Elijah had cleaned his apartment until it sparkled, while recalling the series of events that had led to him having his own place. After they’d put him under their protection, the Secret Service had insisted he move to a more secure location, which had meant leaving the roommates he’d had since freshman year. He’d been furious about that, but had gone along with it because he hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for Nick or Sam.

Now he was thankful to have his own place, because Candace could live there with him without three other guys underfoot.

“This is so nice!” she said when he gave her the five-minute tour.

“It’s not much, but it’s home. For now, anyway.”

“I love it, Eli. It’s so cozy.”

“Can I get you something to eat or drink? I got an Instacart delivery to stock up on the black licorice you love and your favorite iced tea, although it’s hard to find the unsweetened kind here for some reason.” He felt like he was talking too much.

She moved so she was standing right in front of him. “I can’t believe you remembered that stuff.”

“I remember everything. I’ve relived every second we spent together at least a million times since I last saw you.”

“I have, too. I tried to focus on the good parts and not the rest.”

“Same. I rarely think about the bad stuff because it upsets me so much.”

“I feel like I need to say this again, at least one more time before we move on from it, but I’m so, so sorry for what they did, Eli. I hate them for it, and they know it. Our relationship will never recover from it.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, and at some point, you ought to forgive them.”

“I’ll never forgive them for having you charged with statutory rape when our relationship was consensual and built on true love.”

Hearing her talk about true love made his heart flutter. “Before I lost my dad and Cleo the way I did, I would’ve agreed with you. Fuck them and what they did to us. But now… Now, I think you ought to find a way to put things back together with them.”

“I just don’t know if I can. I’m still so angry with them. The last three years have been pure hell. I haven’t said more than ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ to them since the day you were charged. When they found out I was coming here, to you, they went ballistic. I’m not sure it can be fixed, but I do hear what you’re saying, and I’m also so sorry I wasn’t here for you when you lost your dad and Cleo.”

“It was brutal. I’ll never forget that call from the FBI.”