Page 102 of Shadow Dance

Her voice is an arrow to my heart. Everybody down here calls me by my given name, but no one says it quite like that. I look up to see Maeve a couple of feet away, standing in the open door of a car idling behind us.

She looks nervous and so beautiful in a short blue sundress and sandals, her hair pulled back, and she’s got more of a tan than she did when we were …what were we? Then she twists her hands together, her lips parting, and I realize I’m staring. My heartbeat triples and my mouth goes dry. Maeve is here.

She’shere.

Tossing my stuff back into the truck, I close the distance between us and pull her into my arms. “Do I even want to know how you found me?”

But she doesn’t say anything. Instead, a sob rips from her as she wraps her arms around my neck and clings to me like she’s terrified Imight disappear. I know the feeling. Tightening my grip, I close my eyes and let myself feel. Before, when we were together, I couldn’t let myself sink too far into what was happening. My survival—and hers—depended on me keeping my shit together.

But now things are different. We don’t have to hide how we feel from each other or anyone else which is good because I’ve never felt this much for a woman.

Eventually I raise my head, catching Tristan’s eyes. He’s standing on the other side of their car with a pretty redhead at his side. Must be his girl. She wipes her eyes, smiling sheepishly at me. How much do they know about us, I wonder? Tristan and Lucky mentioned once that Maeve had told them everything, but how much iseverything?

“Thank you,” I say to him, once I can speak. “For bringing her here.”

“She was coming whether I brought her or not,” he says with a dry chuckle, walking over.

“Sounds about right.”

Maeve breaks away from me, her head ducked as she wipes her face, but I slide my arm around her shoulders.She’s here.I can’t act like seeing her isn’t wrecking me in the best way possible. And she must feel the same because she leans into me, the warmth and solidity of her body soothing something deep inside me.

“It’s good to see you, man.” Tristan bumps my fist. “Looks like you’re doing a lot better.”

“I’m getting there. It’s been a long road.”

“I bet.”

The redhead follows, offering her hand. “Hi. I’m Evie, Tristan’s wife.”

“Cruz,” I respond, shaking her hand. “Good to meet you.”

I glance down at Maeve, who’s staring up at me with eyes that have haunted both my dreams and waking hours for months. “Hey,” I say, giving her a small smile. Looking into her eyes is like looking into a portal of the crazy time we lived through. I spent almost a year of my life hanging out with her every single day, getting closer and closer until we finally gave in and let ourselves fall.

Is it really that surprising I couldn’t let her go?

“Hey.” She gives me a shaky smile, her eyes still wet. “I hope it’s okay we stopped by. Is this a good time for you?”

Is she kidding me? It’s always a good time when it comes to her. But I can tell she’s having a hard time holding it together, so I just give her a soft smile. “Are you kidding me? Of course, it is. I don’t have anything else going on.”

“Are you sure?”

I was trying to be easygoing, but I guess I need to be more direct. “You are the only thing that matters.”

She sucks in a small breath.

“We’re staying at an Airbnb not too far from here. Maeve has the address if you guys wanna … I don’t know.” Tristan grabs his wife’s hand and takes a step back. “All right. We’re gonna go explore El Yunque. Call me if you need me, Mae.”

They drive away, leaving us alone. I wrap my arms around Maeve again, kissing the top of her head. “I can’t believe it. You’re here.”

“I’m here,” she agrees, pulling back to look at me. “And you’re here. I wasn’t sure you would be.”

“Come on, let’s go inside. Are you hungry?”

“Maybe? I haven’t been able to eat since we landed,” she admits.

“And when was that?” I ask, letting go of her long enough to grab my stuff from the truck.

“Yesterday,” she says. “I wanted to come see you last night, but they convinced me to wait.”

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