Page 105 of Forever To Me

Maggie’s voice cuts through the haze. “KISS HER, YOU IDIOT!”

Walker groans, his forehead dropping to my shoulder. “I hate this town.”

I laugh, breathless and wrecked, but damn if I don’t feel the exact same way. He rolls off me, muttering under his breath as he starts untying the rope around our legs. I sit up, brushing dirt from my jeans. My pulse still races.

Maggie hollers: “YOU COULD’VE KISSED HER!”

Walker’s head snaps up. “Maggie, for the love of?—”

Mack walks over, hands on her hips. “So… does this mean you lost?”

Walker sighs. “Yeah. We lost.”

I nudge him with my shoulder, still giddy from whatever the hell that moment was. “But we had fun.”

His eyes flick to mine. He smiles, just a little, and his gaze drops again to my mouth. His voice is quiet. Rough. Just for me. “Yeah. We did.”

We walk back to the truck, our shoulders brushing everyfew steps. The sun dips lower in the sky. The crowd cheers for the next round. Maggie’s still yelling something about romantic tension.

Walker’s hand brushes against mine. I feel it like I would an electric shock. “Told you I could keep up,” he murmurs, voice low and wicked.

I force out a laugh. “Was that before or after we face-planted?”

He stops. Turns to me. His eyes are pure trouble, his mouth quirking up on one side. “Maybe next time… we try something with less rope.”

The air thickens again.

My mouth goes dry, and I can’t breathe. Because “next time” sounds a whole lot like a promise.

And God help me—I want it.

I know something’s wrong the moment I push open the garage door. Normally, there’d be music blasting from the old radio or the sound of Poppy swearing at an engine. But today?

Silence.

Poppy stands next to my car, leaning against the hood with an expression that screams guilt.

“Poppy…” I narrow my eyes.

She smiles—too wide, too innocent. “Hey, stranger! Here for your car?”

I glance past her to my dusty Subaru that hasn’t seen daylight in weeks. I run my hand along the roof like I’m greeting a long-lost pet. “Yeah, you know… since it’s been in car jail for half a century.”

Poppy chuckles and pushes off the hood. “Funny thing about that…”

I cross my arms. “Funny how?”

She rubs the back of her neck, her eyes darting everywhere except at me. “So… it’s been fixed.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

She winces. “For… a while.”

I blink. “How long is a while?”

She cringes. “I'm sorry that I'm not sorry.”

“Poppy!” I try to be mad, but I can’t hide my grin.

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