"Yeah," Cassie says. "It'd be nice if we could've met a less kidnap-y way. Maybe I could've met your mom, too."

She smiles a little, as much to undercut the bittersweet tenor of the conversation as anything else. But also because she likes feeling his fingers in her hair.

"On a slightly more cheerful note, I managed to snag some marshmallows from the kitchen at the last minute."