—pulse pounding and a rush that leaves me a little lightheaded.

“I got on a plane because I needed you to know that,” he continues. “I needed you to know that I want this, you, all of it—even if it’s messy, even if it’s long distance for a while, even if we have to make it up as we go along. And I was hoping maybe you still feel the same.”

I want to tell him that I do—that the words he’s just said are the same ones I’ve felt in my bones ever since that night on the roof. But instead, my eyes fill with tears. Really happy tears, and when he pulls a crinkled Kleenex from his pocket, they come even harder, only this time I’m laughing.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I say, taking the Kleenex from him and dabbing my eyes. “It was my stupid idea. Breaking up. Saying we needed space. I think I thought that if we made a clean break, it would hurt less. One painful, terrible moment instead of a hundred little ones.”

I draw a deep breath for the next part, for as much as it’s painful to say, I need him to know. “After Larry died I was so broken. I was determined to live my life and not let anyone into it again. Nothing was worth the pain of losing someone I loved. But then you walked through my door.”

The tears fall harder. I abandon the Kleenex and let them. “I was never supposed to fall in love with you—but I did. You made me happy again. You made me want to love. You are magic, Mackenzie Smith, and I’m sorry I didn’t believe in that.”

He brings his lips to mine. “I don’t need an apology. I just need you.” He kisses me softly. It’s the same kiss I remember, the slow press of his lips and sweep of his tongue and the low growl that escapes the back of his throat as I relax into him and his arms wrap around me tightly. It feels perfect and right, as if we are meant to be like this. Like we should never kiss anyone but each other forever.

I’m not sure how long we stay like that, but when we finally pull away, it’s with tearstained cheeks and pink lips, and only then do I remember he didn’t finish his story.

“Wait. If you were coming to see me in Liverpool, how did you end up here?”

Mackenzie glances back toward his table, and on the tipped-over chair lying next to it is his black leather jacket.

“I was at Edwin’s place waiting for my Uber to the airport.” He turns back to me. “I had my bag, put on my jacket…and then, just like that, I was back in Toronto, standing on the sidewalk in front of our apartment. And you were there. But you couldn’t see me, or hear me, and then there was this guy on a motorcycle talking to you. I think it was your uncle, and he was wearing my jacket. He was talking to you about the eclipse, telling you to meet him at this restaurant. Made you promise. Said it was the—”

“Best suquet de peix I’ll ever have?” I supply.

Mackenzie’s eyes widen. “Yeah, how did you…”

He shakes his head. “Anyway, next thing I knew, I was back in Florida, totally confused, no idea what had even happened. But I couldn’t get the last thing he said to you out of my head.”

I try to think back, but the memory is too fuzzy. “What did he say?”

“He told you he’d always look out for you—no matter what,” Mackenzie says, and my heart squeezes so tightly it hurts to breathe.

“I know he’s not here anymore, but I think that dream—vision—whatever it was—was telling me it’s my turn to take care of you now. I’m the ‘no matter what.’ So, I changed my plane ticket, flew here…hoping I wasn’t imagining everything and that you’d keep your promise and come.”

The band around my heart breaks and fizzles into a million different pieces.

“And now I’m here,” I complete his story, and he shakes his head as if he still can’t quite believe it, either.