6. Max #2
“Everything clashes with that couch.”
Our laughter mingles as the wheel pauses to let another gondola unload.
“I’m not sure how long I’ll stay,” I muse, taken aback by the fact I felt the need to share that information. Much to my Gran’s and my nosy cousin’s annoyance, I don’t talk about things like this. But floating in the sky with Lila warm against me… I could do anything.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” she says.
“I used to dream about leaving. I still do. I mean, I love Crescent Cove. I know every shortcut, every shop owner, every house that gives out full-sized candy bars at Halloween. I know which section of the beach has the best shells after a storm and where the dolphins swim in late summer.”
“Then why leave?”
She’s quiet for a moment.
“Because everyone here has known me forever. It feels like I’m trapped inside each embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. Nobody lets you become someone new when they already decided who you were back in high school.”
With her sparkly tiara, Candi’s easy to pick out in the crowd. Her arms are crossed. Even at this height, I can feel her staring daggers at us.
“How long has that been going on?” I ask, motioning toward the festival grounds. “With Candi.”
Lila stiffens. “It’s complicated.”
“I wish I could protect you from that, too.”
She pulls away enough to look up at me. “Let’s forget about Candi.”
“Done,” I say. “Already forgotten.”
Her smile plumps her rosy cheeks. “I’m on a Ferris wheel with a very attractive man who gave away a small fortune in ride tickets so we could be alone. I refuse to waste that.”
“What I heard is that you think I’m attractive.”
Slowly, her gaze travels slowly over my face. “You are.”
Her buttery-sweet scent deepens, warm vanilla and spun sugar turning richer with her desire. It fills my lungs and slides beneath my skin, rousing my fox with one tantalizing breath.
Heat ripples through my chest. “So are you.”
The gondola reaches the top of the wheel, and the ride stops.
Lila makes a small sound and grips my arm tighter.
“I’ve got you.”
We sway in the cool ocean breeze, the pink clouds breaking across the waves, painting them like stained glass.
“Okay, wow,” she breathes. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is.”
But I’m not looking at the view.
She catches me watching her, and her lips part.
The festival noise fades until all I can hear is the wind and the soft rhythm of her breathing.
I lift my free hand and brush a loose curl from her cheek.
Lila leans into my palm.
“Max,” she whispers as I lower my head and she tilts her face toward mine.
Vanilla and sugar fill my lungs as her breath ghosts against my lips.
A faint pink glow catches at the edge of my vision.
My body tenses.
Magick snakes around the safety latch.
“Lila—”
The metal bar jerks open, and the gondola pitches beneath us.
Lila’s tote slides off the seat. It hits the metal floor and tips over the edge. Instinctively, she lunges for it.
Before she falls to her death, I catch her around the waist.
Her scream tears through me as the gondola swings violently. I drag her backward and pull both of her legs across my lap. She clutches my shirt as I wedge my foot against the metal frame and use my body to keep her secure.
Lila’s belongings scatter through the air, the pages of her neon pink notebook flapping like a wounded bird.
Below, people shout.
Terror drains the color from her tear-streaked cheeks.
“You’re safe with me. I won’t let you fall.”
Lila sobs and buries her face against my chest, fingernails digging into my shirt. “You swear?”
I press my lips to the top of her head. “On my life.”
And I mean it. There isn’t a force on earth—magickal or otherwise—that could tear her out of my arms.
A crowd has gathered on the ground beneath us. The attendant shouts into a radio while another checks the ride controls. Near the loading platform, pink sparks fade around Candi’s fingers as she crosses her arms over her chest.
I saw the magick. I know what she did. This time, she didn’t humiliate Lila. She could have killed her.
We’ll deal with her later.
Right now, Lila is in danger, and nothing matters more than getting her safely onto the ground.
The gondola creaks, and Lila whimpers as we begin our slow descent.
“I’m sorry,” she sniffles, tears soaking into my shirt.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. No one gets to hurt you and convince you that you caused the pain.”
A shudder runs through her, and I rub my palm over her back.
The gondola descends past the lights strung over the midway as more people gather to stare up at us. The attendant keeps one hand on the control, inching the wheel down as carefully as possible. Finally, we reach the platform where the attendant catches the metal frame and pulls us into place.
“The safety bar”—he shakes his head—“I checked it myself. I don’t know how—”
“I do.” I slide one arm beneath Lila’s knees and hold her against my chest as I stand.
“You don’t have to carry me,” she whispers, snaking her arms around my neck.
“I want to.”
The crowd moves back as I step out of the gondola, and Candi pushes forward.
“Oh my god, Max! Lila! I saw the whole thing. How terrifying. Poor Lila must have knocked the bar loose when she—”
A growl rips out of me, and Candi jerks to a stop.
“You,” I rumble, “stay the fuck away from her.”
Her face pales, her lower lip trembling. “Max, I would never—”
“I saw your magick.”
Candi’s performance cracks, and malice flashes through her eyes before the sweetness returns.
Lila’s hold tightens around my neck.
“I want to go home,” she whispers, tears clinging to her lashes.
I turn away from Candi and nearly run into Mayor Wren as he pushes through the crowd, followed by Vince, one of the guys I met on the sand court earlier.
“Max, what happened?” the mayor asks.
“Someone tampered with the safety bar. Shut the ride down.”
His expression hardens. “On it.”
“Lila’s things fell near the base. Her tote. Her wallet. A pink notebook.”
“We’ll find everything,” he promises.
I nod. Then I carry Lila away from the Ferris wheel, away from Candi with-a-fucking-I, away from the Summer Festival where my fox and I can keep her safe.