“It’s not what it looks like,” he says, hitching his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the group.
“It doesn’t matter, you can do what you want,” I assure him, doing my best to sound as unaffected as possible. I cross my arms, hoping it will help shield my heart.
His eyes snag on my ringless finger. It’s felt wrong lately putting it on, even if it’s to protect myself from the man standing in front of me. “If I could do what I want, it wouldn’t bethat,” he replies with conviction, staring me in the eyes so reverently. It feels like he can see directly into the depths of my soul. It doesn’t matter that I want to close him out; he’s had the key to my heart all along.
“Then what would it be? Because you looked pretty cozy back there.” A touch of anger laces my voice.
“I don’t think you’re ready to hear that quite yet.” He brushes a piece of my hair behind my ear, the movement so soft and so gentle that I have to fight the urge to turn my face into his palm.
I look away from his gaze and nod my head because he might just be right. I’ve been running from this feeling since the second I got to town, and it doesn't seem like I can run fast enough. It’s constantly nipping at my heels. My heartstillbeats for him.
Weston grabs one of my arms and pulls me into his chest. We haven’t really touched outside the horse ride since I’ve been to town.
His strong arms come around me, and my head perfectly tucks under his chin. My arms uncross and I grip his shirt. It’s not quitehugging him back, but it is holding on for dear life. Because for this one second, it feels so good and so right. My heart feels at peace and so does everything else. I sink my weight against him, and I feel his lips touch my forehead.
“How about you and I go on a ride? Like old times?” he murmurs into the top of my head.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He places his hand on my lower back, and we walk toward the rides, the lights leading our way. I might regret this tomorrow. But for right now, I don’t want to fight this fire between us.
Chapter 21
Weston
My hand stays firmly planted on her lower back, not wanting to sever the connection. My gaze keeps going to her hand, where her ring should be but isn’t. She’d never forgotten it before her fiancé came to town. It’s just the sign I needed. I didn’t really give a fuck about her piece of shit fiancé, but I do care about her. If the ring is off, she’s fair game, and I’m coming for what’s mine.
“What do you want to do first? We can ride the Ferris wheel or the tilt-o-whirl. I’m not sure what else is around here.” I look around, taking note of the bright neon lightbulbs on the edge of the rides.
“I’m not sure, I haven’t been to one of these things in years. Do they still give away goldfish for prizes?” she asks, looking down the row of games we’re coming up on.
“Please tell me you’re not going to come home with a goldfish tonight?” I ask, amused.
She wrinkles her nose. “Absolutely not, I think I've got enough on my plate at the moment and don’t need to add on keeping something else alive, right now.”
“Mmmm, good call. Is there anything I can do to help you with what’s on your plate? If you’re overwhelmed or anything, I’m always here to support.”She lets out an amused chuckle. “You have a whole ranch to run; I think you’re busy enough.”
“I’m never too busy for you, Sunshine. Don’t ever forget it.”
She looks up from the flashing lights of the games and over at me, her face soft, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a bit of a smile there. “Okay. But no, thank you. I’m a bit of a control freak. I’m still untangling the last mess a Taylor man left me.” She playfully bumps into me, hinting at my dad’s lovely filing work.
“Fair enough.” I sink my hands into the front of my jeans as we walk, not wanting to scare her off with too much touch. “Do you want to play any of these games?” There’s a whole slew of them here. Ring Toss, Whac-a-Mole, basketball, pretty much all the standard carnival games.
She looks around. “Actually, can we grab a snack? I didn’t eat dinner when your sister came and kidnapped me.” As her face tilts up to meet my gaze, I can’t help but notice she did her makeup differently today, the edges of the liner flicked out on the ends, which makes her green eyes look like they’re practically glowing.
“Whatever you want, Sunshine, something sweet, or something salty?” I smile at a passerby. This year's fair is even busier than normal.
“How about some cotton candy and then maybe the Ferris wheel?” she suggests, and I wonder if she remembers why that specific ride is my favorite. But at this point, I don’t really care; I’m just glad to get this time with her.
“Sounds perfect, let’s head that way.” My hand slides to her back as I steer her away, glad I lasted three whole minutes without touching her. Part of me is terrified of touching her, like she’s a wild horse and one wrong move will scare her off, and the other, the other feels like I’m dying every second she’s not in contact. It’s a dangerous game I’m playing.
“Do you think we should go get Aspen?” She turns out of my touch, looking around. The breeze comes by us, and I get a whiff of her perfume: sweet, almost like honey.
I love my sister, I really do, but having her here, when I feel like Willow is finally opening up, is the last thing I want. “How about for the rest of the night it’s just you and me?” I brush a stray lock of hair out of her face and drop my hands to my side before I do something stupid, like lean in and kiss her. Even though that’s all my body wants right now.
Her cheeks redden at my touch, but there’s a small smile peeking through. “Okay.” She tucks her head.
Being braver than I feel, I wrap my arm around her shoulders as I say, “Now, let’s go get you that cotton candy.” My excitement is anything but forced. I never thought I would get to do this again, enjoy a night out in our favorite little town together, but it seems like maybe just maybe, my hope isn’t futile. That hope explodes as she wraps her arm around my back and leans into me, nestling her arm into the crook of my chest and armpit.
