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“I suspected. Tonight, I let him know that I knew.” I smiled. “And Charlotte…”

“Yes?”

“You were right. We didn’t talk about Aurora once. I don’t think we even mentioned the name.”

“Mm-hmm…”

I told her everything. Salzburg. The orchid. His palm against my cheek. If I hadn’t said it out loud, I would have thought I’d dreamt it.

“Emilia, that sounds wonderful.” Something in her tone changed. “I bumped into Marcus today.”

“Did you?”

“Yes. After what you told me yesterday, I asked if they’d learned anything.”

“What did he say?”

“That the investigation was ongoing. But I’ve been thinking about the way he answered me.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He always looks at me when I’m speaking to him. Always. But when I asked, he looked away before he answered.”

“Maybe he was thinking.”

“Maybe.” She was quiet. “But I’ve known Marcus for three years.”

I sighed. “I think there is a lot I don’t know.”

“I think so too.” Her voice softened. “I’m glad you had a wonderful evening.”

“Me too.”

We talked for a few more minutes, planning to have lunch together soon before we said good night. I stayed there on the couch for a while longer, gazing into the fire and drinking my tea. Tonight had been everything I hadn’t expected. My mind kept returning to his hand against my cheek, the walk home, the way he said my name. Still, Charlotte’s words lingered somewhere at the edge of the evening, unanswered.

* * *

I woke before my alarm.

This had been happening more often lately, my body naturally rising with the morning sun. I lay still for a few minutes, listening to the silence.

I rose, made myself a cup of coffee, and found my way to the window seat. Manhattan was already awake. I watched the clouds move across the sky, content to just sit here before the day asked anything of me. I thought about how, just a few short weeks ago, the first thing waiting for me on a Monday morning would have been a spreadsheet that required me to make difficult financial decisions. Instead, today I would walk into the lab and look at data.

I was aware, very simply, of being happy.

I thought again about last night. Walking beside Alexander with my hand resting on his arm had felt strangely natural. My fingers found the necklace at my throat. Sofia had always insisted that scientists needed more delicate things in their lives to balance the weight of all the questions. My heart tightened with the familiar ache of missing her. The grief was still there, but it didn’t diminish the memories. These days, I simply longed for her presence.

You would have loved this place, I thought.

She would have insisted on staying in the conservatory until nightfall so that we could watch the stars. I would have told her that Blackwood had an observatory and she would have said she wanted to smell the flowers while the night sky floated above us.

I took my coffee to the kitchen, got dressed, and went to work.

* * *

Priya was at her desk when I arrived. This was not unusual, but the way she looked up at me when I walked in was. She had the exhausted look of someone who hadn’t made the distinction between late night and early morning, and she had clearly been waiting for me.

I stopped in the doorway. “What happened?”