bChapter /bb122: /bbCade /bbPOV /b

    It takes a little convincing from me to get the operator to hold thest rotation for us, but eventually, he nods, ncing between me and La like he knows what this is. Or maybe he’s also been in love before. Either way, my puppy–dog–eye request is granted.

    The metal gate swings open with a creak, and I offer her my hand as she steps into the seat. Her fingers curl around mine–soft and deliberate–and I don’t let go, even after she settles in beside me. She doesn’t pull away, either. She just rests our sped hands on herp like she hasn’t noticed that

    the warmth still lingers between us.

    The wheel lurches forward with a groan that quiets the fairground noise below. We rise slowly, our seat swaying as it carries us above the carousel lights, above the funnel cake stands and cotton candy pinks, and above theughter and music and everything else that’s weighed her downtely.

    Up here, it’s different.

    The town stretches below in a scatter of warm lights and sugar–spun air. Rooftops of homes blur into

    the hills in the distance. The buzz of the fair fades into something softer, as if the world has decided

    to take a breath and wanted us to hear it.

    La sits beside me, close but not quite leaning into me. She shifts, drawing her knees up and

    wrapping her arms around them. The oversized hoodie I lent her is swallowing half of her frame. Her hair flutters across her face in the evening breeze as it catches thest remnants of the dusk light.

    “You always this quiet after eating your weight in fried food and sugar?” I ask gently, nudging her

    with my left thigh.

    She smiles faintly, but doesn’t look away from the view. “I’m just…trying to hold on to this. The

    stillness. You know?”

    Yeah. I do.

    I know exactly what she means. After everything–her mom’swsuit, the whirlwind of strategy meetings and legal jargon, the exhaustion of bncing school, her shifts at Beantree, and the four of

    us hovering around her like storm–ready satellites–it makes sense that she’d want to soak in the

    quiet. And let it settle into her bones for just a minute.

    I let the silence hang between us. It’s not heavy, it’s just real.

    The air is cooler up here, and the carnival smells are not quite as overwhelming. It smells like sugar

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    Chapter 122: Cade POV

    and salt andte summer, with a hint of rain somewhere far off on the wind, while the lights blur below like someone dragged a watercolor brush across the town. It’s stupidly beautiful.

    OD

    The breeze lifts her hair again, brushing it across her cheek. I reach up slowly and tuck it behind her ear. She doesn’t flinch, and she doesn’t pull away. Her skin’s still warm from the day’s sun and activities, and I leave my hand there just a moment longer than necessary.

    When she finally looks at me, there’s a question in her eyes I can’t quite read. But she’s not guarded like she’s been these past couple of days. No. Tonight, she’s the girl I fell in love with who seemingly

    didn’t have a care in the world.

    “You okay?” I ask, keeping my voice low and my gaze locked on hers.

    She nods, then leans her head back against the seat, with her shoulders slumping ever so slightly as

    if she’s letting herself rx for the first time in days. “Better than I thought I’d be. You really went

    all out, Cade.”

    “I just wanted to give you a break,” I say. “From everything. Even if it’s only for one night.”

    Her gaze softens, and something in my chest loosens. There’s always this moment with La, where she lets her cracks show, but not in a way that feels like it’s from weakness. She’s not falling apart.

    She’s letting me hold a piece of what she’s been carrying.

    The wheel slows, pausing at the very top. We sway gently, suspended above it all. It’s just us and the

    sky now, a nket of deep blue freckled with stars that weren’t there a few minutes ago. Even the breeze has quieted down, and we can hear the wheel’s metal creaking softly. Below, the carnival keeps its momentum, but up here? Up here, it’s just still, and it’s just us.

    She turns toward me just a little, her voice a whisper, as she says, “You always know exactly what I

    need.”

    I don’t answer her with my words. I shift my body toward her as my right hand’s fingers reach up to cradle the left side of her face. Her skin’s silky smooth under my touch, and when my thumb brushes the curve of her jaw, her eyes flutter closed for a beat. When they open again a few secondster, I’m already leaning in towards her.

    She exhales against my mouth, with the faintest hitch in her breath like she’s been holding something in all day and has finally let it go. I tilt my head slightly, deepening the kiss just enough to tell her I’m not in a hurry. That we’ve got time. That this moment is safe.

    Her lips soften even more against mine, warm and willing, and I feel her fingertips flex against my

    O

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    Chapter 122: Cade POV

    shirt, like her body is answering me before her voice can. The world narrows to the shared rhythm between us, the quiet creak of the Ferris wheel, and the steady echo of her heartbeat that I swear I can feel through her palm.

    When we finally pull back from each other, her lips linger a second longer, reluctant to leave. Her forehead rests against mine, and her eyes stay closed. And for a beat, neither of us moves. And neither of us speaks.

    We don’t need to.

    Not here. Not tonight.

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