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Epilogue
RILEY
My hand shakes as I type in Nathan’s number on my phone.
I came here to sit and have privacy for this conversation. The bougainvillea are in constant bloom and offer great shade from the sun, but I’m too nervous to sit.
He knows everything. I sent him an email explaining my life for the last year.
It was easier to write it than to tell him the story over the phone. I would have left stuff out unintentionally had I told him, and I didn’t want to do that. He deserves to know everything.
We exchanged a couple of emails afterward. He doesn’t know my new number so he couldn’t call me, or I’m sure he would have.
I did it this way to prepare myself. Guilt weighs heavily on me over how I left, and over the way Sebastian—Nathan’s best friend, too—died.
But it’s time. Nova said I’d sleep better if I rip off the Band-Aid and talk to him.
So that’s what I’m doing.
I press the Call button and tense at the sound of ringing.
Don’t pick up. Pick up.I’m not sure what I want.
Maybe he’ll think it’s a spam call and not answer.
“Hello?”
His familiar voice has me freezing in place.
“Hey, man. It’s—”
“Riley,” he says before I can. “How are you, man?”
No anger. That’s good. “I’m great. Really great. How about you? Congrats on the engagement, by the way.”
“Thanks. I’m still in shock sometimes over how much my life has changed in the last year, but if it’s what I had to go through to get me here with Kensington, then it was worth it.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
We talk for an hour, and I can’t believe how easy it is to pick up where we left off. Nathan isn’t the same person he was when I left. I’m not, either. We’ve grown up and have soul mates, as Nova likes to call us.
Souls that have a past and seek each other out in every life after.
It’s not my particular way of thinking, being raised Catholic, but it’s very her and Gigi, who I’m sure inspired this mindset in Nova.
A smile tugs at my lips. I can’t think about Nova and not smile these days.
She’s the bright light in my life. Soon to be a self-made famous fashion designer. I’m so proud of her.
She insisted I invite Nathan and Kensington to Gigi’s estate.
We’re looking for our own place around Santa Barbara, but the prices are sky-high. Depending on how well Nova’s fashion line does, I might have to push off buying a place in the mountains until I can save more money. That dream still lives in me but for enjoyment now, not as a place to hide permanently.
Those days are behind me. I never imagined it would be possible. I had resolved myself to a life alone, always looking over my shoulder, paranoid of being discovered.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m no longer a target and don’t have to hide. Nova helps. Gigi does, too.
My gaze catches on a person moving across the lawn.