“If something is meant to be, it’ll be. I remember my dad saying that after he met Cleo. They went through a lot to be together, and they were so happy. Like Sam and Nick… They’re happy like that, too. Knowing them like I do after these last few months, I’m pretty sure they’d be okay with you wanting to date Brooke.”

“You think so, huh?”

“I do, and I’m more than willing to mention it to her, if you’d like me to.”

“I feel like I’m fifteen again, angsting over a girl.”

“So, we never stop doing that?”

“Apparently not. But if you wanted to mention it to her, in the coolest way possible, I wouldn’t object.”

“I got you covered. It’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”

When he heard the announcement that Candace’s flight had landed, Eli shot out of his chair, startling Nate.

“Easy, big fella. What’d I tell you about sudden movements?”

“That they stress you out.”

“Yeah, so don’t do that.”

“Sorry. I just can’t wait to see her.”

“I know, but it takes forever for people to get off airplanes these days because they take everything they own with them. It’ll be another twenty to thirty minutes.”

Sighing, Eli sat back down to wait. Fourteen minutes later, she texted to say she was on the way to baggage claim, where he was meeting her. “She’s coming. I’m going to stand up now, if that’s all right with you.”

Smiling, Nate said, “Go right ahead. You’ve waited long enough for this.”

Eli was surprised he didn’t hyperventilate in the minutes it took for Candace to appear at the top of the escalator. Oh my God, he thought. She’s even more beautiful than I remember. In three years, she’d gone from a gorgeous girl to a stunning woman. Long dark hair fell in shiny waves around her shoulders, her big brown eyes lit up with delight at the sight of him, and her smile… It still made his knees go weak, the way it had from the first time she directed it at him.

As she walked toward him, he went still as a huge lump landed in his throat, and tears flooded his eyes.

And then she was in his arms, bringing the scent he’d dreamed about during the long years apart.

In that massive, bustling airport, there was only her, only them. They stood there for the longest time, holding each other as people moved around them, grumbling about them blocking the corridor. He couldn’t care less if they were annoying others.

Eli finally pulled back to look down at her and was touched by the tears on her face that he brushed away. “You’re so tall!”

Laughing, she said, “I had a growth spurt.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“So are you, even more so than you were before.”