Page 50 of Kiss the Dawn
Tempest Storm appears on screen, her bloodredlocks blowing in the wind, tendrils slapping against her brown skin, emerald eyes fixed on the camera. On us, as she speaks.
“We’re here in Temptation Falls, the most haunted town in the city. Are you ready for the ride?”
“We’re ready!” Edwin and I say in unison.
We stay up late talking then fallasleep snuggled on the sofa. We hoped to catch Haiden on the way out, but we miss his departure anyway.
It’s a sad crew that makes its way to New Town for work, and once we get to the office, Edwin offers to grab breakfast rolls, but before he goes, he makes us all coffee to tide us over.
“I’ll see you soon,” he says.
And my gut squirms. “I’ll come with you.”
Is that panic in his eyes? No, he’s just giving me his indulgent smile.
“Just drink your coffee. I’ll be back in a flash.”
Am I imagining it or does the smile not reach his eyes? “Edwin?—”
“See you in a bit.”
He hurries off, leaving me with an awful knot in my belly as a possibility blooms in my mind. “He’s been going off alone a lot recently, hasn’t he?”
“I did notice that over the past few weeks,” Merry says.
It’s obvious even though I don’t want it to be. “He’s seeing someone, and he doesn’t want us to meet her yet.” A hollow feeling opens inside me as I say the words, and Holly and Merry share a look that I can’t decipher. “What? It must be that. What else can it be? He tells me everything else. I mean we shareeverything. He’s my best friend.”
“Not everything,” Merry says. “He hasn’t told you he’s in love with you yet, has he?”
Her words are a punch to the gut, forcing me to acknowledge the thing I’ve been ignoring for a while now. Something I realized acutely when Edwin almost died.
I’min love with him.
And now…Now Merry is saying she thinks he’s in love with me too? And why am I lying to myself? I’ve felt it in all the little things he does for me. The way he’s always there to listen and support me. In the way he seems to know what I need even before I’ve figured it out.
I’ve taken him for granted.
Takenusfor granted, and there’s an awful feeling inside me that tells me that I’m running out of time.
“You know how he feels, don’t you?” Holly says. “You feel the same, so why don’t you?—”
“Holly.” Merry shakes her head.
Holly exhales and presses her lips together.
I know what they’re thinking. They’re thinking that I’m holding back because of the infection, but how can I explain that this knowledge, this acceptance is so new and raw to me that I haven’t had time to process it and its implications?
“Life is too short for regrets,” Holly continues. “You deserve to know that neither of you is crazy. That the feeling is mutual, and fucking have that time together, however long it might be.”
Her words send a surge through my blood.
I grab my coat. “I’ll be back.”
“You go get him!” Merry cries.
“And you can help him carry back some of those sweet donut thingies!” Holly says.
I rush out of the door and into the morning light, then practically run the two blocks to the café where Edwin will be ordering breakfast.
