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"Yes, but especially after the way it ended."

I look at her. "It's not over yet." Her smile deepens.

"No?"

I kiss her again, slowly, because I can, because she wants me to, because neither of us is pretending anymore that this thing between us is casual.

When I let her go, she stays close for another second.

"Call me later?"

"I will."

She smiles and opens the car door.

"Goodnight, Javier."

"Goodnight, Maddy."

She gets in, and I close the door for her. She backs out of the drive, lifts one hand through the windshield, and heads toward the road. I stay there until her taillights disappear.

This morning I watched her drive away because I couldn't give her the truth. Tonight she leaves knowing it. And somehow, for the first time in a long time, letting someone know the worst thing that ever happened to me doesn't feel like losing something.

It feels like making room for what comes next.

Chapter Eighteen

Madison

By the following Saturday, Oakridge Veterans Farm looks like someone gave an entire town permission to make a mess.

Hay bales are stacked beside the barn. Pumpkins line the main drive. Folding tables are everywhere, and a hand-painted HARVEST FESTIVAL sign leans against the equipment shed waiting for someone to decide where it belongs.

It's been a good week. Not dramatic. No unexpected visitors. No painful conversations. No moments that leave me sitting in my car trying to figure out what just happened. Just life. Javier calls me at night. I see him at the farm. We had dinner at Betty's on Wednesday, where he stole three of my fries after accusing me of doing exactly the same thing to him on our first date at Willow & Vine. Yesterday he stopped by Mom's with vegetables and stayed long enough for Noah to talk him into helping with a science project that somehow involved baking soda, vinegar, and most of Mom's kitchen towels.

Things between us feel different since the night at his house. Closer. Easier. Real enough that I've stopped trying to figure out what to call it.

This morning, Javier is carrying a box of extension cords across the yard when he sees me. His smile comes immediately. So does mine. That's new too. Or maybe I'm just finally admitting it.

"Morning."

"Morning." He shifts the box against his hip. "You're late."

I check my phone. "By three minutes."

"I missed you."

"Of course you did."

He leans down and kisses me. Quick. Easy. Right in the middle of the farm. Then he keeps walking. "Emma's looking for you."

I stand there for half a second. Javier glances back. "You coming?"

"Yes." His mouth curves. I catch up. Definitely different.

Jack is standing on a ladder trying to hang strings of lights between two posts. Emma stands below him with a clipboard.

"Left."