They’d spent the day together with Abby, just taking things easy, talking softly when Abby was otherwise engaged and holding hands like teenagers. He couldn’t stop touching her, needing the feel of her skin under his to reaffirm that this was real and not a dream. The whole day had that dreamlike quality, like they had somehow stepped out of time and it was just the three of them in their own special universe.

They were lying on a blanket under a tree in the park. Abby was asleep ...