“Do you have the slightest idea what she’s talking about?”

“No. But that’s fine. I find it works sometimes to just accept things the way they are and not try and understand them.” Greg held out his hand to Mel and she went straight to him.

The anger left her. Relationships ended, didn’t they? It was a fact of life. And if the right feeling wasn’t there, it wasn’t there. But she’d thought that for Joanna and Nate it was.

“Maybe there never would have been an easy way,” she conceded. “The four of us were so close it would have been difficult to find a way to recalibrate that. And it could have been us. Greg and me.”

Greg pulled her closer. “No, it couldn’t. I was gone from the moment I saw you do your first cartwheel on the beach. And you need me. You’d never get out of bed in the morning if I didn’t rip the covers off.”

“I hate that you rip the covers off.”

“You sleep through the alarm if I don’t.”

“Does that annoy you?”

“No, it’s adorable.” His fingers stroked her arm. “I need you, too, by the way.”

Mel felt a rush of gratitude. She’d never needed evidence of his love more than she did at that moment. “You don’t think I’m a hot-tempered, interfering Miss Fix-it?”

“I do. And I love that about you.”

“You do?” She kissed his cheek and Nate rolled his eyes.

“Not everyone has what you two have.” He bent to give Bess a belly rub. “But for what it’s worth, if I could change the way things happened, then I would. And I’m sorry it made things hard for you, Mel. I’m sorry that because of me you lost her, too.”

Having confronted all her own flaws, she was ready to be forgiving about his.

“You were eighteen. Eighteen-year-old boys aren’t known for their tact at handling delicate emotional situations.” But now she was curious. “So you and Joanna talked about it? Did you apologize?”

Nate held up his hand. “Just because we discussed what happened twenty years ago doesn’t mean I’m turning into a gossip. My conversations with Joanna are private.”

She sighed. “I guess I love that about you, even if it is frustrating.”

“Is everything okay here?” Eden appeared behind them and Mel turned.

How long had she been listening?

“Everything is fine. We’ve just been talking, that’s all.” And in a way she had Eden to thank for that. “Thank you for keeping Ashley company tonight.”

“Of course. I like her.” Eden looked wary. “We’re going to hang out tomorrow. Can I borrow your car? She doesn’t drive, and she doesn’t want to bother Joanna because she’s already done so much for her.”