Chapter Twelve
Maddox
Everyone gathers at the weighing station, and I suddenly feel nervous. I truly hope I won. Not the entire competition. I don’t care about that. I just hope I at least beat Devon.
Aspen and her family join the crowd, and I make room for them.
“Hello, Maddox,” an older lady says.
“Uhm, hello,” I answer and frown. “Have we met?”
“Oh, we haven’t, but I’ve heard a lot about you. Not just from my granddaughter,” she says and waggles her eyebrows. “But from the ladies in town.”
“Grandma, stop flirting with him,” Indigo says, an embarrassed look on her face.
“I’m not flirting with him. I’m just admiring him, that’s all. Is looking at a beautiful man considered a crime nowadays?”
Aspen’s face turns pink. “I’m sorry about all of this, Maddox.”
“Hey, don’t be. How did it go for you? Catch a lot of fish?” I ask, glancing at her bucket.
“It went better than I expected. I won’t win, but I didn’t make a complete fool out of myself either. So thank you. For letting me sign up for those fishing lessons. Even if I didn’t get the senior discount, it was money well spent,” she says with a grin.
“Reeling in those fish is all you, Aspen. I just showed you what to do. You’re a great student. You should be proud of yourself.”
In front of us, Devon snorts, but we both decide not to react. I’ve had enough of his dramatic behavior, and I’m pretty sure Aspen has too, but another woman who is standing beside him doesn’t feel the same way.
“Stop,” she shouts.
Aspen gasps. “Lexie? Are you okay?”
Oh. It’s her cousin. The one who showed up in Fog Harbor with Devon, if I remember correctly.
“No, I’m not.” She turns to Devon. “We’re so over.”
Devon’s jaw drops to the ground. “Over? What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything that could’ve brought this on.”
“Well, neither did Aspen last year, and yet you dumped her anyway.”
“Is this revenge for that?” Devon asks, his eyes as wide as saucers.
Lexie stomps her foot on the ground. “It’s not revenge, Devon. My goodness, you just don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
I almost, almost , feel sorry for him. He’s so dense that he honestly doesn’t have a clue what he did wrong.
“You’re such a self-centered and insecure guy. No one wants to be with someone as selfish as you,” Aspen’s grandmother says, stepping forward with a steely glaze.
“Excuse me?” Devon’s eyes are shooting fire at the old lady, but she remains unfazed.
Lexie crosses her arms over her chest. “My grandmother’s right. I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”
“Next!” the volunteer at the weighing station calls.
Devon smashes his bucket on the scale with sheer force, causing the volunteer to flinch.
“Relax, man,” he says.
“How much?” is all Devon replies.
The volunteer peers at the scale, then looks up, announcing, “Seven pounds, nine ounces.”
Devon steps back, his jaw clenched. He shoots me a glare that could melt ice. I just shrug, unfazed by his hostility.
Aspen steps up next, her expression calm and composed despite the drama. She gently places her fish on the scale.
“Six pounds, two ounces,” the volunteer announces.
“Ha!” Devon shouts. “Take that.”
I stare him down as I hand the volunteer my bucket.
“Seven pounds, five ounces, Maddox.”
Devon fist bumps the air and screams. “Yes! I won! I knew I was better than all of you.”
I let out a big sigh. “You know what, Devon? Congratulations on winning. I don’t even care, because I reeled in the best catch of everyone here today. Of the entire town. Of the whole of Maine actually.”
“Oh yeah? Could’ve fooled me,” he says, looking smugly at my bucket of fish.
“Yes,” I say, turning around to face Aspen. “I don’t care about losing because I already won. I met Aspen and I have big feelings for her. The ones that make you weak in the knees and prevent you from eating anything because you’re too in love. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way about me. I hope,” I say with a nervous laugh.
Devon’s face contorts with disbelief. “This is ridiculous. You think you can just win her over with some sappy speech?”
“Maddox didn’t win me over with a speech,” Aspen says. “He won me over the moment I met him. And I’ve fallen for him. Hard.”
“I knew it!” Stan exclaims, high-fiving Harold.
Everyone around us starts talking excitedly while Devon’s face turns a deep shade of red as he glares at us.
“Whatever. I’m out of here,” he mutters, storming off.
“Good riddance. And don’t you dare ever date one of the Steelbird women again,” Aspen’s grandmother calls after him.
I pull Aspen into a hug, warmth spreading to every nerve ending in my body. “I guess this means I really did win,” I whisper in her ear.
She puts her hand in mine and leads me away from the crowd. “Maddox, I…” She smiles. “I’m so happy. Do you want to know what I wished for when we saw that shooting star?”
“I do, but won’t you telling me prevent it from coming true?”
She grins. “My wish will come true.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”
Her hands gather around my neck, and my arms close around her waist. “Yeah, because I wished that you would kiss me. You are going to kiss me, right?”
“You better believe it,” I whisper. “And I won’t ever stop. I mean, I’ll let you breathe, of course. And eat, and—”
“Shut up and kiss me, Maddox.”
I slowly let my hand travel up from the small of her back until I reach her neck, causing her to go completely silent. My thumb caresses the skin right under her hairline, tracing a path to her shoulder. She sucks in a strangled breath, her lips parting. Her tongue darts out to wet them, and wow, is there any better sight than this? The realization that she loves me as much as I love her sets my skin ablaze. Aspen is the one and only woman I want. The one I’ll love and cherish for the rest of my days. I already know I’m going to ask her to marry me—and I won’t wait years to ask her.
I softly place my hand on her cheek. She brushes my fingers with hers and leans in, ready for me. The moment our lips touch, electricity crackles between us, and I let out a small moan. Her soft mouth feels so good. So warm and so right.
Aspen is the love of my life.
I deepen the kiss, and she melts in my arms. Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me even closer, and it’s like the world around us fades away.
When we finally come up for air, we’re both grinning like lovestruck fools. Probably because we are.
“I hope I’ll see another shooting star soon,” she says with a laugh. “That was the best kiss ever.”
“I agree, but I’m far from done kissing you,” I murmur before I seal her mouth with mine again.
With every stroke of her fingers and every touch of our lips, I feel a love for her that’s so intense that it could set the night sky on fire. Her hands move to my shoulders, and I pull her closer, feeling the curve of her body against mine.
We eventually pull back again, breathless and smiling.
“Let’s get back to my family. I want to properly introduce you to everyone.”
I brush a strand of hair from her face and give her one last kiss. “I’d love that.”
Hand in hand, we walk back to the edge of the lake. I’ve never felt better and more content than I do in this moment, with Aspen by my side.
My woman.
Forever.