A / N

Did you know that Callum and Darcy are each other's firsts? ...no? Oh, good, glad I got that spoiler out of the way, so you won't be so ?!?!? when you read this chapter. I'd had that planned way back when writing Knight in Distress, which is why you may have sensed a very solid dynamic between Callum and Darcy.

On another note, this is probably the chapter you've been waiting for. Took us nineteen chapters, but here we are.

x Noelle

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1 9

the one you've been waiting for

NEW YEAR'S EVE had me spending it the way I always did—with family. Us Evers had a tradition of hosting Caverly's official party—not the only one by any means, but certainly the biggest one in town.

By late afternoon, the house was in a state of utter chaos. Dad had only just begun setting up the barbecue with Ean. Mum bustled about the kitchen, like a hurricane amidst a whirlwind of frosting and cakes. I'd been tasked with 'logistics'—which was really a nicer version of hide-everything-valuable-in-this-house-in-case-of-thieving.

A sudden knock startled me. I sprang up, then winced as I smacked my head against the cupboard frame. Grumbling under my breath, I rubbed my head and headed to the door. "Mom, where did you leave the keys? I think Dad forgot his again—" I stopped short when I saw the person on the front porch. "Miles!"

Dressed in a blue jacket, with his dark hair tucked under a black wool hat, he cut a solitary but welcome figure. He fell a step back when I opened the door, and tucked the bottle of champagne under his left arm. My breath caught in my throat. He was here.

He was also two hours early.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Miles asked.

"What?" Belatedly, I realized that I was still rubbing my bruise. I stopped with a blush. "Oh, no, it's nothing. What're you doing here so early? I texted you that the party was at seven...didn't I?"

Pink cut his cheeks. "Yeah, you did. But I figured your parents would need some help. It was always a mad rush for them at this time, if I remember correctly."

I beamed, suddenly fighting the urge to hug him. "Thank you," I said softly, and took the bottle of champagne that he held out to me. It was my parents' favorite—I couldn't believe he remembered that too. "They'll be thrilled to finally see you."

'Happy' was an understatement. Mom dropped the icing packet with a shriek and bestowed two smacking kisses on his cheek that made him flush even harder. "Look at you," she cooed, as she surveyed him. "You're still so thin. And you look so tired. Have you been overworking yourself these past few years?"

I noticed him avert his eyes at that, so I quickly stepped in. "Okay, Mom, he's not a chicken at the marketplace. Now let him go."

"Not until he tries this." She shoved a freshly-frosted cupcake into his hands. Miles looked startled, but his lips quirked and he mumbled a quick word of thanks. I reached for a cupcake, only to yelp when Mom smacked my hand. "No touching!" she scolded. "Are you a guest?"

"I am your daughter!"

"You can have them at the party. Now get out of my kitchen, you two— No, I've got it all covered here, dear." She waved Miles away when he stepped forward to help her. "Go say hello to my husband. He's been dying to see you again."

I shot the cupcakes a longing glance before leading Miles out of the kitchen. As we stepped through the hallway, he held out the cupcake. "Here, you can have it."

"No, it's yours. Mom would have my head if she caught me stealing your food."

He arched an eyebrow, but split the cupcake without another word. Popping one half into his mouth, he held the other out to me. I beamed and grabbed the other half, trying not to look like a complete slob as I crammed it into my mouth.

In companionable silence, we made our way to the patio where Dad and Ean were. Ean, who had already met Miles several weeks ago, leapt up to exchange one of those handshake and half-hugs he often did with his friends.

Dad, on the other hand, grinned and clapped Miles on the back. "Good to see you again, son."

"Oh, great." The smirk on Ean's face was downright wicked. "Now that your new son is here, I guess you don't need me anymore..."

"Ean—" I narrowed my eyes at him, but he dashed back into the house before any of us could stop him. "I'll go get him."

"It's fine." Miles stopped me before I could, and turned to my Dad. "How can I help, sir?"

Dad's eyes brightened and he immediately launched into an enthusiastic lesson on how to set up the grill. I smiled as I watched them, until Miles suddenly glanced my way. Blushing, I ducked back into the house. Still, I couldn't help sneak another look at Miles through the window.

It's really like you never left.

"You know I've always supported your decisions, honey." Mom's voice brought me out of my musings. She gave me a sympathetic smile and patted me on the shoulder. "But I wish you hadn't given him up. You were so happy with him."

I swallowed hard. Mom's words had cut straight and quick to my heart; I could feel them—a literal pang in my chest. I wished I hadn't given him up either. But then, it was the right thing to do.

Wasn't it?

*

By eleven, the party was in full-swing. Miles had disappeared into the crowd sometime near the beginning of the party. After Ean had dragged him off to play foosball with his friends, I hadn't seen him since. I'd spent most of the party passing around beer, watching the catered food for potential sabotage and pulling drunk people away from the fire.

As the night wore on, I eventually found a spot by the bonfire alongside other spectators to watch the ongoing volleyball game. A sudden movement made me glance up, only to find Carson settling down beside me.

"Where's Brielle?" I asked.

"Back at the house sampling wine and hors d'oeuvres with the grown-ups." He rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag of marshmallows from me. "I'll never fully understand that woman, I swear."

I looked back down at the roasting marshmallows. They were just about done and I made to peel off the top one, but Carson stopped me.

"Go find him, Darce."

I blinked. "What?"

Carson shook his head at me. "It's obvious that your heart's not really here. If you were, you wouldn't be sitting alone while everyone's having fun."

I bit my lip and stared at the fire.

"We meant it, you know," Carson continued, when I didn't say anything. "When Brielle sent you the wedding bouquet, we both wanted you to be happy. But happiness isn't always given to you. Sometimes, you have to find it, if it's really what you want."

I fell silent as I mulled over his words. Of course, I'd invited Miles to the party so that we could spend New Year's Eve together. But when he'd disappeared, I'd wondered if being here had brought back bad memories and he'd stayed away from me for that reason. But what if he'd stayed away because he believed that I hadn't wanted to be with him?

Shit. I climbed to my feet and handed the roasted marshmallows to Carson. "Hold this for me."

"Too late," he mumbled, and stuffed one into his mouth.

I grinned at him and headed off in search for Miles. On second thought... My footsteps faltered, and I took a detour to the house and made a beeline for the fridge. On the bottom shelf lay the six-pack that I'd saved all night long. I grabbed it, then went back out to the beach.

A quick scan around made me realize Miles had long since stopped playing foosball with my brother and his friends. I wandered along the beach, drifting farther away from the party, until I saw the dusty shack that had once been Wavelength.

A short distance away, the only pavillion in sight had been lighted. I'd spent countless of my childhood days there. Playing with my toys; hiding from my parents; trying to study. Back when we were dating, I'd showed Miles this very place and he seemed to love it almost as much as I did.

And he was there now.

Miles had balanced himself on the low wall surrounding the pavillion. At the sound of my footsteps, he stiffened and glanced up from his phone.

"I knew I'd find you here," I said lightly, as I set the pack of beer down on the bench. As I climbed up next to him, I noticed him reach out a hand to help me, before he seemed to think the better of it and pull back. I smiled at him. "You're terribly predictable, sometimes."

His eyebrows rose. "Am I?"

"To me, at least. And I can predict that you're wishing you had this." I grabbed a beer can to hand to him. Before I could pop the lid off mine, he'd already opened his and handed his can to me. My smile widened as I swapped the cans. "I knew you'd do that too. Cheers."

Miles took a slow sip, then glanced at me. "I can't believe you still remember."

"Why would I forget? I drink it on occasion. It—" —reminds me of you, was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit back the words when his gaze met mine. "It grows on you."

He looked away from me and drank again. "It's changed," he said, after a lengthy pause.

"What has?"

"Caverly. The beach. Even the people. It's...not the same as I remembered."

"It's been years since you've returned. The shack's gone; so has Aftertaste. Carson, Brielle's husband, now runs the diner and it's been renamed to Caffeinated."

Miles shot me a sideway glance. "I don't remember either of them from before, or that other friend of yours—Flo? She came up to me earlier and asked if I really was—and I quote, 'the CEO whose lap Darcy's been sitting in'."

Suddenly, I was very thankful for the dim lighting that hid my blush. "I'm going to kill her," I growled. "But, yeah, they're my friends now—as much as they drive me crazy. The ones from before...well, they're history now."

"You mean the ones from Denver?"

I nodded. "Liam, Alexia, Greg, Callum..."

"Ah, yes, the guy you had disappointing sex with."

If anything, I blushed even harder. "It was both our first time, which is almost always disappointing, and it happened just the once," I muttered into my beer. "Anyway, Liam and his friends still go about terrorizing the village people. He cheated on my cousin with Alexia Grant, so we're pretty much enemies now. He lives at Blue Haven, like Ean, so you may want to watch out for him when Hale & Co. takes over."

"Noted. I'll terminate his lease if continues to be a shit."

My eyebrows rose. "You wouldn't."

"Perks of being the boss."

I shook my head and laughed. "You know, I should advise you to be the better person, but Liam really is a shit. You have my complete approval."

His lips lifted in a faint smile, almost a smirk, that made my breath catch. Damn it. I'd forgotten how charming he could be without even trying, and how much I was still head over heels in love with him.

I dragged my hand through my hair and let out a quick breath. "To be honest, I kind of drifted apart from all my old friends when you left. They all went to Riverton; I went to Linville—we kind of drifted apart. My cousin Marcel now works in the city, and so does Greg Simmons. They seem happier there, and I'm happy for them. And I don't know what happened to Callum or Keith or Vince. Last I heard, Keith got in trouble with the cops based on the grounds of abuse or something. I'm actually thankful that we're no longer close friends anymore—they seem to be nothing but trouble."

Miles nodded. He didn't seem fazed by what I'd told him. But then again, he'd never been close to any of my old friends. "And what about him?"

I blinked at Miles's question. "Who?"

His eyes bore into mine. "The guy you left me for."

The words cut like jagged glass; I winced to hear him put it so bluntly. Yes, that was the sore topic we'd always avoided, but it seemed like he no longer would. To hear him actually say it out loud made my chest ache. I let out a slow breath. "You mean Jordan Carter, don't you?"

He didn't react, save for the way his lips flattened in a grim line.

I swallowed hard and looked down at my beer. "I don't know, honestly. We went our separate ways a long time ago. I haven't a clue where he is or how he's doing."

Miles was silent for so long that I began to think he was truly angry. But then he let out a mirthless laugh, almost harsh and sharp like knives.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." He shook his head, and I could almost taste the bitterness in his voice. "It's just...ironic how the once love of your life is now a complete stranger, isn't it?"

It took everything in me not to tell him what I really wanted to: Jordan Carter was never the love of my life. You were. You still are. You always will be. "I guess...things just didn't turn out the way I hoped they would," I said at last.

Silence descended between us again. It seemed to stretch for an eternity, until it was broken by distant cheers. I knew, even without looking at the time, that it was closing in to midnight and someone had brought out the fireworks.

Miles crushed his empty beer can and set it down on the bench, before he shot me a sideway glance. "Shouldn't you be heading back?"

"Only if you are."

"You know I hate the noise."

"What a coincidence." I quirked a faint smile. "Because I've come to prefer the quiet too."

"Have you?"

"Somewhat," I acceded. "I mean, I don't hate crowds or noise. Now that I look back at the way I used seek the limelight all the time... It all seems so trivial. I guess growing up must've changed my perspective."

Miles was quiet for a second or two, before he spoke. "I don't know. I quite liked that girl. Dated her for awhile, didn't I?"

I glanced at him in surprise. "What did you like about her?"

"Fishing for compliments, Evers?"

"Merely the truth."

His gaze narrowed for a moment before he sighed. "For starters, even though she liked being the center of attention, she also gave people who weren't worth her while her attention. She was brave, confident and fearless."

I beamed at him, flattered by his words. But my smile faded just as quickly when I realized that he'd used the past-tense. She was brave, confident and fearless. "You speak as if I'm none of those things now."

"Are you?" His gaze held mine; a silent challenge in them.

I scowled. "Yeah, well, you were a lot of things back then too! You were sweet and kind, had a great sense of humor, and always saw the best in everyone regardless of how they treated you."

"Were?" His eyes glinted daggers.

"Now you know how it feels!"

Another bout of silence settled between us. We'd had our first argument without even meaning to, and I hated that we'd had one just as we were making some progress.

I let out a slow breath and sidled closer to him. "If I'm less brave, it's only because I have more to lose," I said quietly. "Like my job or the people I care about. And the people like Liam or Alexia whom I used to pay attention to? They just let me down in the end."

Miles didn't speak for awhile, until he cleared his throat. "I get that. Back when I used to see the best in everyone, it only ever resulted in me getting hurt. You might've seen me as kind and sweet, but I was also naive, a pushover, weak—" he snarled the word like it disgusted him. "I don't see my old self as someone I wish I still were. I see him as someone I'm so fucking glad I no longer am."

"I don't think you can separate your two selves this way," I said softly. "That boy you were is just as much a part of you as the man you are now. And for the record," I added, a little lighter this time, "I like them both."

His gaze met mine; drowning in its intensity. I'd forgotten this—this way he looked at me, as if the entire existence of the world had narrowed down to only me. The bright smile on my face faded, and I fought the urge to shiver.

"Do you?" he asked.

Our proximity left me no chance to backtrack. Not that I even wanted to. Under his gaze, I felt stripped bare, with nothing else I could be but honest—with him, and with myself. "I never stopped."

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly at my answer. But then his features softened, and his gaze flickered down to my lips. I remembered this expression of his; I'd had the memory of it—of him—long ago buried next to my heart. I knew with startling clarity what he would do next, so I didn't resist when he slid his hand against my cheek. I closed my eyes as his lips brushed mine in a featherlight touch.

"That's good to know," he breathed, and kissed me.