I hug her even tighter. “This is pathetic. We’re not driving off a fucking bridge in a Ford Thunderbird. I’ll always come back to town. I think I need to see more of the world. Well, the universe. I guess universes?”

Stevie sniffles and wipes her eyes. “I just wish that I could be with you and Asmo and that Kas never left.”

“I know, Stevie.” I hug her one more time before I order our caramel apples and we rejoin the guys. Stevie gives Asmo a bite and I do the same for Dax. I can’t help but laugh when he gets frustrated with how big of a bite he tries to take.

There’s a clearing of a throat behind us, and we turn to see Ryan standing there. “Dad, Blair,” he says.

“Hey, Ryan,” Dax replies.

“Can I talk to you two for a minute?”

“Sure.” Dax takes my hand. Stevie gives me a wincing look over my shoulder as I follow Dax and Ryan through the street. I nearly trip over a pumpkin before picking up the train of my dress and stepping over it.

“I was hoping you would want to speak,” Dax says, and I can hear the yearning in his voice. But as I look at Ryan, who is looking at our joined hands, all I can feel is regret. Remorse for how this all went down. I don’t feel bad for the things I did to Ryan, necessarily, just the aftermath.

“I think maybe we could be friends, like when you’re in town we get lunch friends. I don’t think I have the capacity for much else than that. But as far as you two go, it’s none of my business. And Blair?”

“Yes?”

“I never apologized for how I treated you, and I hope you’re happy with Dax.”

“Thank you, and I’m sorry for how everything happened. I care about Dax a lot, and I appreciate you putting aside what I did to give him a chance. He really is someone worth knowing.” If only Ryan knew a fraction of who Dax is. Sadly, I don’t think that will ever happen. We will watch Ryan age as we stay the same. I can’t imagine how Dax has had to come to terms with that.

Dax smiles down at me and squeezes my hand. “So the next time I’m in Hallowsdeep maybe we can check out the renovations that Stevie makes to Hex,” Dax says to Ryan.

“That would be nice. I’d enjoy that.” Ryan goes to walk away but stops himself by spinning on his heel against the pavement of the road. “I hate to ask, but do either of you know what happened to Clover?”

“No,” Dax and I both say at the same time. Ryan nods his head.

“Well, see you around.”

“See ya,” Dax replies.