“I was hoping that you’d all join me for dinner,” she said, her eyes fixed on the flames that warmed her in the fading daylight. “If you all are hungry,” she added with a murmur. “I just thought it would be nice.”

She waited a beat, then dared to glance up at them, her stomach unknotting when Deacon gave her an unabashed grin. He leaped up from where he sat, coiled his arms around her, and gave her a spin. “You’re glorious,” he told her, his lips whispering the words against her cheek. “An angel. The most beautiful girl in the world.”

A tiny tremor shivered through the arteries of her heart. Beautiful. The word swirled through her head. The most beautiful. Her bottom lip trembled as a ribbon of emotion unspooled inside her chest. Rather than feeling flattered, she found herself wrapped in a band of grief. Deacon’s words made her weak. His sincerity made her desperate. His touch made her numb with years of self-imposed isolation.

“Bring everyone,” she said, trying to reel herself in. And just as she was sure all that emotion would go tumbling out of her and onto the shore, two extra pairs of arms circled her in a loving embrace. Lily and Sunnie beamed at her, bright-eyed. Their wind-whipped hair slid across her cheeks like a delicate kiss. Glorious, she thought. The most beautiful angels in all the world.

They walked up the shore as a group. Lily, Sunnie, and Robin all held hands. Noah watched Audra with his huge eyes and wide smile. Kenzie, still as kinetic as ever, kicked at the incoming tide. Deacon proceeded with his hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans. Gypsy, Clover, and Jeff were the three that remained a mystery. “They’ll follow shortly,” Deacon explained. When Audra glanced over her shoulder a few minutes later, she saw the trio trailing a few hundred feet behind. From a distance, the two girls were unremarkable; one was blond, the other a brunette. Jeffrey, however, was impossible to miss. His leather jacket was out of place, silver zippers catching the light as if to dazzle the girl casting a backward look. His dark, shoulder-length hair blew in the wind, and for a moment the trio looked like something out of a fairy tale. Brown, black, and blond dancing on a gust, long skirts flapping like flags around Gypsy’s and Clover’s legs, Jeffrey barefoot on the beach despite the cold. A silver cross glinted like a beacon from around Gypsy’s throat.

“He’s even more gorgeous when you meet him,” Lily said softly, drawing Audra’s attention forward again.

“Be patient,” Robin told her. “Be open. Listen with your heart, not with your mind.”

“He’s perfect,” Sunnie added, her young face igniting with affection. “Jeffrey can fix anything.”

“Anything?” Audra asked, giving the girls a skeptical look.

“Anything,” the three said in unison.

Lily leaned in closer, her mouth brushing across the curve of Audra’s cheek. “Even your broken heart,” she whispered. “It’s the thing he wants to fix the most.”

Audra led the group up the gentle incline away from the beach and through a band of trees to Montlake Road. Everyone piled into the house, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt at peace. Shadow addressed the visitors with happy yelps and the ceaseless wagging of his tail. It was reminiscent of Christmas Eve—excitement and expectation rolled into one. When Clover and Gypsy ducked through the front door, she welcomed them with a wordless smile. She was still too unsure of herself to approach them on her own, but Deacon was quick to remedy the situation. Catching Audra by the hand, he led her to the two girls she had yet to meet.

“This is Audra,” he told them. Clover was the blonde. Gypsy was the brunette, taller than any of the other girls in the group.

“Nice to meet you,” Audra told them, ducking her head in greeting. The two girls looked at her thoughtfully, but before they could offer their own hellos, Jeffrey paused just inside the open door. The energy of the group shifted in a way Audra hadn’t experienced before. Their easy talk and light laughter was silenced. All eyes, including her own, were glued on the man in the doorway. She held her breath, watching him the way one would view an exotic bird, afraid to move in fear of frightening him away. Eventually, he stepped inside the house. His bare feet took him down the brick steps that led into the living room. He made a beeline for the hostess, and Audra swallowed against the sudden dryness of her throat. She took a single backward step, unsure whether he expected her to stand still or step aside. When he reached out to draw her hair between his fingers—as if studying its texture—she drew in air that tasted of leather and cloves.

“Hello,” he said, his voice a soft purr.

“Hi,” she replied, her greeting but a whisper.

“Audra, right?” He canted his head to the side, his brown eyes meeting her blues. She nodded, her heart thumping hard against her chest. “You look more like an Avis,” he told her. “It means bird, perfect for a girl who’s ready to learn how to fly.”

He sidestepped her then, leaving her in the living room while joining his friends. Audra was left to stare at the front door, still wide-open, as if inviting her to stay or leave. Was this what people meant when they talked about love at first sight? Was this what it felt like to be swept off her feet? She moved up the steps to the door. Should I stay or should I go? When she turned to look back at her guests, the girls had gathered around Jeff like lambs. Sunnie was correct—he was perfect. Maybe she was right about Jeff being able to fix things, too. After a moment of hesitation, Audra closed the door.

Kenzie and Noah dug through Audra’s crate of records and selected a Doors album. Audra invited everyone to join her at the dining room table. The girls chatted among themselves, seemingly oblivious to their dinners, while the boys ate their food in silence. It was only after the boys finished eating that the girls dug into their now-cold plates. Audra peered at her chicken, wondering whether to offer reheating their food, but nobody seemed to mind the temperature. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she picked at her meal. Her gaze dared to drift to the man at the head of the table, the one that demanded undivided attention without breathing a word.

After dinner, Deacon was the last one left at the table. He remained seated while everyone else thanked Audra for her hospitality and drifted out the door. The two of them finally alone, Deacon gave her a thoughtful smile and rose as well. But rather than making an exit, he began to pluck plates up off the table, carefully placing used knives and forks into an empty drinking glass as he made the rounds.

“You don’t have to do that,” she protested.

“I don’t mind,” he said. “It’s the least I can do.”

Audra paused behind the chair Jeff had occupied only minutes before, her fingers gripping its top. Her gaze fixed on the crumpled napkin he’d used. She imagined the group rambling through the trees and back onto the beach, heading toward the duo of tents she pictured were a lot like Mary Poppins’s magic carpet bag. Bigger on the inside. Persian rugs and giant beds. Dozens of silk pillows tucked into impossibly deep corners of those tiny nylon wigwams. And there, in the center of the lush purples and reds of her imagination, was Jeff the Angel. Jeff the Protector. Jeff the All Powerful. The fixer of all things broken.

A familiar, nagging doubt held her motionless where she stood. What would she do if, a day or two from now, she took Shadow onto the beach and those tents were gone? What if she lost them to the ocean? What if she couldn’t find them again through the rain?

“How long do you think you’re staying?” she asked, casting her gaze up to Deacon’s face.

He lifted a single shoulder in a shrug as though, to them, time was irrelevant. They could live on the beach forever, or maybe they’d pack up and leave that night. “The weather has been pretty bad,” he said. “The boys don’t mind it too much, but the girls are getting restless. We may need to find somewhere calmer.”