Page 151 of One Touch

“Of course I can forgive you,” I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes. “I love you.”

There was a gasp from the onlookers, then silence.

“You still do?”

I nodded, biting my lip.

“So much it hurts. So much I’ve not been able to think of anything except you and Ava since I got to town.”

He put the flowers and chocolates down and took my hands in his.

“Come back with me,” he said. “I’ll do whatever you need to show you that love is real.”

I nodded. “Yes, Ethan, I will. I want to come back to you.”

He pulled me in tight and crushed his lips to mine. As the crowd clapped and hollered, I felt the rest of the world melt away, as I remembered his taste, his smell.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for two months,” he breathed into my ear.

“Me too.”

“Now come on,” he said, “we’ve got a horse to ride.”

“Where did you get the horse?” I asked.

“You can actually rent them,” he said. “Have you ever ridden one before?”

“No,” I giggled, still feeling like I was living some kind of dream.

“What you do,” he said, with a warm smile on his lips, “is you sit on it, and it takes you places.”

“Sounds much safer than a car.”

“And you don’t even need brake calipers on a horse.”

He got up first, then he reached down. I grabbed his hand, but as I tried to hoist myself up, I realized I had no idea how to mount a horse. I scrambled awkwardly, my foot slipping off the stirrup. Ethan grunted, trying to pull me up.

“Geez, Lils,” he chuckled, his face red with exertion. “I thought you were the expert on damsels and white knights and horses and all that.”

“Shut up and pull,” I laughed, finally managing to swing my leg over the horse’s back.

As soon as I was settled, Ethan turned in the saddle and cupped my face in his hands. His lips met mine in a passionate kiss that made me feel like I was melting.

Suddenly, there was a loud, unmistakable sound. The horse had decided to leave its own mark on the moment.

I broke away from the kiss, laughing hard. “Well, at least it wasn’t on my wedding dress this time.”

Ethan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll tell you later,” I said, pulling him in for another quick kiss. “Let’s get out of here before we get arrested for public indecency and animal control violations.”

Ethan clicked his tongue, and the horse started moving.

“I still can’t believe you did all this,” I shouted over the noise of the city. The crowd followed behind us.

“I would have done whatever it took,” Ethan called back. “I knew I wouldn’t get a second chance.”

As we turned a corner, I spotted two familiar figures waiting on the sidewalk. My heart leaped when I recognized Ava’s mop of black hair and Susie’s happy face.

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