Page 66 of Passing Ships

She shakes her head. “Nothing. I mean … you can take me to see LeLe. I just … I need to see her sweet, happy face.”

Avie sniffles, and I glance back at her. She nods.

“Okay.” I reach over and take Amiya’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Whatever you need. We can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. I’ll even let you guys paint my nails again.”

She chuckles and squeezes my hand back, but she doesn’t say anything. The silence stretches out between us as we make our way back to the island, heavy and thick. I know she’ll talk when she’s ready. Right now, she just needs to process. She just needs to breathe. She just needs her dose of Leia.

Amiya leans her head back against the seat and closes her eyes. Her hand is still in mine, her grip loosening as she drifts off. I glance over at her, watching the way her chest rises and falls with each slow, steady breath. For a moment, she looks peaceful, like the weight of everything has lifted, if only for a little while.

“Can you drive around for a while? Let her sleep for a few minutes,” Avie asks.

I meet her eyes in the rearview mirror and nod. A minute later, her eyes close too.

I take the long way home, using the back roads I know so well, avoiding the busy streets, trying to give them as much peace as I can.

Half an hour later, Amiya stirs in her seat, her eyes fluttering open. She looks over at me, and for the first time since she got off that plane, I see a glimmer of something in her eyes. Not happiness, not hope, but maybe … strength. The kind of strength that comes from knowing you’re not alone, even when everything else is falling apart.

“I’m going to be okay, Sailor. I just needed a minute to process, and I’m going to be fine.” She looks over her shoulder to where Avie is still fast asleep and smiles. “I’m not going to let this stop me from being present during every single moment of celebration these next two weeks.”

“You’re something else—you know that?”

“Of course I do,” she quips, but there’s no bravado behind it.

“Thank you,” she says softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

I don’t know what she’s thanking me for. I haven’t done anything. But I smile at her anyway, tugging her hand to me and planting a kiss on her wrist before turning my attention back to the road.

“Anytime, Legs,” I say, and I mean it.

Because no matter what happens between us, she and I are going to be family soon. And there’s absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for my family.

Amiya

We pull up to Wade’s house, and Lennon stops the car.

“Eden brought Leia home with her to swim after her morning dance class. Sebastian planned to pick her up after work,” he explains, and then his eyes come to me. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, I could go for a cocktail by the pool. I bet Eden has spare swimsuits for us,” I say, turning to Avie.

You sure? She mouths the question.

I nod.

“Sounds good to me,” she agrees.

Lennon locks the car, leads us up the steps to the front door, and walks right in without bothering to knock. We follow him through the kitchen to a set of French doors that open to a massive pool deck.

Wade, Eden, and Kenton are seated in loungers, watching as his son, Dillon, picks a squealing Leia up by the waist and tosses her into the opposite side of the pool.

A second later, her head of wet curls bobs to the top of the water, and she raises her arms as she kicks her way back to him.

Dillon promptly grasps her and repeats the stunt.

Lennon walks out on to the deck, bends, and clasps Wade’s shoulder, and both he and Eden look up to where we are standing. Eden hops to her feet and sprints over to wrap her arms around my neck.

She doesn’t say a word, but her embrace is filled with empathy and comfort.

I squeeze her in return.

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