“I do have a book to write, you know.” And now that she wasn’t consumed by anger and humiliation any more—and that she knew the supernatural really existed, she felt totally energized to get it done.

“That’s probably the only excuse she’d take.” He gave her hips a little squeeze. “But I’d love for you to be there too.”

She wanted to be with him just as much. But work was work. And she was so behind it frightened her. “Let me see how many pages I get done tomorrow after my meeting with Delaney.”

“Deal.” He kissed her once more, quick and easy. “Night.”

“Night.”

He walked off the porch, but waited at the end of the drive until she’d unlocked and opened the door. She gave him a wave and he took off toward his house.

She went in, locked the door and grinned. It was wild how fast things could turn around. How you could go from wallowing in a miserable funk to floating on happiness. How you could think you were genuinely losing your mind, only to find out that you’d actually stumbled onto the most amazing secret in the world. How you could be married one second then single but involved the next. Life was funny.

Life was good.

She went over to the kitchen counter. The divorce papers were still lying there by the phone with the take out menus. She picked them up to take them to her office, then she remembered what Alex had said about Thomas having a box with him the night of the incident. She looked around but didn’t see anything on the counter or the dining table.

She walked around the table and spotted something peeking out from under the curtains at the farthest side of the sliding doors.

A small cardboard box. Barely the size of three paperbacks stacked on top of one another. She picked it up. No labels or markings, just clear tape keeping it shut. Not much weight to it either. She put it on the table and stared at it.

She wanted to ignore the stupid thing, but her curiosity won out. Well, what did it matter? The divorce was final. Nothing inside the box was going to make any difference.

She got scissors and slit the tape, then cautiously opened the flaps of the box. It was stuffed with white tissue paper. Underneath that was a black velvet jewelry box.

The only jewelry Thomas had ever given her was her wedding ring set. Whatever this was, he’d probably be wanting it back.

Couldn’t hurt to see what it was she’d be returning.

She took the box out, opened it and sucked it a breath.

It was a gold locket, shaped like a book. The letter R was engraved on the front. She pried the two halves open with her fingernail. The slots on either side for pictures held a photo of her—her official author headshot, actually—and the cover of the very first book she’d ever published.

She squinted at the gift, trying to figure it out. It was kind of perfect except for the headshot. She’d never wear her own picture in a locket. It was also so incredibly unlike Thomas, it was baffling. Had he thought this would be enough to change her mind about him? To get her back? Clearly he’d known better than to put his own photo in there.

So strange. No matter how spot on the locket was, this was a definite case of too little, too late.

Maybe she’d take out the book cover and add a photo of Alex. She snorted. That would be karma, wouldn’t it? Using her ex-husband’s gift to keep her new man close? Sweet justice was what that sounded like to her.

Although maybe it was a little early to have a picture of Alex in a locket. She didn’t want him to think she’d turned weirdly possessive the moment she was single. No, that was too much. For now, the locket would be put away. Or maybe she really should just return it to Thomas’s lawyer and let him handle it. She nodded. That was the best solution.

Decision made. She snapped the velvet box closed and put the cardboard one and the tissue into the recycling bin. As she was doing that, she noticed a folded note card stuck in the bottom flap.

She pulled it out and unfolded it.

Saw this, thought of you.

The handwriting seemed like the same scrawling style as the other note Thomas had sent, and neither one was a perfect match for his penmanship. But in this age of emails and text, how often did she really see his handwriting anyway? And it wasn’t like she had a treasure trove of cards and love notes from him to compare it to.

She tossed the note in the recycling bin too. Again, what did it matter? The papers were signed and the Thomas chapter of her life was over.

She walked to her bedroom, smiling and ready to crawl under the covers and dream. Let the Alex chapter begin.

The buzz of insects filled the sweet evening air with a soft hum, and Alex wondered if Roxy was listening to it too, or if she’d already drifted off to sleep. The fence between their houses blocked his view from the back porch, but he could imagine her fast asleep, a peaceful expression on her beautiful face.

Which led to him wondering what it would be like to be curled up next to her, holding her in his arms. He smiled at the thought. If only his mother knew what was going through his mind. He glanced at her on the love seat next to his chair. Maybe she did. “What do you think of Roxy?”

Carmen lifted her glass to no one in particular, almost sloshing the sangria out of it. “I like her very much.”

Alex grinned into the darkness of the evening. His back porch was lit only by a single candle, something else his mother had brought along with the food and sweets and wine. She loved to add decorative touches to his house. This one was at least tolerable. And the solitary flame was more than enough for their feline eyes to see by. “Of course you do. You’re addicted to her books.”