“Does it matter where I am? North Carolina. Louisiana. The scenery could change but I’m still a black man living in America. Being in another state’s not going to change that. Besides, if I had left, I might not have ever seen you again.”

He leaned into her, giving her body a little push, a familiar sort of tease like he used to do long ago, but they were older now, no need to skirt the boundary between friend and lover. A heart can only take so much yearning. She’d done enough to last. His action, small yet intimate, was enough for her, and feeling bold, she kissed him. She’d meant for it to be quick, not expecting him to kiss her back. His salty sweat lingered on her tongue. He pulled away with an expectant look that mirrored her own.

“I’ve been waiting for that for a long time,” he said afterward. “Since—” He faltered, but she knew what he meant.

The moment would have been perfect if they were anywhere else. One direction led toward the plantation they’d once broken into, and the other led to the river where Mr. Loomis was found dead. As she stood with him on the path, she forced herself not to think of what had happened—of the police arresting him for murder, of the break in their friendship after he’d been released, of the years that had gone by between then and now.

Jesse must have sensed this too. They stood awkward and fumbling underneath the dim park lights. “Are we ever going to talk about it?” he asked when she’d been silent awhile.

“Why do we have to? It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Mira—”

“Don’t. All that is over.”

“But what if it isn’t, Mira?” Jesse continued.

“It’s getting late,” she responded, much to Jesse’s disappointment. While they’d have to deal with their past eventually, it didn’t have to happen tonight. Better to leave the evening with the feeling they were having a new beginning.

“I should be getting to bed. You should too,” she said, trying to smile, and Jesse relented, nodding.

“I can walk you to your cottage. It’s the gentlemanly thing for me to do,” Jesse said, puffing his chest up in a mock sense of bravado.

“No, I’ll be all right,” she assured him. “We’ll see each other tomorrow, right? I’ll see you again?”

“Yes, I’ll find you after the wedding. I want to lay low until then but don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”