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“Because I can’t storm off. Not the same.”

He leaned a little closer. “So what you’re saying is, we should’ve been magically tied together from the beginning.”

She stared at him, lips twitching.

“You’re lucky your bear’s cute.”

They both laughed.

And for a heartbeat—longer than it should’ve been—it felt like nothing had changed. Like they were just two people who never got hurt, never said the wrong things, never left.

The golden cord between them pulsed, warm.

And Delilah realized with a rush of panic how easy it was to slip back in.

14

ROLLO

They left the Everglen Market just as the sky began to stain with lavender and gold, the light slanting low between the trees like it was trying to hold onto the day.

Rollo didn’t rush.

He didn’t want to.

Delilah walked beside him, her hand still tangled in his. The golden loop of the Lovers’ Knot had gone dim, the shimmer faded to a faint warmth that pulsed beneath their palms. But neither of them spoke about it. Neither had tugged free. Maybe neither wanted to.

Their basket, now full with dream candles, dried violet bundles, and three types of tea Wren hadn’t asked for butneeded, swung gently from Rollo’s free hand.

“You got quiet,” Delilah said, breaking the silence.

“I’m always quiet.”

“You’reusuallyquiet. This is… suspiciously introspective.”

He shot her a side-glance. “Maybe I’m just enjoying the moment.”

She arched a brow. “You? Enjoying being roped into a full-day magical hand-holding adventure with your ex?”

“Ex?” he echoed, pretending to wince. “Cold.”

“You dumped me, Steele.”

“I panicked.”

“Youran.”

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand not bound to hers. “Yeah. I did. Doesn’t mean I liked it. OR that I was right to do it.”

She looked at him then—really looked—and something flickered in her eyes. Not quite forgiveness. But the soft glint of understanding. Maybe even curiosity.

“You’re different now,” she murmured.

He shrugged. “So are you.”

They turned onto the wooded path that curved toward her side of town, the ground scattered with late spring petals and the whisper of wind brushing through the canopy overhead. It was quiet here. Sacred.

She didn’t pull her hand away.