I can feel his eyes on me. But I keep looking at Katie. She takes a few steps away, her hand and nose pressing against the window of a store beside us.
Carla beams. “Anyway, it was great to see you, but I need to get Katie to her appointment. Em, we should do that coffee soon. Or come over for some food, one night. You too, Jared.”
“That sounds great.”
Katie gives us a small, shy wave as Carla turns to head back down the street, their hands linking together.
He’s looking at me. “Emmy.”
But I keep watching them, right until they turn the corner. My heart feels as though it might burst out of my chest. I can’t stop smiling. “It’s good, right?”
“Very lucky.” Jared sounds like he’s smiling too. “The timing.”
I shrug. “Sometimes things just work out.”
Jared jerks me to a stop, his hands cupping my face. Emotion burns in his eyes. “Itwasyou. You sent them that money.”
One hundred thousand dollars.
Pocket change to my father. But not to them. Not to Katie.
“Don’t make it a big thing.” I bite down on my lip. “I did keep a little bit back.”
Just in case.
“God, I love you.” He leans in, his forehead pressing against mine. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“This would be an excellent moment. Very poignant.”
“Not yet. Soon.”
“This had better be the best damn kiss in history.”
71
Jared
Iwait until we’re in bed. Emmy is curled up against me, her cheek against my heart. Dozing.
Sometimes I feel as if the only time my heart beats is when she’s close. My heart only beats for Emilia Marsters.
I take a breath.
“Em. I think you should go.”
Sleepy eyes lift to mine. Midnight blue. I’ve never seen eyes as deep as hers. Her eyebrows crumple in confusion. “Go? Go where?”
“Anywhere.” My chest feels tight, my heart in my throat as I look over at her bedside table. Her book sits beside it, nearly finished. “South America. North America. Europe. Wherever you want to go.”
She stiffens. “Hang on.”
I pull myself upright, leaning against her headboard as she scrambles up onto her knees. She searches my face.
And I see it. The spark that appears in her eyes. “You mean it?”
My smile spreads over my face as I reach for her. My thumb trails across her cheek. “Yeah, baby. I think you need to.”
To see the world from a different view. To see things under a different sky.
