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D espite the generous size of the backseat in Grant’s SUV, Ginny’s lap was the only available seat as far as Annie was concerned for the trip to Malibu the following Thursday.

But at least that dog was zonked out. Mick and Jack insisted on leaning their block heads over the rear seat and panting warm dog breath down the back of her neck—the doggy version of “Are we there yet?”

Up front, Sadie and Grant worked through their repertoire of classic jazz songs, their gorgeous voices blending with the harmonies they practiced at home for fun.

“ Everybody loves my baby… ” Sadie sang out in her clear, cheerful soprano.

“ But my baby don’t want nobody but me, that’s plain to see!” Grant crooned in reply as he made an especially tight, hairpin turn up the canyon road.

Monique would be arriving straight from work in her own car a bit later.

Ginny had tried a few more times to keep this trip from happening, but Sadie’s excitement had eventually been contagious, even for Ginny.

She would enjoy seeing the spot one more time as best she could, then let one of Monique’s colleagues sell it off.

The picnic Grant prepared was a bonus – everything bagels with artichoke dip, mini asparagus quiches, and tangy mango slices over sweet, sticky coconut rice for dessert.

From the back of the car, Jack offered a hearty canine chorus of “A- roo roo roo ,” and the song concluded with a group laugh.

Ginny had been keeping an eye out for the cul-de-sac and the gravel drive, and suddenly, there they were. “Turn left here.”

“This is unbelievable,” Sadie said as the SUV bumped and jiggled up the narrow, gradual incline. “But don’t you look Grant. You keep your eyes on the road!”

Sadie’s nervousness over the steep plunge to either side of them reminded Ginny of her own terror as Nico had headed up this impressive ridge.

She’d been scared he was going to shove her out the door and over the cliff, but his actual plan had been much simpler than murder– get her far enough away from her house that his brother could turn it into topsoil.

They reached the spot where the road began to slant up sharply, the place where Ginny had screamed and gotten out of the car to walk the rest the way.

Ginny had an urge to walk it alone again, one more time.

“Grant, can you let me out right here? I’d like to head up there by myself first, if that’s okay. ”

She wasn't sure how well she would cope with seeing the exact spot of earth where Nico had carried her after she nearly toppled to her death, the same spot where she asked for and received a kiss that still returned nightly to her dreams, leaving her lips aching and arms empty when she woke. Her family still didn’t know about any of this, and she couldn’t risk her initial reactions betraying the truth to them.

She and Sadie read each other almost as if they were the same person, but today was about making new memories, not answering Sadie’s one million questions about old, humiliating ones…

“Of course,” Grant said, stopping the car.

“Just give me a few minutes, and then you guys come too?” Ginny said, getting out.

“Sure. We’ll grab the dogs and the picnic things and head up in a bit,” Sadie said. There was a curious glint in her little sister’s glass blue eyes, but Ginny chalked it up to the joyful hour she’d just spent singing.

The temperature was at least ten degrees warmer than on her previous visit.

The uphill walk dampened her t-shirt, and she wished she’d grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.

The still air wasn’t as enticing for the gulls either, and she missed their overhead cries and swoops.

Without wind, the local wildflowers gave up less of their scent, hoarding it for themselves and the visiting bees.

You can never go back , she thought to herself. Nothing was ever the same twice.

She was so busy thinking about the temporariness of things, of everything throughout time, really, that when the top of someone’s head became just visible over the crest of the hill, she assumed her mind played tricks on her.

Was the longing for him in her ridiculous subconscious so intense that it had managed to manifest a Nico-shaped mirage, curly brown hair and all?

But with each step nearer to the plateau where this unwanted visage stood, more of his long, powerful body was revealed.

His back to her, he wore a light army-green T-shirt, perfectly fitted, and dark brown jeans tucked into tan boots.

His hands rested on cocked hips as he stood at the ledge facing the sea.

Ginny froze, panting. The climb and the heat had already set her gulping for air. Now she used deep breaths in hopes of steadying herself while her heart did triple-axles in her chest.

This was no mirage.

She crouched down slightly, in case he should turn suddenly and spot her there, then quietly began picking her way back down toward the SUV.

Whew, that had been a close call .

What were the chances? The universe really was playing tricks on her!

And how could he have gotten here without his car or truck?

She’d seen neither on the way up. Sadie and Grant would be disappointed, but the family picnic at the lot was cancelled .

They’d have to find a pull off somewhere, or better yet a park where the dogs could get some running around time.

She was striding swiftly back down the gravel road and thinking about Malibu dog parks when she looked up to see Sadie standing just outside their car. Where before there’d been a glint her sister’s eye, there was now a sheepish grin spread across her famous face.

Ginny froze again. Sadie had insisted they come. Sadie had chosen the time of day, too, even though it meant Monique would be late and must drive on her own. Sadie also, Ginny had noticed without paying much mind, packed extra drinks and utensils into the picnic things.

Fury drove Ginny’s legs the last five yards to stand in front of her sister. “Are you responsible for this?”

“I am,” Sadie said. Her cheeks glowed, and not just from the heat. She looked...excited? She gestured down the gravel drive they’d so recently come up. “Let’s take a walk?”

Without a reply or even a nod, Ginny blasted off in the direction Sadie indicated. She was too angry to stand in one place, and the only other available direction was toward the man who’d intentionally destroyed her life.

Sadie quickly caught up to her. “He got in touch with me three weeks ago.”

“I don’t care.” Ginny maintained her stride.

“He told me…everything,” Sadie said, the sentence ending in a tender note.

With a solid kick, Ginny sent a rock careening down the canyon. “Then you know exactly how he used me.”

“I know exactly why you think he did, but I also know he didn’t.”

Ginny’s laugh was bitter. “Great! He’s fooled you too. At least now I’m not the only Heppner family idiot.”

“But I met Vince,” Sadie continued.

Ginny stopped walking. “You met his brother?”

“Nico insisted. And he confirmed everything Nico said. Early on, the plan had been to take down your house, but then Nico got to know you and you met his mom. He was excited to move the house. He just waited an hour too long to tell his brother, and he had no idea his brother had put a camera on the house next door so he could see when you came and went.”

Ginny’s mouth dropped open. “Do you hear yourself? Do you not realize what you’re doing? A couple of creepy brothers had a camera on me, and now you invited him here to torment me some more?”

Sadie let out a tired sigh. “Ginny, you’re hurt and you’re not listening . Why would they give you this lot if they didn’t feel bad about what happened? This lot is an apology.”

“At best it’s a way to reduce their guilt for what they did. That’s why I can’t keep it.”

“Fine. But then why go to so much trouble to get in touch with me personally? Why insist I meet Vince?”

“To try to figure out if I’m suing them, maybe? Speaking of which, how did Nico get in touch with you? You’re not exactly in the phone book.”

Sadie shrugged. “He knows my producer.”

“Ah, yes, the monied elites,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes. “They all know each other. That’s how they get everything they want in life. It’s so annoying.”

“Yeah…till you are one,” Sadie said, her sheepish grin returning.

Ginny wondered whether the sale of this lot could buy her an island just big enough for her and three dogs. “Does Monique know all the gory details too?”

“Heavens, no. She’d kill me.”

“Why? It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done.”

“It matters because he still cares for you.” Sadie touched her arm, and Ginny recoiled from it. “He does! Why would he have come here just to get another tongue lashing from you if he didn’t? It’s not exactly pleasant being on the receiving end of that.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

“But you do care,” Sadie said, her tone softening. “Like I said before brunch, there’s been more going on with you than just missing your house.” She started to reach for Ginny’s hand, but Ginny crossed her arms. “Maybe…you have feelings for him too?”

In her head, Ginny screamed, No! In her mind’s eye, she and Sadie climbed back into the SUV with Grant and the dogs and drove away, leaving Nico alone on that mountaintop forever.

But in the real world, a single tear trickled down Ginny’s freckled cheek. In the real world, Sadie’s arms wrapped around her, and she cried into her sister’s shoulder. “I keep dreaming about him. I can’t make it stop.”

Sadie hugged her harder. “Maybe you shouldn’t try.”

“He’s going to hurt me again.”

Sadie pulled away just enough that they could see each other’s faces. “I really think he’s hurting just as much as you. He can’t sleep either. Vince says he’s losing weight. Vince is as worried about him as we’ve been about you.”

Ginny shook her head. “But we’re so different.”

“Remember when you had to convince me to give Grant a chance? You helped me understand I was still punishing myself for our parents’ death. I wasn’t letting myself be happy. I think you’re doing something like that too.”

“I don’t feel responsible for their accident like you did.”

“I know, but falling in love puts your heart at risk of losing someone again, doesn’t it?”

“Great Aunt Lydia said men aren’t worth it.”

“Sure, and you were closer to her than Monique or I was, but the way you go through life wouldn’t exactly get the Great Aunt Lydia seal of approval. She wanted you to finish college, and it’s hard to imagine she’d approve of squatters.”

Ginny had to laugh. “True.”

“So, it might not have anything to do with that old man hater. I wonder if, since Mom and Dad died, it seems easier for you to never get attached to anything, never make commitments, never take anything in life seriously, never?—”

“Grow up,” Ginny said, finishing her sister’s sentence.

“Well…yeah,” Sadie said, “though I wouldn’t want my Peter Pan sister to grow up too much.”

A smile crooked the corner of Ginny’s lips. “Neither would I. I’d be boring.”

“You don’t have to be a boring grown-up to find love though.”

“I might to be loved by Nico.”

Sadie shook her head. “Definitely not. He loves you the way you are. I can tell by the way he talks about you.”

Ginny was silent for a moment, then gave in to the curiosity tickling the edges of her floundering heart. “What does he say?”

Sadie looked back toward the ridge. “Why don’t you let him tell you himself? That’s why he’s here.”