Page 180 of Catch the Sun

And I freeze in place.

A gasp falls out.

But before I can say a word…

A can of Dr Pepper comes flying at me through the wall of darkness.

I catch it.

Chapter 45

Ella

“Hey, Sunny.”

That name.

That voice.

That face.

Familiar features materialize as he steps closer, hands slipping in his pockets, hair fluttering when the wind blows through.

I can’t breathe. Can’t speak, can’t move. I’m frozen to the earth with a can of Dr Pepper squeezed inside my fist so hard, the aluminum threatens to crumple.

My eyes are playing tricks.

The dark is compromising my rational thought.

I start shaking, my knees close to buckling. It can’t be him.

He’s not here.

I slam my eyes shut and shake my head, my throat stinging. “Max,” I croak out.

Maybe I’m still dancing. Maybe I imagined him so hard, I brought him to life.

Before I can spiral, two strong arms are around me, pulling me to a warm chest. The smell hits me first. Pine needles, woods, nature, a trace of mint.

Max.

The Dr Pepper falls from my hand and I fist the front of his coat with white-knuckled fingers and bury my face in the buttons. “Are you real?” I breathe out, tears leaking down my cheeks.

He lets out a long exhale, like he just ran a marathon and finally crossed over the finish line. “I’m real,” he whispers, cupping the back of my head, his fingers gloveless as they dip under my hat to graze along my scalp. “I’m real, Sunny Girl.”

“How? How…how are you here?” My head swings back and forth, my tears dissolving into the fabric of his coat. “You knew where I’d be. Did Brynn tell you? My mother? Did you—”

“You told me,” he says, cradling my face and angling my eyes up to his. “You did. The night I came through your window with a concussion and you bandaged me up. You said you’d be here.”

My eyes are wide and glazed as I stare up at his handsome, bristled face, flabbergasted. “You remembered that?”

A smile blooms. “I remember everything you tell me.”

I still can’t believe it. Nearly three years without his touch and I can’t imagine how I ever survived without it.

My head tilts, eyes closing, his thumb brushing along my frozen lower lip. “Max…”

“I took a chance,” he tells me, voice hoarse. “I had to. No one would tell me where you were, no matter how many times I begged and pleaded. This was my one shot to see you, even if you didn’t want to see me.”

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