Page 123 of Hang the Moon

Page List

Font Size:

“Sure.” He smiled briefly before turning and facing the water and the city beyond.

Pretending to be okay when he felt anything but was exhausting.

A loud whistle filled the air, followed by a sharp crackle as the first firework burst overhead. Bright white light lit up the air in a quick strobe of flickers and flashes that signaled the start of the show. A dozen pops followed in quick succession as cascading stars filled the sky, their tails long and glittering as palm frond–shaped sparkles rained down, golden in color.

Flashes of red and blue illuminated the night, reflecting off the lake, making it bright as midday. Beside him, Elle oohed softly. He tore his eyes from the light show and watched as she sank back against Darcy, who stood behind her. Darcy’s arm was braced on the railing, bracketing Elle in. She whispered something in Elle’s ear that made Elle beam and turn, pressing a quick kiss to Darcy’s cheek, before looking back at the sky. On his left, Margot narrated the show on Instagram Live, calling each firework by its proper name.Brocade. Chrysanthemum. Pistil. Palm. Spinner. Fish.

One glowing comet rocketed high into the air, a tight ball ofbright white light. It burst and sparkles rained down, reigniting and sending off another cascade of stars that dissolved as they floated toward the earth.

His eyes burned as he stared unblinkingly at the sky. When he was finally forced to break his stare, a reverse image wound up imprinted on his retinas, a zigzag of black against bright white on the backs of his eyelids. He swallowed hard, over the sudden sour knot that had taken up residence in the back of his throat.

Had he not been standing on the observation deck of a boat in the middle of the lake, the breeze ruffling his hair and pushing it off his forehead, he’d have thought he needed air. He didn’t know what he needed, but it wasn’t here. He had a feeling it was five thousand miles away. Unreachable. Untouchable. Not his.

He stepped away from the railing, needing—needing a minute. Just a minute. A minute to... he didn’t actually know what he needed to do. Standing here, watching the fireworks and feeling painfully alone despite being surrounded by a crowd of people, his friends, his family, was too fucking much for him.

Fingers circled his wrist, stopping him from going far.

“Where are you going?” Darcy asked, frowning. “You’re going to miss the show.”

He sank his teeth into the flesh of his cheeks, needing the brief flicker of pain to ground himself, and shrugged, still feeling disjointed. “Okay.”

Her frown deepened, the line between her delicate brows turning into a trench. “You love fireworks, Brendon.”

He used to, yeah, back when he’d had something to celebrate. Something to rejoice over. “I’m not in the mood, Darce.”

When he was a kid, he’d wished on those fireworks as if they were real shooting stars. Now he wasn’t so naïve. When the show was over and the boat returned to the harbor, the sky would return to a black slate. He would climb inside his car and drive back to his empty apartment, and Annie... Annie would still be in London. No amount of wishing would bring her back. Watching fireworks explode was a poor substitute for the way he’d felt when Annie had touched him, when they’d kissed, when she’dbreathedin his vicinity.

He tugged his hand free as gently as he could. “I’ll be back.”

After all, it was hard to go far on a boat.

Ignoring the almost crushing weight of Darcy’s gaze, he turned.

And froze.

Several yards away, in the center of the observation deck beside the stairs, stood Annie.

Color from the fireworks reflected off her face, off her white halter dress. Her blond hair turned shades of vivid pink and purple, illuminated like fiber-optic strands. A loud crash filled the air, but it had nothing on the thunder of his heartbeat inside his head.

Someone nudged him hard and he stumbled forward, stopping several feet from Annie, giving her a wide berth because—he had to be seeing things. Dreaming.

Her lips curved a tentative smile that verged on shy. “You’re missing the fireworks.”

Another loud boom sounded behind him and his heart crashed against his sternum.

“No.” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I’m not.”

Annie threw her head back and blinked hard up at the sky, her lashes beating against her cheek. She sniffed hard and laughed. “You’re not supposed to say things like that.”

The lump in his throat swelled to epic proportions, making it hard for him to breathe. “I’m not?”

She gave a quick, curt shake of her head. She washere. On this boat, standing in front of him, more beautiful and breathtaking than any firework show he had ever witnessed.

She lifted her chin and the fireworks overhead exploded in a bright spray of strobing sparkles. Blues and reds and greens and purples all reflected in Annie’s eyes. A rainbow captured on the plains of her face for his eyes only. His heart beat harder, a violent clatter of cymbals and thunderous booms joining the symphony of pyrotechnic pops and whistles and crackles overhead.

She blinked and her eyes shined brighter than all the fireworks. Brighter than the stars and the moon and the city lights across the lake. His heart stuttered when she swallowed, her throat jerking visibly.

“No.” She shook her head, lashes continuing to flutter with each fast blink.