Page 455 of One More Kiss

I place my hand on his back, and he falls into my arms. Ethan holds me as if he’s falling, and I don’t let go. I can’t let go, not when I feel like he’s breaking in my arms. The pain he feels streams through me, and I wish I could take it all away.

“I don’t believe everything happens for a reason. It’s a bullshit thing that doesn’t bring comfort to anyone. No one should ever have to endure such loss—ever. I’m so sorry, Ethan. I’m sorry this happened to you. And I’m sorry you’re having to talk to me about it.”

He sits up and rubs his palms over his eyes. With a helpless shrug, he reiterates, “You deserved to know, Vada. Maybe I’m actually losing my mind, but…” He swallows hard. “You’re not like everyone else. Being with you is different. I feel like when I’m with you, I can be myself again, and that’s a feeling I haven’t felt for a very, very long time.”

I suck in air, and it almost hits me like a pound of bricks when the realization sets in that he’s right. It has been different being with him.

“I know what you mean,” I admit with a smile on my face, staring into his honey-colored eyes. For a moment, no words exchange between us but so much is being said. My heartbeat rushes, and I wonder if he can feel it, too. Ethan Rochester is more than what I ever bargained for, and after tonight, I see him in a completely different light. I truly understand him on a deeper level—something I haven’t ever felt with anyone else.

Ethan leans back on the blanket and pulls me down with him. The light breeze drifts over our bodies as he holds me in his arms. We look up at the stars twinkling in the sky, and in this moment, I don’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Our hearts, our bodies, everything is perfectly in sync, and the thought almost frightens me.

“Thank you,” Ethan whispers after minutes of silence between us.

I sit up on my elbow and look at him, the moonlight casting a shadow on his beautiful features. “For what?”

“For listening, for allowing me to be myself. For not looking at me like I’ve grown a second head or anything.”

I give him a sweet smile, and he pulls me close. His hot breath kisses my skin, and it’s almost too much for me to handle. “You had me at hello, you know that?”

I wasn’t expecting to hear that come from his lips. “Ethan—”

“Don’t.” He stops me, sitting up and pulling me to his chest. My mouth hovers above his until he slightly leans up and claims my lips as his, completely stealing my breath and heart in the flicker of a moment. His kiss is so raw that it almost reaches bone as he cuts me open with the emotion that’s streaming from this kiss. The shift I feel is so powerful, it’s almost as if the entire world tilts on its axis.

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