Her cheeks pinken at the compliment. “Thank you. I thought about going to a bakery, but I didn’t want…” Emily trails off. “I decided to keep things private. Adding all those little decorations with the frosting is kind of like meditating, anyway. Can’t focus on anything else.”

“It turned out so well.”

“Maybe that’s what I’ll be in my next life. A cake decorator.” Emily looks at Paige, at the fire. A quick glance at Mateo, but then she looks away again. “I don’t know if I’d want to do wedding cakes, though. That seems like a lot of pressure.”

My heart aches for her. I know Emily doesn’t mind making her daughter’s birthday cake. I know she’d do it again, every year if that’s what Paige wanted. I just wish the stress was over for her. I wish she could go down to the bakery in Eben Cape without worrying about photographers or rumors or God knows what else. We’re relatively safe here, behind all the security that Mateo hired, but…

But.

How long can you stay confined? How long could Emily? We’re not close enough for me to ask her, but I wonder about it anyway. Does it ever feel like hiding?

If it does, I hope it’s not bothering her tonight. Trouble seems farther away, at least to me.

Paige stands next to the fire with Beau by her side. She holds a marshmallow on a stick.

“Keep turning it.” Beau keeps his hands over hers. “Slowly. Evenly.”

“What happens if I do it fast?”

“Maybe nothing. Or maybe it slips a little and catches on fire.”

Paige’s eyes get wide, and then she focuses harder on the marshmallow.

“That wouldn’t be the worst thing,” offers Mateo. “I like burnt marshmallows.”

Paige wrinkles her nose. “You do?”

“If you cover them in chocolate, you barely taste the scorched parts.”

“But if it did light on fire, what would we do?” My heart beats a little faster at her question. Coach House started burning while Beau and Paige and I were asleep.

Beau puts a hand on her back. “If a marshmallow catches on fire, it’s pretty easy to blow out. Like a candle.”

This seems to satisfy Paige. “Jane.” She says my name without looking at me. “Do you like my new zip line?”

“It looks like so much fun. All of your presents look amazing.”

“They are amazing.” Her voice turns slightly wistful. “This is the best day ever. I wish we could do this every day.”

“This is the best day for sure.” Mateo stretches his legs in front of him and drinks from his beer. “I’ve never seen a zip line set up more professionally than yours.”

“All thanks to you,” says Beau. “Never would have managed if you weren’t here, Mateo.”

“How does it feel to be eight years old?”