Page 47 of Fall Into Me

“Is that asmile?”

“And you’ve ruined it,” I huffed and started to walk to the center of the grassy expanse. “I want you to look around and tell me what you see,” I said again when Fane finally joined me.

“Families,” he said thoughtfully, like he really was taking this seriously and not just placating me. “I see a playground with kids on it.” He gestured toward the weathered and worn swing set in the corner. A little boy swinging his legs with all his might to get higher. A little girl’s squeal as she made her way down the slide. “And trees.” He looked at me, his brow no longer crinkled.

“And what do you hear?” I asked him. “You can close your eyes and focus on it. I

promise I won’t do anything to you.”

“Wonderful, that’s reassured me a whole zero percent.”

“Fane.” His name was nothing more than an exasperated sigh, and I made sure I had a good clamp on my features when he took one step away from me for good measure before lifting his sunglasses onto the top of his head and closing his eyes.

“I hear the kids playing,” he murmured. Thoughtful. “Birds, the wind…”

“Anything else?”

“Yes.”

I glanced at him quickly before looking away again. “Are you going to share?”

Fane took a deep breath before he started to speak. “I can hear the way your dress sounds when your arm moves against it. The small humming sounds you make when you’re watching something that makes you happy. The deep breaths you’retaking, like you’re so aware of how your lungs are expanding. Like you’re grateful for it.”

That…Well, that I hadn’t been expecting.

I also hadn’t been expecting for his eyes to be open and on me, or for the expression on his face to look quite as vulnerable as it did.

What was I even supposed todowith that?

There once was a time I would’ve looked at his face, seen the expression on it the same way I did now, and know for certain what he was feeling.

Not only did I not trusthim, but I didn’t trust myself. Not around him.

When Fane took a tentative step toward me, I pretended I didn’t see it. Pretended I hadn’t heard a word he’d said.

“There’s a reason why I brought you here as the first stop on our tour.” My voice sounded brittle and worn, and that just wouldn’t do.

I pointed at the park that had started to fill with more children while we’d been standing here. “Some of my favorite memories were made right there.”

“I remember you telling me.” He sounded closer, like if I leaned back, I’d feel the hard planes of his chest against the curve of my back, and it would feel likefinallyI wouldn’t have to be the only thing keeping myself upright.

The thought made my nose sting, and I stepped away to escape it.

“It looks the same.” I pointed at the old swing set, its weathered frame holding strong. “My dad used to push me on that. And now those kids are making their own memories. One day, they’ll grow up, leave, and maybe never come back. Or maybe they’ll stay. But this swing set will still be here, looking just like this. Steady. Unchanged.”

I turned around to face him, settling my eyes on the base of his throat. I traced the details of the tattoos I had promised myself I wouldn’t catalog but already had instead of meeting his stare.

“They might fall in love, maybe lose their way, but this park will still be here. Dependable. Something they can count on. Do you know why?”

I didn’t really expect him to reply, but his silence did make me finally lift my eyes to his. They had always been brilliant in the sunlight. Flickering between the hues of violet they usually favored and shades of the lightest blue. The copper flecks picked up the sunlight that always reminded me so much of him and reflected it back out, making them almost luminescent.

“Because it’s been cared for. Looked after by people who love it. That’s why it’s lasted. That’s what this town is, Fane. It’s not a pit stop; it’s a place people invest in. Not just with money but with years of their lives. If you change that, you lose everything that makes it special.”

I’d been talking about a park for way too long, but it wasn’t just about the park. The park was a symbol.

I willed him to see that, to understand it.

“Okay,” he said, and I didn’t even flinch when he reached to catch a flyaway tendril of hair between his fingers. I didn’t miss the way he rubbed the strands between his fingers before tucking it behind my ear.

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