Page 120 of Pick Me This Time

57

STERLING

Leaving Eric with the football players on the other side of the float who were trying to clear a path for the firemen to get through, I ran into the chaotic crowd to reach Daphne. I’d never felt fear like I had when I’d realized I didn’t know where in the crowd she’d been.

I’d kept my eyes peeled, but I hadn’t been able to see her as we’d ridden past. With the burning wreck of the faulty float behind me, I didn’t stop running until I’d reached her, wrapped my arms around her, and picked her up.

“You’re okay,” I breathed as I looked up into her eyes, holding her against me. “Eric is fine too. He’s just around the back there.”

I’d known she would need to hear that, and I saw the relief softening her features before she smiled at me. “Thank you. Now kiss me.”

I brought my mouth to hers, kissing her publicly for the first time but too charged to care about who saw us. Daphne didn’t seem bothered about it either as she kissed me back, sweeping her tongue into my mouth and clinging to me like a koala.

My heart was going crazy, racing a million miles a minute as the shock of the fire and the fear of her having been hurt melted into relief so immense that it made my head spin. In those few seconds of utter confusion before the chaos had broken out, I’d realized that I shouldn’t have held back this morning.

Although Eric and I hadn’t been injured, it’d immediately occurred to me how easily it could’ve gone the other way and that, if today had been my last day on earth, I would’ve had only one real regret—not telling her how I felt about her.

“I love you, Daph,” I murmured into her mouth, crushing her to me with my chest feeling like it was being fused to hers.

Or rather, like my heart was trying to melt itself into her body.

That was where it belonged anyway.

It belonged to her.

Fully and completely, and I wasn’t even scared anymore.

I’d never said those words to a woman that wasn’t my mother before, but for as much as I’d always thought it would be petrifying to utter them, all I felt was relief. Relief and a surge of devotion to this girl, who’d always only seen the best in me.

She pulled back to look into my eyes, shock staring back at me from hers. She blinked hard, her lips parted with surprise, but her cheeks were flushed and I swore I saw a smile trying to break free on her lips.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me,” I murmured, grinning as I looked up into those sparkling, clear blues that were locked on me. “I love you, Daphne LaSalle.”

I didn’t even care if she said it back. All my life, I’d thought it would be a complete, humiliating disaster if I said it to someone who didn’t feel the same way, but now, all that really mattered was letting her know how I felt.

I couldn’t force her feelings, but as she stared down into my eyes, she suddenly smiled and touched her lips to mine once more. “I love you too, Sterling. I think I always have, but I definitely do now.”

Before I could respond, Eric ran up to us, his chest heaving and his face streaked with dirt. He bent over, breathing hard as he brought his gaze up to mine. “You’re still alright?”

I nodded, letting Daphne down but sliding my hand into hers and bringing her close to my side. “You?”

“Yeah. Daph?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him immediately, but she didn’t step away from me even when his eyes dropped to our joined hands. “We were way back on the last block when it happened, so Rachel, Jake, and Lizzy are okay too.”

“Good,” he murmured, sighing as he finally straightened up. His eyes darted between the two of us, and I stared back at him unwaveringly. I knew where he stood on this, but I wasn’t backing down anymore.

Daphne seemed to feel the same way. She stayed by my side, both of us waiting to hear what was on his mind as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. To my surprise, when he finally managed to voice his thoughts, it wasn’t to come at us again.

“I’m glad you’re here right now, North.” He didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that I was clutching his sister at all as he tipped his head back at the float. “We need to go and help the boys. I… I knew we shouldn’t have used that stupid float. Let’s go.”

As he said it, firefighters suddenly broke through what remained of the crowd and my eyes slid shut as I realized this meant we could now leave it to trained professionals. Daphne grabbed Eric’s wrist, holding him back and shaking her head when she glanced at him.

“I have a better idea. Let’s go home and make sure Mom and Dad know we’re okay. They’ve got to be out of their minds with worry and the team will be leaving now too. There’s no reason for us to stick around.”

“They’ll want to get our statements,” he said, his voice a little breathy now. As I looked at him again, I realized his eyes had also gone a little glazed over. “The police will be on their way. We’ll need to talk to them. Tell them about the engine. I⁠—”