Chapter 1457

The moss was still damp beneath Jude's back as he lay there, limbs entwined with Grace and Zoey, Stella draped across his chest, Natalie nestled between his legs, her head resting on his thigh. None of them spoke. They didn't need to. Their breath was a shared rhythm, like a slow tide washing over the roots of the tree that shaded them. The island seemed to breathe with them, a pulse deep under the soil that mirrored their satisfaction.

Then footsteps crunched on the path.