Present Day
Celia found herself thinking about all the times she and Lucas had spent by this lake as she lay in his arms, her head resting on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It was in this very clearing that he’d told her they were going to be mates, the night before he abruptly left.
It felt strange to be back here now, almost like a surreal kind of déjà vu. Like she should be bracing herself for the other shoe to drop. But she wanted so badly to believe that Lucas was going to stay, that he was done running.
Believing that, though, was hard when history had always said otherwise.
“What was it like when I left?” he asked softly, trailing his finger along her shoulder.
“Unbearable.”
He let out a quiet breath. “I’m sorry. I handled it all wrong.”
“You real
