Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
I open my eyes to see his crystalized in ice blue. I can’t speak as I take every breath I can, inhaling them into my lungs. “You’re okay, baby.” My heart calms under his touch on my cheek, the warmth of his love for me. “We’ll be okay,” he says and turns back to the freeway.
“I—” It’s not the fight with him that reminds me how harsh life can be. It’s when he slams on the brakes in a sea of traffic.
Tires skidding.
Glass exploding.
Blue skies staring into mine.
Heaven was mine all along.
I hold my last breath as we’re spun around, my chest slamming into his outstretched arm, knocking it out of me and sending me backward. I hit the seat, my head bouncing against the headrest before I have a chance to open my eyes again.
A scream rings in my ears before I realize it’s mine escaping. I find his arm and hold on until we stop spinning, the final blow sending me sideways.
I open my eyes, sucking in shallow breaths. Pinned by the airbag, I look for the one thing that matters. “Laird?” I cry, trying to push off the door to get to him. The seat belt traps me in place. “Laird?” I whimper. “Please. Please. Please.”
His head jerks up. Coughing, he sinks in the seat when he sees me. “Thank God you’re okay.”
I’m holding his arm, my lifeline to him. “Don’t move, okay?”
“I’m okay.” He’s not okay. He wipes across his brow and smears the blood trailing down his face.
“You’re okay,” I say, trying to smile for him, but my tears are too heavy, the thought of losing him overwhelming. His arm is ripped from my hands, and I’m not sure if I’m dead or alive. In the chaos of the collision, I find myself smiling as the memories that had escaped play back like a movie reel.
“I’m all yours.” His smile is so clear, like the happiness we felt that day. His kisses numb the pain and put me right back in Austin.
“How much mine?” I tease, wanting him more than I should.
“I’m all in,” he says as if it’s set in stone.
Everything.
Everything.
He’s everything.
I’m falling for him . . .
I remember.
I remember everything.
It’s been Laird all along. I remember him.
My door opens, my body still pinned. The airbag deflates, and my seat belt is released. I’m pulled into his arms and carried to the back of the car, but his steps falter before we get any farther.
I’m set on my feet so he can brace himself on his arm, his body held by the car. Reaching up, he touches my cheek, but the blood furrows in his brow and causes him to look down. “I’m . . .” He coughs.
I wedge myself against him, finding the strength. I’ll be here for him. Looking around, I yell, “Help us. Please help us.” Grabbing his hand, I kiss it. I kiss it a million times like he’s kissed mine. “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
He smiles, paling under the loss of blood. My heart is so wrapped up in this man, and my knees weaken. “C’mere, baby.”
Sliding my arms around his middle, I kiss him on the lips, selfishly needing him to live so I can. I’ll breathe for him if that’s what it takes. His head rolls on his neck, and there’s that lady-killer smile, even now. “I’m here. I’m here, babe.”
Despite the blood, he caresses my cheek and stares at my mouth. “You were sunshine, blinding me in the crowd, and I fell so madly—” He coughs, his smile disappearing as his arm starts to give out. His weight falls on me, but I hold tighter. It’s only a whisper, but he says, “I’m madly in love with you. Always have been.”
“Hold on to me.” I lie against the car, my ribs aching under the pressure.
His head bobs forward, but when he catches himself and looks up, our eyes fix on each other. “I never let you go. You were always with me.”
I won’t look away. I could stare into his eyes forever. “I remember meeting you backstage and the wild weekend that followed. I remember you drawing our tattoos on a napkin and talking you into making them permanent. I remember I chose yours to be over your heart so you’d always have a reminder of me. You chose my spot as a reminder that I was yours.” Putting my cheek against his, I whisper, “There could never be another once I met you.”
His hand slides around me, and he nods. When speaking becomes too much for him, I keep talking for the two of us. “Let’s play a game. I’ll go first.” His head rests on my shoulder, so I turn and say, “Never have I ever loved anyone as much as I love you.” I struggle for air, tears streaming down my face, but I whisper, “Your turn, Laird.”