Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“Sunrise,” I say. “I didn’t get you anything for your fifth birthday gift. I was going to …” I start to say, but she puts her finger over my mouth to stop me from talking.
She gets on her tippy toes. “You’re my present.” She tilts her head just a bit. “Now, give me a kiss and get me a funnel cake.” I don’t wait a second more before I push her hair away from her face and kiss her, letting everyone know I’m back, and she’s mine.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Emily
He kisses me, and I don’t even care. When he left the house, it hurt that I hurt him. I didn’t want him to ever feel like he didn’t mean anything to me or that we didn’t matter, so walking the carnival without him felt wrong. I kept looking for him, and finally when I saw him, I knew that I didn’t care what anyone said. All I knew is that I wanted him beside me.
I called him over, not thinking anything, and when I saw Drew with his girlfriend, who was pregnant, I waited for the hurt to hit me. I waited for my chest to feel tight, and the tears to come, but none of that happened, and I finally admitted to myself that I never really loved him like that. I walked away, holding Ethan’s hand, and I knew that the next step would be mine to make. I knew he was waiting for the green light, and it was time. I wanted all of him. I wanted to give him all of me.
“You taste like sugar,” he says softly against my lips. “You had a funnel cake already.”
“I did,” I admit. “But I wanted another one, and I wanted it with you.”
“I love you,” he says to me and turns to order me a funnel cake. Handing it to me, he grabs some napkins. We walk away and come face-to-face with most of his family. “Hey,” he says, looking around. “Thank you, guys,” he says now, and I look over at him, confused. “You guys saw what was going down, and you had my back.”
“Always,” Beau says to him, slapping him on the shoulder. “Now, does this mean you two are back together?”
“It means that I want her, and luckily for me, she wants me back,” he says, grabbing me around my shoulders. “Now if you all will excuse me, my girl wants to make out with me on the Ferris wheel.”
“That’s so gross,” Chelsea says while Amelia scrunches up her nose.
We walk away from them, and we get on the Ferris wheel. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” he asks when the wheel starts turning.
“I didn’t love him,” I admit. “Like I loved him as a person, but …” I don’t say anything else when I feel him put his arm around me, and his thumb rubs my arm up and down. “It’s you.” I look at him. “It’s always just been you.” I lean in and kiss him, my tongue sliding with his as he holds my face with his free hand.
We make out like a couple of teenagers, and when we get off the Ferris wheel, he walks over to a booth that has teddy bears. He wins me the teddy bear on the first try, too. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but when he hands it to me, I squeal and hug it to my chest. We walk around the fair holding hands. No one looks at us, and no one points at us. We’re just Emily and Ethan. He stops when he sees his brothers, and they challenge him to a shooting game. I just shake my head and watch him do his thing. The sun goes down, and the lights come on, and it’s just magical. It’s honestly the best day ever when he turns around and tosses me another bear while his brother asks for a rematch.
Seeing him rebuilding that bond he had with them so long ago makes it so much more. Knowing how far he’s come, I could not love him more. When we walk out of the carnival, he looks at me. “Are we leaving your car here or mine?”
“Why are we leaving any of the cars here?” I ask, and he looks around. “Amelia!” he calls out to his sister. “How did you get here?”
“Mom and Dad,” she says, and he grabs my keys. “Take Emily's car home. We’ll pick it up later.”
She laughs. “Later or tomorrow?”
“Monday.” He winks at her, then grabs my hand and drags me away from her.
“Oh my god,” I say, laughing, looking over at Amelia cringing. He gets me in the truck, and before I can even say anything, he is racing out of the parking lot. I laugh so hard when I look over at him. “Five years, Sunrise,” he says, and I lean over and kiss his neck, sucking in a little bit. He groans, and I smile, knowing he can’t do anything because he’s driving.