“Malia, my heart, my love.” The way her laughter slipped past his defenses.

How did she even get back into my life?” Flashes of Elkins Park swirled as he drove — her voice, her eyes, the silence between them. “Last I heard, she was in Seattle.” Then Malia rose in his mind and his heart clenched. “Malia, my heart, my love.” The way her laughter slipped past his defenses. The heat of her skin. The night they’d collapsed into each other like it was the only safe place left in the world.