“It’ll be easy,” I said. “Maybe even boring. We’ll just walk around and look for something resembling white stone or rock.”

“And Kayla can help?”

I turned toward the little girl. She glanced between both of us, her blue eyes wide and eerily knowing.

“I think so. Again, at this point, she just senses stuff without really understanding why. If we get anywhere near Jerome, I think she’ll show some sort of reaction, even if she doesn’t know what it is.” At least I hoped so.

After that, we didn’t mention our mission for the rest of the meal. We made small talk instead and fawned over Kayla, but it was almost something we did on autopilot, something we weren’t even paying attention to. Really, Seth and I were consumed by each other. It was more than just lust too, though I certainly hoped he’d noticed my low-cut top today. I found myself just aglow from his presence. I loved being close to him, feeling the joy that spread within me. It was like falling in love again. It was that connection and understanding that Cedric had said was a fairy tale.

And even when we finished up and went and scoped out our first beach, that electricity and warmth continued flowing between us. Kayla walked between us for a while, with each of us holding one of her hands. She struggled a little with the sand but seemed infinitely fascinated by the sights around her: the waves, the seagulls, other children. The rain had faded away today, and we had sunshine taunting us with the hope that spring had truly arrived.

We found no white rocks, however, and Kayla had no out-of-the-ordinary reactions like she’d had with me in the past, or even with Dante. When we got to our second beach, she began slowing down, and I realized this wasn’t going to be the aggressive day of hunting I’d hoped for. After a while, Seth picked her up and carried her. She managed to stay awake until we finished our search but promptly fell asleep in the car.

I knew we’d have to call it a day, but we stopped off at a little café on the way home that served great desserts. We settled into a corner booth, Seth and me sitting side by side while I held Kayla on my lap. We decided to simply split a piece of cheesecake, and naturally, I required coffee. Kayla still leaned drowsily against me, but she’d valiantly woken up as though sensing the approach of sugar.

I brushed her hair back from her face. “Hey,” I said gently. “Did you see anything magic today?” That was how she’d referred to me in the past.

She shook her head and reached up to touch my cheek in a mirror of my own gesture. “When will you be magic again?” she asked.