Franklin and Cruz drove away, leaving us on the dock. As soon as they were gone, Ned crumbled to the ground as if his body had just given up on him.

Slowly, I walked over to him and sat down, wrapping my arm around him, my head on his shoulder. We had both been through so much, and it was hard to accept that it was all over now.

“Are you okay…?” I finally dared to ask, looking up at his face.

“I caused this…” he answered, a haunted look in his eyes. “If I had only paid more attention, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten caught up in this mess. I could have saved her.”

I shook my head. “There was nothing you could have done. Everyone chooses how they live, and the mistakes people make are never your fault.” I took his hand in mine. “But I think this is a good time for us to start fresh. You’ve made your mistakes, and I’ve made mine…”

Our faces gravitated together as I spoke. His nose touched mine, and our foreheads pressed together. “Stacey…”

“I just want you to know…” My words felt like rocks lodged in my throat. I wanted to tell him, but I was getting nervous. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

He took my cheek into his hand. “What is it?”

“I love you,” I finally whispered.

His eyes widened for a moment before he broke into a wild grin, his face lighting up with joy. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me close and kissed me, letting a fire burn behind his lips that nearly scorched me. I melted into it, feeding off his passion. Soon, we were both lying down on the dock, kissing intensely. After everything we had been through, Ned was my anchor – the only thing keeping me afloat. So I clung to him, never wanting to let go.

It was only when we were both out of breath that we broke away.

“To a fresh start?” I asked.

“To a fresh start,” he nodded, getting to his feet. He offered me a hand, hoisting me up with ease. “And… next time I tell you to stay put, will you please do it?”

“No promises.” I chuckled.

“Why do I feel like I’m going to have my hands full with you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s because you are.”

He shook his head. “I’m starting to think I should have stuck to video games.”

“Oh, come on, you know you love me…” I prompted, wanting nothing more than to hear him say those words.

He smiled. “I do.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “More than anything in the world.” With that, he took my hand and laced our fingers together. “We should probably start walking back. You must be dying to see Missy.”

“She’s in good hands,” I said. “Plus, I’d rather clear my head a little bit more before I get back to my baby.”

He nodded. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Can we walk along the river?”

“Of course.”

We made it up to the boardwalk, acting like any other couple, but I knew we were so much more. After what we had gone through, our relationship would be stronger than anything else.

We walked in silence, both of us trying to parse through the events. I couldn’t believe that Emil had come back to help us. I had been so convinced he was a bad guy that it had seemed impossible that he would ever feel regret for what he’d done. Maybe, with a little bit of help, he could still turn out okay. He would definitely need some anger management classes, though, that was for sure.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Ned asked.

Now that he mentioned it, I was starving. “Sure.”

“Cotton candy?”

“You know me so well,” I said with a smirk.

He laughed. “It was just a lucky guess. After all, who doesn’t like cotton candy?” We waited in line and soon emerged with two ginormous things of cotton candy.

“These are huge!” I exclaimed. “I’m never going to finish this.”

“Don’t worry. Whatever you don’t eat, I’ll gladly consume.” He chuckled.

“Come on, let’s sit down.”

Together, we settled on a bench, nibbling on our sweet treat. It felt surreal to be here. Like it was all some sort of dream. I was scared that I would wake up at any moment and Ned would be gone.

When we were done, we tossed away the paper cones and continued to walk. “You know, this is our first real date,” I said.

“Hmm, I guess it is.” He frowned. “I’m sorry that it’s not much.”

I squeezed his hand. “We are both safe and sound. That’s all I could ever ask for.” I kissed his cheek. “And for you to stay by my side forever.”

He chuckled. “That much I can do.” He stopped in the middle of the boardwalk.

“What is it?” I asked.

Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed me.

I was aware of people staring at us, but I didn’t care. All that mattered to me were those sweet, sweet lips. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, savoring every moment because you never know when it might be your last.