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parked.
    Yes, maybe he needed pants. At the very least real shoes. But he’d get them later   —after seeing Raina. And Grace. Right   —Grace first.
    He got out, went around to the front door, and got into the building by holding the door for a resident encumbered by a bag of groceries.
    He hooked his foot around the inner door, reading the listing for the apartments on the security system in the foyer. He found Grace’s on the second floor and took the elevator up.
    The place bespoke a green lifestyle   —plants near the elevator, clean white hallways with bright windows that overlooked the snowy patio, a covered whirlpool, and Adirondack chairs.
    He stopped at her door and blew out a breath.
    Swallowed.
    Knocked.
    And closed his eyes when he heard the voice. “Grace, seriously? Of all times to forget your key!”
    Raina.
    He smiled, pressed his hand to the door. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. But just in case she wasn’t ready for guests, he said, “Uh, actually, no. It’s . . .” He took another breath. “Casper.”
    He waited for the door to fling open, stepping back so he could catch every nuance of her expression.
    Yeah, baby, it’s me. Back from the high seas.
    He actually let those words float through his head and wanted to roll his eyes. He let his crazy smile dim. No need to scare her if she wasn’t quite on the same page. Yet.
    The door didn’t open.
    He stepped forward again. “Raina?”
    “What . . . ? I thought . . . Aren’t you supposed to be hanging out on a beach somewhere?” Her voice sounded tight, almost . . . angry? Or maybe just surprised.
    “Yeah . . . or . . . no. I came back. I’m done.” He added a softness to his voice. “I came to see you.”
    More silence. Then, “I thought you were Grace. I’m . . . in my robe.”
    See, this was why he didn’t just let her fling open the door. He had sisters   —he got it. “No problem. I’ll wait.”
    More silence. A darkness began to settle deep in his gut. “Raina?”
    “Grace isn’t here.”
    Huh. It seemed she hadn’t moved. “Okay.”
    “Can you come back later?”
    Oh. He put his hand on the door, lowered his voice further. “Well . . . maybe we could talk?” He wanted to wince at the softpleading in his voice, but he already appeared desperate, standing here in his flip-flops, looking nearly homeless.
    “I . . . This isn’t a good time.”
    The darkness webbed his chest. But what did he have to lose? “Raina, please, could we just . . . ? I am so sorry for what happened, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and   —”
    “Casper?”
    He turned and spotted Grace stepping off the elevator. A bag of groceries hung from her hand. “I can’t believe it!”
    “Hey, Sis.”
    She ran toward him, flung herself into his arms.
    And just like that, he didn’t feel like the underdressed homeless guy in the hallway. He twirled her around, then put her down.
    “What are you doing here?” Thankfully, when Grace said it, it didn’t sound like an accusation.
    “I . . .” He glanced at the door.
    “Oh, Casper.” Grace’s voice softened, and she shook her head, sadness in her expression.
    He frowned. “What?” Oh no. He never considered the idea that Raina might be dating someone else.
    But of course she was   —and why not? Beautiful, amazing Raina had moved on. Forgotten him, and now he’d made yet another colossal mistake. “I should have called.” Understatement.
    Grace shook her head. “Let me call Max. He’ll let you bunk there.”
    She wasn’t even going to let him in to talk to Raina? He hadn’t seen that coming.
    Grace took out her phone. But a sound emerged from the other side of the door, something akin to a moan, loud and long, and it stilled them both. He caught Grace’s expression and went cold.
    What   —?
    “Grace, is that you?” Raina’s tone dredged up the memory of the New Year’s call.
    “Is there something wrong with Raina?”
    Grace’s jaw