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Luckily, theher dad the longest, tightest hug she'd ever given someone, she'd o for the holiday

Five minutes later, they were all in the car

Now they wereup fra out the sa out over bowls of cereal for more than a decade It was kind of surreal As Arriane bounded into the kitchen to help her mom whip some cream, Miles peppered her dad with questions about the enormous piece-of-junk telescope in his o ce Luce felt a swell of pride in her parents foreveryone feel welcome

The sound of a car horn outsidecouch and lifted a slat of theblind Outside, a red-and-white taxi was idling in front of the house, coughing exhaust into the cold fall air The ere tinted, but the passenger could be only one person

Callie

One of Callie's knee-high red leather boots extended fro itself on the concrete sidewalk A second later, Luce's best friend's heart-shaped face came into view Callie's porcelain skin was ushed, her auburn hair shorter, cut at a sleek angle close to her chin Her pale blue eyes glittered For so back inside the cab

"Whatcha looking at?" Shelby asked, pulling up another slat so she could see Roland slid in on Luce's other side and looked out too

Just in time to see Daniel slide out of the taxi--

Followed by Cam, from the front seat

Luce sucked in her breath at the sight of the, dark coats, like the coats they'd worn on the shore in the scene she'd gliht And for a inally been intrigued by theetting around it Surreally, unnaturally stunning

But what the hell were they doing here?

"Right on time," Roland murmured

On her other side, Shelby asked, "Who invited thehts exactly," Luce said, but she couldn't help swooning a little at the sight of Daniel Even though things between the at her expression as she watched Daniel "Don't you think you should answer the door?" "Luce" Roland was chuckling at her expression as she watched Daniel "Don't you think you should answer the door?"

The doorbell rang

"Is that Callie?" Luce's mom called from the kitchen over the whir of the standa cold pain spread through her chest Of course she wanted to see Callie Buther best friend, she realized, was her hunger to see Daniel To touch him, to hold him and breathe him in To introduce him to her parents

They would be able to see, wouldn't they? They'd be able to tell that Luce had found the person who had changed her life forever

She opened the door

"Happy Thanksgiving!" a high southern voice drawled Luce had to blink a few tiht before her eyes

Gabbe, the el at Sword & Cross, was standing on Luce's porch in a pink eous frenzy of braids, pinned up into little swirls on top of her head Her skin had a soft, lovely shiladiolas in one hand and a frosty white plastic ice cream tub in the other

Next to her, her bleached-blond hair grown brown at the roots, stood the demon Molly Zane Her torn black jeansSword & Cross's dress code Her facial piercings had multiplied since the last time Luce had seen her She had a small black cast iron kettle balanced in the crook of her ar at Luce

Luce could see the others walking up the long, curving walk Daniel had Callie's suitcase hoisted up over his shoulder, but it was Caht forearm as he chatted with her She didn't seehtly nervous or absolutely charhborhood" Gabbe bea out the owers to Luce "I ht an appetizer"

"Shrimp Diablo" Molly lifted up the lid of her kettle, and Luce breathed in a spicy garlic broth "Family recipe" Molly slapped the lid back down, then pushed past Luce into the foyer, stu over Shelby in her path

"Excuse you," they said gru y at the saood" Gabbe leaned in to give Luce a hug "Molly's made a friend"

Roland took Gabbe into the kitchen, and Luce had her rst clear view of Callie When they locked eyes, they couldn't help therins and ran toward one another

The impact of Callie's body knocked the wind out of Luce, but it didn't irl's face buried in the other's hair; they were laughing the way you laugh only after too long a separation froood friend

Reluctantly, Luce pulled away and turned to the two guys standing a few feet back Cam looked as he always did: controlled and at ease, slick and handsoood reason to be They hadn't spoken since he'd seen her kiss Miles, and now they were standing with Luce's best friend and Daniel's enemy-turned-whatever Cam was to Daniel now