“How do I look?”

Emilia turned, trying to get a better view of how the rear of her dress appeared in the long mirror. The bare back seemed a bit much, especially for a somewhat cold day in March, but the dark blue color and flared skirt matched her skin tone nicely. She was obviously trying to impress Dan, but her nerves were making her second guess every decision she made.

“Gorgeous, as always.” Smiling, I sipped my tea from my spot on the couch, legs curled beneath me as I snuggled into the cushions in the corner. “Be sure Dan doesn’t take your coat off before you’re inside, though. Won’t have done any good for you guys to be going out these past few weeks if you freeze to death before you’re officially back together.”

Chuckling, she ran her fingers through her curled hair and reapplied her lip gloss before letting out a sigh and staring at her reflection once more. “I can’t believe this is actually happening,” she muttered.

Grinning, I patted the couch beside me, glancing at the clock in the kitchen. Dan wouldn’t be here for another ten minutes or so.

“Of course it’s happening,” I chided her gently. “You and Dan are supposed to be a pair. The stars have practically aligned to get you with each other.”

Taking another sip of my tea, I considered just how true that statement was. Their schedules had somehow worked out perfectly, everywhere they went was more than welcoming, and I was practically watching them fall in love all over again every time I saw them.

Gabriel had told me once that the timeline could tell when something was wrong and would work to fix it. Was this what that was? My best friends were meant to be, so time was helping to push them along?

“Nothing is official,” Em reminded me, sitting gracefully. “We’re . . . checking things out.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” I snickered as she playfully slapped my arm, leaning away.

A knock at the door prevented us from saying anything further, Emilia excitedly getting up and throwing open the entrance to reveal Dan.

Dressed in his best suit, he stared at Em in shock for a beat before a smile broke across his face. Then, remembering himself, he presented her with a bouquet of pink and red roses scattered with baby’s breath.

“You look wonderful.” His voice was filled with awe, appreciation in his gaze as she took the flowers and smelled them.

“Thank you,” she replied warmly. Handing the arrangement off to me, she motioned to his waiting car. “Shall we?”

“Yeah, of course!” Dan waved at me, grinning, and then let her go through the door, shutting it behind them.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I sniffed the roses as well, smiling as I went to put them in water on the island. Everything was working out so perfectly. Sometimes I wondered if August leaving was precisely what I needed to get my life back on track.

Guilt pricked at me as I banished the thought. It was obvious life was worse without him. I knew I didn’t require a man to get by, but I did love him. While his departure still stung and I intended to give him a talking to that would rival the greatest smackdowns of all time, I missed him. Everything was coming together, and he was skipping all of it.

I hoped whatever he was doing was worth it.

Once the gift was safely displayed where anyone could see it when they came to the house, I took my tea and started upstairs, humming to myself.

It wasn’t just Emilia and Dan that had me in such a good mood. I’d been meeting with my parents once a week for the past two months as well, working to repair whatever bond we’d severed. It wasn’t all the way better yet, but I felt excellent about where we were headed.

Whereas Emilia’s splendid fortune seemed predestined by the gods, making up with my parents was turning out to be a different ballgame entirely. Everything I did messed something else up, like we were destined to not have the connection I always wanted. I’d finally gotten them to forgive me for the money—a subject I remained kinda fuzzy on, but willing to take care of if it meant we could be a real family—but the problem now appeared to be my constant running off.

From what I gathered, August was the most recent in a long line of boys I’d dated and given everything up for. It sounded nothing like me and made no sense whatsoever, but everyone in this timeline seemed to believe it. The advantageous news was, with him gone, I’d been able to work on that perception with them too.

However, they were unsure if I was honest when I said I’d changed. I had the sneaking suspicion they didn’t believe I’d lost my memory, and I felt as if they were always holding back, rather than being the open-armed parents I remembered.

Overall, it was exhausting. One problem was practically fixing itself. The other only grew once I managed to hack off one piece and put it where it belonged.

Walking into my room, I stared at the bed, Emilia’s discarded dress options spread across it. The site cheered me further, despite having to clean it up before I could settle in for the night. I flicked on the radio, classical music flitting through the air, and went to work cleaning everything to my specifications.

Halfway through putting my dirty clothes in the laundry, there was a knock at the door, surprising me out of the comfortable routine I’d established for my evenings. Peering through the back door, I stared at the front entrance, not sure if I should answer it or not. Emilia had a key and the only other person who would be showing up at this hour . . .

Rubbing my hands on my pants, I crossed the space and cracked open the entrance, glancing into the darkness in apprehension.

“Olivia.”

I heard August’s tired voice before my eyes adjusted enough to recognize him, his form clad in modern clothes and bundled in a heavy jacket. He carried a suitcase with him, like he’d been gone on some long, around the world trip and was finally returning home, the prodigal fiancé.

In the two months since he’d gone, I’d imagined how this moment might go. We’d argued it out in my head, I’d even slapped him once or twice in some of them, and I knew what I wanted to say. He deserved to hear a piece of my mind, to know what anger and pain he’d caused me. I wanted him to feel the sting of betrayal I’d felt when he openly went against what I wanted to do, not bothering to share his plans with me. Just thinking of it all now made my face flush, my heart racing uncontrollably as I stood in the doorway staring at him.

And then it all went out the window.

In one fluid movement, I flew from my spot and threw my arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly as tears welled up in my eyes.

I was still angry, yes. Furious, in fact. But, the one thing I’d never stopped to consider in my enactments of our reunion, was how I would feel to finally see him safe and alive. There had been no thought of what knowing he was here with me would do to me. Until now, I’d been so angry I hadn’t realized how worried I was about him.

He hesitated, as if surprised by my reaction, and then his arms locked around me, his face snuggling into my shoulder as he held me, relief rolling off his body as we stood there on the porch.

Forcing myself to let him go for a fraction of a second, I placed my hands on either side of his face, pressing my lips against his as salty tears slipped down my cheeks. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the sweet or relieved kiss I’d intended to give, instead turning rough and frightened as our breath mingled. My mouth crushed his, bruising tender flesh, fingers gripping into him, squeezing in desperation as I held him to me.

August reacted in much the same way, tossing his bag inside, arms locking around me as he pushed us through the door and nudged it shut with his foot. Then, spinning around, he thrust my back up alongside it, hands moving to my hips, his grip so tight I thought he might have marked me.

Funnily enough, I didn’t care just then.

Our bodies rammed together, breath coming in gasps as we greeted one another, my mind shut down as his touch danced over my skin. Teeth grazed over my neck, goosebumps erupting across my flesh as he breathed into my ear.

Twisting my hands into his hair, I exhaled softly, closing my eyes as I became lost in the moment. Despite the million reasons I should be furious with him right now, it felt like I was finally at peace. Something about having him home made my soul feel complete, like a part of me that had been missing was back. Still, the anger inside me was boiling right beneath the surface, manifesting in a moment of lust over yelling.

There was no telling what he’d done in the past, what things were going to be changed now because of his hasty actions. This moment was something I could control, however, and I fully intended to use it to my advantage.

Pushing him away, I met his gaze with hungry eyes, slowly walking to him, moving further into the house as my hands drove his jacket from his shoulders. His breath came in short puffs as he bit his bottom lip, palms gently caressing my sides as he let me lead him where I wanted.

What did I want? My body was screaming much louder than my brain at the moment, begging me to just let him touch me for a while longer. It had been ages since I held him, worshipping the human form in the most pleasurable way I could. I knew if I let him put his lips on me for a while, all my worries would slowly melt away. August had the uncanny ability to make everything in my life right.

There was that one small fraction of my mind that wouldn’t let it go, though. The idea of venting all my frustrations out in a physical way was incredibly appealing, but a minuscule part of me knew it wouldn’t work entirely. I could stay in bed with him all night and through tomorrow and I would still leave it upset over what he’d done.

Backing him all the way into the kitchen, I pressed him against the island counter, placing my hand on his chest as I breathed heavily, frowning as I battled to shift my thoughts aside and surrender to the desires of the flesh.

Taking my hesitation as a motion for him to take over, August grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, hoisting me onto the counter and guiding my legs around him. Kisses feathered across my collarbone, dipping beneath the hem of my shirt, his thumb pressing into my thigh, sliding down my leg in an achingly slow manner.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back as his mouth worked its magic, the muscles of my shoulders coiling hard as another wave of frustration overtook me because of our situation.

“What is it?” he breathed, noticing as I went still. “Did I do something wrong?”

Opening my eyes, I stared at the ceiling, the passion fading away in an instant. I dropped my hands to the countertop, leaning away, and finally stared at him with all the hurt and betrayal I’d felt over the past two months.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I’d say you did.”