My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 805

Andrew Lane let out a quiet “mm,” his gaze drifting to the window. “We’ll be there soon. Let’s talk once we arrive.”

It was a weekday, well outside of any school break. The tourist crowds were thin—just a handful of people scattered along the walkways.

Just as Emily Blair had said, Lakeview wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was little more than a stretch of sand and endless ocean, with quaint shops and cafés dotting the shoreline, all tastefully built to draw the eye.

It looked almost exactly as Emily remembered.

Stepping onto the sand again, Emily felt the wind tug at her hair, sunlight warm on her skin, the sky and sea impossibly blue. It was beautiful, breathtaking even.

For a moment, she stood dazed, her eyes unconsciously searching for that patch of sand—the very spot where everything had changed.

She remembered it all too clearly, and it didn’t take her long to find the place where she’d once walked into the sea.

It was an unremarkable corner of the beach, nothing to set it apart. The water lapped gently at the shore, glimmering under the breeze. No one would ever guess that a woman had once died here, swallowed by the same beautiful tide.

The memory of dying was too vivid to ever fade. Emily could still feel the saltwater closing over her face, blocking her mouth and nose, the slow suffocation, the ice-cold water numbing her skin until all sense faded—except the sharp, almost painful awareness of the urn she’d clutched to her chest.

Staring at the calm, glistening waves, a shiver ran through her.

“Are you cold?”

Andrew’s voice slipped past the barrier she’d built around herself, startling her from her thoughts.

Emily hugged her arms, suddenly remembering she wasn’t alone. She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”

She forced herself out of the past and looked at Andrew. “Can you tell me about your dream now?”

He studied her face, not missing the change in her expression.

Her skin had gone pale. The distant, restrained smile she’d worn in the car had vanished.

That probing look snapped her back to herself.

No, Andrew couldn’t have come back. He’d said it was just a dream. He was uncertain, fishing for her reaction.

Emily dug her nails into her palm, forcing herself to stay calm. She pressed her lips together and managed a wry smile. “You must really dislike me, Mr. Lane. Even your dreams have me drowning?”

He watched her for a long moment before answering, his voice softer, almost haunted. “I’ve dreamed it so many times. Every time, you’re standing right there. No matter how loud I call, you never turn around. I watch you walk into the water, again and again, and I can’t do anything to stop it. Every dream feels so real.”

Her smile froze, the words rooting her to the spot.

Andrew leaned in, closing the distance between them. Their faces were so close now, just inches apart.

“I just want to know,” he breathed, his eyes searching hers, “why do I keep dreaming about you?”