where the light still burns

Chapter 7: A History in Their Eyes

The air inside the lighthouse inn felt tighter by the hour.

Elena stood in the parlor, trying to find some calm in the whirlwind of floral deliveries, rehearsal dinner seating charts, and the unbearable awareness that Adrian and Daniel were now on the same property, orbiting closer by the minute.

She didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey.”

The word slid behind her like a shadow. She turned—and there was Adrian. Leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, that unreadable look on his face. His hair was wind-tossed, his jaw tight.

“You didn’t tell me Daniel Carter was coming,” he said.

Elena held his gaze. “He’s Mari’s fiancé’s cousin. I didn’t know until last night.”

Adrian scoffed softly. “Of course he is.”

She stepped closer. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“He made it sound like it did,” Adrian muttered. “Like you two had some history.”

“We don’t,” she said. “Just a few flirty texts ten years ago. Nothing serious. Not like…” She stopped herself.

“Not like us,” he finished for her.

Elena nodded.

Adrian stepped into the room, closing the space between them. “You kissed me. You spent the night with me. And now he’s watching you like he owns the past you walked away from.”

“I don’t belong to either of you,” she said gently, but firmly.

He looked away. “I know. I just—” He paused. “I waited for so long, Elena. I don’t know how to share you, even if I know I’m not supposed to ask you to choose.”

She reached for his hand, fingers threading through his. “I came back. For my sister. And then I saw you. And suddenly it felt like the part of me that went missing when I left… started breathing again.”

Adrian’s thumb brushed her knuckles. “So what do we do now?”

“Give me time,” she whispered. “Let me figure out who I am here… before I try to be someone’s again.”

He nodded slowly, but his eyes darkened with something unspoken.

And just then, as if summoned by fate, Daniel walked in—smirking, tailored, too smooth for his own good.

“Well, well. Interrupting something?” he asked, glancing down at their linked hands.

“No,” Elena said, stepping back but not letting go entirely. “Just talking.”

“Funny. Looked more like whispering sweet nothings.” Daniel’s grin turned sharp. “But then, you always had a type.”

Adrian’s expression went still. “You don’t know a damn thing about her.”

“I know she left you.”

Adrian took a step forward. “And you should know when to walk away.”

Daniel chuckled, but his eyes were cold. “This is going to be a very interesting wedding.”

He left with a wink at Elena, leaving tension behind him like smoke.

Adrian exhaled. “I hate that guy.”

Elena touched his chest, grounding him. “He doesn’t matter.”

Adrian looked at her like she was both his peace and his undoing. “You do.”