Damen nods. Telling Jude he most certainly does know, knows all too well. Then he launches into the story about his first trip to Summerland, back when he was lost, and lonely and looking for some sort of deeper meaning, and found himself studying in India alongside the Beatles. And having already heard it myself, like a thousand times before, I quietly get up, let myself out, and head back into the store, curious to see what Ava’s been up to.

Finding her off in the corner, restocking a shelf full of crystals when she turns to me and says, “All’s well that ends well, right?”

I shrug, having no idea what she’s referring to.

“Your choice.” She smiles, turning back toward the shelf. “It must feel good to have that all figured out, no?”

I sigh. Because while there’s no doubt that it definitely does feel good to put it behind me, the thing with problems is, there’s never any shortage in the supply. As soon as one gets solved, another crops up in its place.

She digs her hand into a bag of rose quartz crystals, the crystal of love, balancing a generous pile of chunks in her palm when she glances at me and says, “But…” Purposely dragging the word out for as long as she can.

“But…” I shrug, hand darting forward, catching a falling stone and handing it back to her. “There’s still Haven, who’s getting more and more out of control, and then, of course, there’s still the antidote, and the fact that Damen and I can’t really, truly touch…”Not outside of the pavilion anyway, but I’m not about to let her in on that. “And then there’s—”

She looks at me, brow raised, patiently waiting, as I quickly weigh whether or not I should confide in her about the dark side of Summerland I’ve discovered, and the strange, seemingly demented old lady Damen and I ran across.

But something keeps me from doing so. Something tells me not to go there with her. Or at least not yet anyway. Not until we’ve had a chance to investigate a little further.

So I take a deep breath, lift an amethyst cluster off the shelf and carefully inspect it from all sides, as I say, “Well, you know, that whole drama with Sabine is still alive and well.” Shaking my head as I return the stone to its place, knowing that while it wasn’t exactly a lie, it wasn’t quite the truth either. It’s not bothering me nearly as much as it used to. Sadly, I’m getting used to living like that.

“Would you like me to speak to her?” she offers, but I quickly dismiss it.

“Trust me, it won’t work. Her mind is made up, and I have a feeling time may be the only cure.”

She nods, wiping her hands on the front of her jeans as she stands back to inspect the shelf. Head tilted, mouth twisted to the side, as she switches the apache’s tear with the phantom quartz, then smiles approvingly.

And when I look at her, I meanreally look at her, I can’t help but wonder why she’s always alone. I mean, she has the twins to look after, so I guess she’s not really alone-alone, but still, ever since I met her, she’s been decidedly single, and from what I can tell, she hasn’t gone out on even one date.

And before I can stop it, I say, “Do you think everyone has a soul mate?”

She turns, regarding me seriously.

“I mean, do you think everyone has thatone person they’re destined to be with—like Damen and me?”

She’s silent for a moment, as though she’s really taking the time to consider. And just when I’m sure she’s not going to answer, she does something I definitely wasn’t expecting—she bursts out in laughter.

Her whole face lifting, her eyes glinting, when she looks at me and says, “Why? Who are you worried about more here, Ever, me or Jude?”

I flush. I hadn’t realized I was that obvious, but knowing that she’s a pretty gifted psychic and all, I should’ve figured she’d see through me.

“Well, both.” I smile feebly.

Watching as she turns back to her work, folding up the now empty bags, and piling them on top of each other before folding the stack in half and stashing them inside a bigger bag. Her voice soft, just barely audible, when she says, “Well, for the record, yes, I do believe that. But whether or not you’re able to recognize them and do something about it is a whole other story.”

Chapter 32

“So, how’d it go?” I glance at Damen, watching as he settles into the passenger seat and closes his door as I pull away from the curb.

“Good.” He nods, shutting his eyes for a moment as he lowers the top with his mind, taking a long deep breath of cool evening air before he looks at me and says, “We’re going surfing this weekend.”

I gape, more than a little surprised to hear that. I mean, I originally thought he’d be lucky to get the cease-fire he was after, I never even considered they might become friends.

“So, is this, like, adate ?” I tease, wondering how long it’s been since Damen’s been able to have a friend—a real and true guy-type friend—one who actually knows the truth about him.

“Never.” He glances at me. “I’ve never had a friend who knew the truth about me. And, to be honest, it’s been a very, very long time since I even tried to connect in that way.” He averts his gaze, taking in the shops, the trees, the pedestrians crowding the crosswalks and streets, before he turns back and says, “Friendships for me were always short-lived since I had no choice but to move on after a certain number of years. People get suspicious when you stay exactly the same while they age, and after a while, well, it just seems easier to avoid those types of things.”