“Morning,” Alex replied, catching Danial’s eye as an irrepressible smile caught the corners of her mouth. He looked away, blushing behind his rounded sunglasses.

“Hey, Bee, I think you don’t have enough to drink,” Paul observed, grabbing a piece of toast from the basket and slathering it with soft butter.

“Shut up,” she managed, head heavy with the weight of her hangover. “I’m not in the mood.”

“It’s good for you,” he pushed back, biting his toast. “Just because you’re a mother now doesn’t mean you can’t still be Burning Man Bee.”

“Make him stop,” she groaned, turning toward her husband.

“We don’t speak of Burning Man Bee in this house.” Dev smiled, cutting into his omelet. “Or Burning Man anything, for that matter.”

Next to him, Danial quickly shoved a few bites of food in his mouth, grabbing a cornetto off his plate as he came to standing. “Actually,” he said, mid-chew, “we should probably head out, Alex. We’re going to be late.”

The entire table turned to face her; even Bee lowered her glasses to get a better look.

“Alex?” Sophie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I told you.” Paul gestured with his arms at the both of them, leaning back in his chair. “That body shot was a historic peace treaty. They’re friends now.”

“We’re just going on a tour. We both wanted to visit the ruins.” Her tone was unusually clipped, not unlike the one she used at work. “But thank you. What time are we setting sail today?”

“Three sharp, to make it to Greece by morning,” Guy responded, folding the light pink newspaper and taking a sip of his coffee.

“Great. We’ll be back by two, then.” She smiled, crossing to the passerelle.

She could feel their eyes on them still, as she tossed her crossbody bag behind her and bent down to lace her espadrilles up her ankles. Across from her, Danial silently slipped into his leather sneakers and patted down his pockets to make sure he had everything. For once, she didn’t need to hide her admiration of his unwavering diligence.

“We’re never going to hear the end of this,” he whispered, facing away from the crowd.

“What do you mean?” she whispered back, smiling. “We’re just going to see some rocks.”

“Of course.”

Stepping onto the stairs, he turned around and extended his hand. She placed her palm delicately upon it, letting him help her down. It both shocked and comforted her how easy it was to be this way with him, to let the years of friendship they shared before it all fell apart wash over her. It wasn’t just that she had wanted him for so long—she had loved him for so long. Even the smallest gestures of kindness felt like truths she had been waiting years to share.

“Ow-ow!” Paul yelled from across the deck, waving his monogrammed napkin in the air.