He puts me back down with a quick swat to my arse that has me yelpingin surprise.
“Okay, how do Iwinthe Grim?” he says to the attendant this time.
It takes him three turns to earn the fifty points, but I’m happier than a pig in mud as we make our way toward the exit with my new stuffed Grim Reaper hugged to my chest.
Just before we make it out, I see an empty spot on the carousel and drag Gage over and into the bench seat that looks like a carriage.
I snuggle into Gage’s side, and he slides his hand through my legs, where they’re crossed over the knee.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Mmm? What about?” I ask, looking up at him as I cuddle close.
He looks at me, quickly dropping a kiss on the end of my nose before looking straight ahead again.
“Asking you to be my girlfriend.”
His tongue darts out, flicking over his lip ring a few times before he picks up my legs and lays them over his knees, turning our bodies into each other, while my heart feels like it’s stopped completely.
“I can’t stop thinking about you. I like the way you make me feel. Excited and happy, and like I’m deserving of good things. I haven’t felt the weight of guilt like it’s this unfixable thing I need to make penance for since you came into my life.”
Tears prick my eyes, but I wait for him to finish before I dare interrupt him.
“You make me think of August without crushing sadness being the first thing I feel. You make it feel like, for the first time, I’m living in his memory instead of making up for his loss. I feel such pride that a woman as kind, vivacious, and compassionate as you sees the man I am inside. The man I forgot I could be.” He takes a deep breath, shaking his head as if even he’s surprised by his words and feelings. “Being seen by you is like being kissed by sunlight. I haven’t been in a relationship before. Apart from afew months here and there in high school. But if it’s anything like what we’ve been doing”—he cups my cheek, looking deep into my eyes—“then I think I’d be good at it. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to be your everything, because you’re already mine.”
Before the tears can fall completely, I throw my arms around his neck, crashing my lips to his. His hand slides behind my neck, tangling in my hair to hold me closer, clutching my head as if he never wants to let go.
The kiss is a deep, soul-consuming fire that ignites my very existence. I can feel tears slowly track down my cheeks, and I sniffle.
Gage pulls back, his eyebrows set in a deep frown.
“Sorry,” I say on a wet laugh, waving away the emotions. “I just really like the sound of that.”
“Can I take you home with me tonight?” he whispers.
I nod, bringing him back for another kiss that is far lighter than the promising one before. When the carousel stops, we walk hand in hand out of the festival, and Gage leads me across the road to an underground car park where his ute is parked.
I let him open my door. He helps me into the cab and kisses me again before pulling the seatbelt across my lap and buckling me in.
When we start to drive back to my apartment—to feed Hallie and pick up an overnight bag—he leans over to hold my hand, which is lucky, because I might float away if it weren’t for him keeping me here.
He picks up our clasped hands, kissing the back of mine with both eyes still on the road, and I almost say the words out loud.I think I love you.I wonder if he senses it when he turns to me. My heart literally skips a beat when he looks at me with that smilethat feels like it’s all mine, and I chicken out from saying anything, not wanting to risk spoiling the moment. Spoiling this whole night, which has been utterly perfect.
I look back at the road, rolling my lips together to hide the goofy grin that just wants to break free, when I notice, almost in slow motion, a tyre flying through the intersection. A truck starts to slide, another car swerves to avoid going into it, but he’s going too fast, he’s coming right at us.
“Gage! Look out!” I scream, and an arm slams across my chest, pinning me to the seat. I reach for the door handle, holding tight, and close my eyes. Then I brace for impact.
Chapter twenty-seven
My head feels heavy.
I can see a flash of blue.
Darkness.
Red.
The sound of my name being screamed. It sounds like Isabelle.
