“I should grab the good while I can. In dating and in everything else.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Are you still interested in dating me?”
“One hundred percent interested.”
“In that case, I think I need to get over my hang-ups and take hold of this opportunity with both hands.”Courage, Akira. She was done with letting potential heartbreak suppress potential joy. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out beautifully between them.
He edged nearer, setting one foot on the floor. “Sure that you’re willing to take a risk?”
“It is a risk,” she acknowledged. “But you’re worth it.”
“And you won’t change your mind?”
She hadn’t forgotten that he’d been hurt by Leah. This wasn’t easy for him, either. “I won’t change my mind.” She scooted to the front of her barstool. “Are you willing to take a risk on me?”
“Yes. I’d risk a lot for you, Akira.”
She rested tender, unsteady fingertips on his cheek. In doing so, she pushed past the boundary of their safe friendship to something that felt less safe but infinitely promising.
Her heart pounded—
He pressed his lips to hers and she lost herself in the fireworks he set off within her.
She’d made the right choice. She didn’t want to miss this. She’d put her heart back on the line again because she wanted tolive. This was scary and heavenly, but most of all, this was living.
She flung herself at him, locking her arms behind his neck and very nearly knocking him off his stool.
They both laughed, and then they were kissing again. Deep, sweet kisses that tasted like destiny.
Luke wrenched from sleep to a sense of panic. How long had he been out? It felt like days.
What if he’d slept too long? What if he’d missed calls and they’d brought Finley back and he hadn’t been there?
Sheets twisted around his body as he grabbed his phone off the bedside table. It had been right beside him all night, ringer on.
Five a.m. Wednesday, March 31. No missed calls or texts.
He let his tight lungs release and collapsed back onto his pillows. His dim room closed around him. Eyelids sinking shut, he tested to see if he could sleep for another few hours.
No use. His body was having none of that.
He’d told his mom that he’d start his shift at nine. There was no way he could stay away from Finley that long, but he also couldn’t arrive at five thirty. That would insult the people who’d lost sleep to take that shift.
He went to his computer and searched through photo after photo of ATVs. He started with this year’s Polaris models, then worked backward in time.
At last, he found an image of an ATV, currently for sale in California, that was the same color combination and style as the one Ken had driven.
Luke took a screenshot of the photo and typed the pertinent information about the Polaris into an email. He directed the email to Detective Romano and hit Send.
When Luke arrived at Finley’s hospital room, he found his sisters inside, arguing over a TikTok video that Hailey loved and Blair hated. Their conversation jerked to a stop when they spotted his frown.
He went to the bed. Someone had recently brushed Finley’s hair. It flowed, shining, over her shoulder. Other than that, he saw no change. She was still trapped in her coma. Injured, unreachable, fragile.
Powerlessness turned his stomach to acid.
He’d do anything to change this. But he couldn’t. Not for her and not for Ethan. How was it possible that he was still standing, when he would’ve traded places with either of them?
He turned to his sisters. Hailey curled on the chair. Blair sat on the small futon, legs extended, combat boots crossed on the upholstery.
“Get sleep?” Blair asked.
