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“My dad had two names,” Josiah explained. “Well, three. Curtis Nikora Iokua Savea.”
“So Josiah’s middle name is Nikora, while Theo got Iokua,” Ayesha added. “Everyone calls him Curtis except his grandmother.”
“What does she call him?”
“Nik.”
He thought back to the day in the park.
There was no way.
It couldn’t be.
It had to be a coincidence.
A lookalike.
Maybe he was misremembering. That day, he’d been so stressed out, he could’ve made a mistake. It was easier to recognize someone from a photo after seeing them in person than the other way around, but if that were the case…
“Josiah, that first time I took you and Theo to the park, do you remember seeing a man sitting next to me on the bench?” he asked.
“No,” Josiah said.
“What about a man talking to your friend’s mother? The girl who you argued with over the cartoon?”
“It’s not a cartoon. It’s Naruto and Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
“I’ll get it right next time, but did you see the man talking to her mother when we were leaving?”
“Joel, her mother wasn’t at the park.”
“How do you know?”
“Because her mother died in the same car accident where she lost her leg.”
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
Ayesha wiped her hands, tossed the paper towel, and left the bathroom only to run smack dab into a solid chest. The person wrapped their arms around her waist to steady her—and didn’t let go.
“Ayesha?”
She looked up.“Adrían?”
“Querida, you look beautiful.” He drew her close. “It’s so good seeing you.”
She returned the hug and spotted Joel, Gage, and Tayler watching them over Adrían’s shoulder. “You too.”
“I’m beautiful?”
“Nice seeing you too, I mean.”
“I know. I’m joking.” He tightened his embrace. “Are you here alone?”
He still looked good, still had that slight Brazilian accent that used to leave her searching out his touch before it was even one o’clock in the afternoon. Back then, he was slimmer and more toned. Over the years, he’d packed on a good deal of muscle, but he still reminded her of Jon Kortajarena in a black wetsuit on the cover of Vogue.
“No, I’m with someone,” she said.
