Page 184 of Catch the Sun

I try two more times to no avail.

On the third attempt, Max moves in behind me, until the front of his coat is pressed up against my back. I go still. My breathing feels unsteady, my heart jumping like the stones that refuse to skip. I feel him falter for a moment, his nose dipping to my hair as he inhales a shuddered breath. My eyes close. I lean back on instinct, my balance teetering, my stomach in ropes.

“It’s all about the rhythm and the glide,” he murmurs against my ear. Max’sfingers trail down the length of my arm until his hand is clasped around mine.

I want my gloves to incinerate, to turn to dust. I want no layers between us, no barriers.

Swallowing, I let his fingers tangle with mine briefly before he slowly swings my arm back and forth, assisting with the rhythm. Forward, back, repeat.

It’s almost like we’re dancing.

“The last time we did this…I think I fell a little bit in love with you,” I confess.

A warm plume of his breath hits the shell of my ear. I’m not sure if it’s a sigh of relief or a groan, but it sets my insides ablaze. His scent overpowers me, unravels me, as I tremble on two shaky legs. It’s freezing outside, but I’ve never felt more warmth.

“Me too,” he says softly. Max’s other arm snakes around my middle and holds me tight, while his right hand still sways with mine. “Toss the stone, Sunny.”

I close my eyes.

I envision us three years ago at Tellico Lake, the sunset staining the sky in an apricot blush, all of my worries and fears setting with the sun. I recall myself looking forward to dawn, to a new day, to a new beginning. With him. There was a golden glow around my heart, the feeling as unpredictable as the ever-changing weather in our story.

My arm rears back a final time, his fingers still cradling my hand, and I let go of the stone.

A few tiny plunking sounds travel to my ears.

Max hesitates, inhales a quick breath.

Then he leans in to me and whispers gently, “You did it.”

A smile pulls at my frozen cheeks. My lashes flutter, my eyes opening, and I stare out at the dark water as I lean against Max, letting him hold me upright. His other arm falls away from my hand to join the one that’s circled around my middle. He squeezes me tight, his face dropping to the crook of my neck. I feel his lips graze my skin, followed by a light kiss. Then another.

I shiver.

“You skipped your first stone,” he murmurs, sprinkling more kisses along my throat, my ear, his hands skimming the front of my puffy coat.

“I skipped my first stone,” I repeat breathily. “And…you’re here.”

“I’m here.”

Spinning in his arms, I reach up and clasp my hands around his neck and lower his face to mine. My lips part when our noses kiss. Max drags his hands up my body in slow motion, then cups my face between his palms.

The feeling never left.

The glow, the shimmer ringed around my heart.

I lift up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.

His lips are cold, but his tongue is warm when it slips inside. A moan falls out as my hands squeeze the nape of his neck, my eyes hesitant to close as I fully drink him in. Heat blooms everywhere, from my chest to my toes. It’s a reunion, a coming home, a feeling of completion.

“You can close your eyes,” he whispers, pulling back briefly. “You don’t have to look at me if it hurts too much.”

I falter, my breath catching. “What?”

Max swallows as our noses brush together. “I just mean…if you still see him.”

My heart cracks. Tears pool, and I shake my head back and forth, emotion clogging my words. “No, Max…no,” I tell him, holding him tighter. “I only see you.”

It’s true.

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