CHAPTER 19
Summer
Three days have passed since the fire, and Asher is still in a coma. Tonight is supposed to be my first date with Ethan, and I’m equal parts excited and terrified. I’m standing in front of my wardrobe, staring at a dozen outfits and hating all of them, when I hear tiny footsteps behind me.
“Mommy.”
I turn, and my heart sinks. Mia’s face is pale, her eyes glassy, cheeks flushed a deep, angry red.
“Oh, sweetheart…” I kneel before her and press the back of my hand to her forehead. She’s burning up, exactly what I was afraid of. “Pumpkin, I think you have a fever. What hurts?”
She lifts a shaky hand and points to her forehead. “Here… and here.” Her finger moves to her throat.
“Okay. Let’s go downstairs and get the thermometer.” I scoop her up, her little arms hanging limp around my neck.
Lily looks up as we reach the bottom step. Her face softens. “What’s up, sugar?”
“I think she has a fever. Do you have a thermometer I can use?”
“Oh, poor baby.” She heads for a cabinet and returns with the thermometer. “Here you go. How about you two get comfy on the couch? I’ll make some hot milk with honey, it’ll calm the throat ache.”
“Thank you.” I settle onto the couch with Mia nestled against me and put on her favorite princess movie, hoping it distracts her while we wait.
The thermometer finally beeps. 101. My stomach drops.
“Fever?” Lily asks, bringing over two steaming mugs.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’ll call the doctor tomorrow.”
I give Mia children’s Tylenol, thank God Lily has some, then pull the blanket over both of us. Mia rests her head in my lap, already looking exhausted.
I grab my phone and text Ethan, letting him know we’ll have to postpone tonight. He’s understanding, but I still feel the twist of disappointment settle in my chest.
Twenty minutes later, the front door opens, and Ethan walks in with Cas and Penny.
I suddenly notice every little thing about myself, hair in a messy bun, Ethan’s oversized hoodie hanging off my shoulder, leggings, and fluffy elephant slippers. Perfect first-date material.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he says, lifting three pizza boxes with his good arm like an offering. That grin, bright, boyish, and impossible to resist, fills the room with warmth.
Behind him, Penny silently cheers with exaggerated thumbs-ups. I shoot her a glare. Cas follows with another three boxes.
“Hi,” I whisper as Ethan walks toward us, Cas and Penny heading for the kitchen.
He sets the pizzas on the coffee table, but the second he turns to Mia, his smile softens, almost faltering.
“Hey there, princess,” he murmurs, crouching in front of her and brushing a gentle hand over her forehead.
“Efan,” Mia whispers, voice tiny and hoarse.
“I’m sorry you’re not feeling good,” he says softly, and her failed attempt at a smile breaks me.
He glances up at me, worry tightening his jaw.
“She says her throat hurts and she has a fever,” I explain. “I’m calling the doctor first thing in the morning.”
He nods, then sits beside me, close enough that our legs brush, his slinged arm against mine. His forest-green eyes lock on mine.
“Hi,” he says, low and warm.
“Hi.” I can’t help the curve of my lips.
He takes my hand in his right and presses a kiss to my knuckles, slow, soft, deliberate. Heat spreads through me, leaving me breathless.
“I missed you,” he whispers near my ear, goosebumps racing down my neck.
“I missed you too.”
Mia’s small voice cuts through.
“Mommy,” she says, tugging her blanket down. “Look, this is where she uses her powers.”
She’s smiling. Relief floods me, and I tuck the tension in my chest into that tiny moment of peace.
“Oh wow,” I whisper, unable to keep the smile from spreading.
“Just like you, Efan,” Mia adds, crawling into my lap. “When you walked through that fire in my room and picked me up.”
Ethan shrugs like it’s nothing. “I’d walk through a thousand fires to get to you and your mommy.”
And just like that, another piece of my walls crumbles.
We all eat pizza and laugh as Mia sings along to the cartoon, copying every move the princess makes.
Cas joins in, mimicking her gestures in a ridiculous falsetto, and we all burst into laughter.
Ethan watches me, his hand finding mine and holding it like he’s anchoring me.
I squeeze back, heat pooling quietly between us.
The rest of the night is a blur of laughter and chaos.
Mia convinces Ethan to let her paint his nails with the polish Lily bought her, and of course, he agrees.
Then she moves on to decorating his sling with glitter and pink stickers.
Ten minutes later, he’s sitting there with purple and pink nails, a sling streaked with glitter, and a crooked little tiara perched on his head, while Mia pours him invisible coffee with the utmost seriousness.
Cas can’t resist snapping pictures for the family chat, and everyone erupts in giggles. Ethan doesn’t mind at all; he just grins at Mia, proud and completely present, and her smile lights up the room like sunshine breaking through clouds.
Eventually, the Tylenol wears off and Mia’s fever creeps back.
I give her another dose, tucking her in between Ethan and me on the couch.
She sinks against us almost immediately, drifting to sleep with her little hand curled around mine.
Cas and Penny have already gone, and Lily and Josh have headed to bed, leaving the three of us in quiet warmth and soft breathing.
“You’re beautiful,” he says suddenly, voice serious.
I shake my head. “I’m in sweats and your hoodie.”
He grins, slow and teasing. “You look beautiful anytime, Summer. But right now?” He leans closer, whispering in my ear. “Your laugh, those dimples, those baby blues… I can’t wait to kiss you again.”
I freeze, chest tight, stomach fluttering. He’s so close, so impossibly good, and yet I have to remind myself Mia is right here. Every nerve hums, every thought tangled in longing and restraint.
Later, after Mia falls asleep curled between us on the couch, I whisper to Ethan, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead.
“I’m sorry about our first date.”
“Are you kidding? I had fun tonight,” he says, eyes softening on me. “As long as I’m here, with you, it doesn’t matter where we are.”
Ethan’s hand finds mine, holding it like he won’t let go. I squeeze back, quiet heat between us, our first date delayed but the connection stronger than ever.
“I just hope Mia feels better soon,” he adds.
“We’ll see what the doctor says tomorrow,” I murmur, running my fingers over her cheeks. “Usually it only lasts a few days before she’s back to jumping and dancing around.”
“I hate that I can’t help you take her to bed.” Ethan looks down at his left arm in a sling and stands.
“It’s ok, I’m used to picking her up when she’s fallen asleep like this,,” I whisper.
I lift Mia gently, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. Ethan follows me upstairs, watching the way I keep checking her forehead with my chin.
“I’ll put her in my bed,” I whisper as we reach the hallway. “I want her close when she’s not feeling well.”
Ethan opens the door to my room, lets me through, and I see it immediately.
The flower.
Blue today. Small but stubborn, almost glowing against the white bedsheet. And beside it: a folded note.
I settle Mia on the mattress, tuck her in, then pick up the flower and turn to him.
“For you.” His smile is soft, almost shy.
I swallow. “Thank you. These…” My throat tightens. “These meant the world to me. Every night. I didn’t even want to admit it to myself, but they made me feel better.”
I bring the flower to my nose, then open the note.
“Oh, Ethan…” The words hit something in me I didn’t know was still bruised. I place the note on the bed and throw my arms around him. “Thank you,” I breathe into his neck.
“Walk me out?” he asks, and I nod.
He takes my hand, guiding me down the stairs, silent, careful not to wake anyone. Each brush of his fingers sends tiny shivers up my arm, a whisper of what’s to come.
At the last step, he pulls me into his arms with his good arm, chest pressing against mine. His lips brush my ear. “Finally have you to myself.”
Heat curls through me at the words. He trails a kiss down my neck, lips feather-light, fingers resting possessively on my waist. My breath hitches. Then his eyes find mine, those green depths, unwavering. “I don’t want to leave.”
“I don’t want you to,” I whisper, my voice small, shy.
His lips find mine, slow at first, testing, letting the tension build. I lean into him, hands sliding up to his chest, feeling the warmth beneath the hoodie, the steady strength beneath his touch. His hand draws me closer at the small of my back, pressing us together.
He begins to walk me backward, never breaking the kiss, until my back meets the entrance wall.
His mouth drifts to my throat, leaving a trail of heat, fingers ghosting under my hoodie across my bare back, tiny circles that make me melt.
My knees threaten to buckle. I’ve kissed before, but nothing, nothing ever made me feel this weightless and burning at the same time.
Ethan finally slows, forehead resting against mine, breath ragged. He brings his hand back up and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, gentle, intimate, and I feel undone in the best way.
“You consume me,” he whispers, voice low, serious, like he’s admitting a truth he can’t take back.
Then a slow, wicked smile curves his lips. “I can’t wait to take you on our second date.”
“Second?” I blink, chest still pounding. “But we cancelled the first.”
“This was our first,” he murmurs, green eyes dark, fingers brushing my neck, sending tiny tremors down my spine. “And apart from Mia feeling sick, I wouldn’t change a thing. Sitting next to you on the couch, smelling you, seeing you in my hoodie… watching you laugh. That was perfect.”
My chest tightens, cheeks warming. “You mean it?”
“Summer,” he whispers, lips brushing mine again, teasing, deliberate. “We could be in the middle of a desert with nothing to do, nowhere to go. If you’re there… if I can touch you, kiss you, taste you…”
His hand pulls me impossibly closer, pressing me to him.
“…I’m the happiest man alive.”
I gasp softly, shivering, heart racing, completely lost in him.
He looks at me, a lopsided grin forming slowly.
“See you tomorrow.”
He kisses me again, gentle, quick, leaving me thirsty for more as he reaches for the front door. I follow him out, drawn to him without thinking.
He stops, turns, eyes sweeping over my face.
“You keep looking at me like that and I’ll never leave.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
My smile is small but unstoppable.
He studies me, something warm and dangerous in his expression.
“Goodnight, Summer.”
He walks backward down the porch steps, watching me until the very last second. Then he smiles, turns, and heads for his car.
I close the door, lean back against it with a soft thud, and exhale.
I’m addicted to Ethan Hawthorne.
And I’m not even sorry about it.
A smile pulls at my lips.