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“I’m sure,” she replies as she gazes up at me, her breathing shallow, her chest rising and falling quickly. If it’s from the fall or from her sudden, very close proximity to me, I don't know. What I do know is that I want it to be because of me.
Me and only me.
“I'm sorry, Alex. I was chasing the cheese and it got away from me. I didn't even see you.”
“It's fine. All that matters is you're okay.”
She smiles and it lights up my life, touching my soul in a way I never knew a simple smile could.
This must be the way people feel when they first lay eyes on their newborn child, or when they gaze at their great love, standing at the altar, committing to a lifetime together.
It’s the way I feel with Maddie. And it feels nothing short of incredible.
I’m suddenly aware I have one leg hooked over her, my hands cradling her head, her body angled towards me. As she gazes up at me, I know I want nothing more than to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her how much she’s grown to mean to me in such a short time. To tell her that this has all taken me by surprise, and that it feels like it was meant to be.
She and I are meant to be.
Gazing at her, she looks so utterly breathtakingly beautiful, I'm not even sure which way is up and which way is down anymore. All I know is she's the woman who's been filling my thoughts, day and night.
“Get up, fools!” someone yells as they zoom past, and I know it’s bossy sister extraordinaire, Sofia.
I feel Maddie's laugh beneath me before I hear it, bubbling up until it bursts out of her. I respond by laughing myself, my whole body convulsing. How ridiculous this whole thing is, us lying on a hill, our bodies entwined, as our respective wheels of cheese lie dormant on the ground, a rash of spectators gawking at us as competitors whizz by.
“I suppose we’d better get up,” I suggest, even though it's the last thing I want to do.
“I suppose you’re right,” she replies in that soft, feminine voice of hers that is sweet, sweet music to my ears.
Reluctantly, I rise to my feet and offer her my hand to pull her up. Her white shorts are covered in dirt, her hair a mess of knots and grass, her face smeared with dirt.
But she's never looked more beautiful than she does right now.
The crowd of spectators burst into cheers, applauding our brush with cheese-related calamity, and we smile and wave at everybody, showing them that we're both okay.
But I know with absolute clarity that I'm way more than okay. I'm on top of the world, because in Maddie I’ve finally, finally found what I’ve been searching for.
Chapter 22
Maddie
“Congratulations to King Frederic of Ledonia for once again winning the cheese race,” the emcee announces to cheers from the crowd as King Frederic smiles and waves at everyone. “And now it’s time for the final event of The Games, a very popular event and one we’ve all been waiting for: the wife race!”
I've barely recovered from the cheese rolling event. Well, not the cheese rolling exactly, more so the fact that I accidentally collided with Alex and, together, we rolled down the hill, coming to a halt in a deliciously compromising position.
I let out a sigh. Alex and his strong, firm body pressed against mine as he gazes at me with such obvious care in his eyes? I can’t help but shiver with desire.
It was romantic and wonderful and all the things I could ever want it to be—despite the fact that I bowled into him, knocking him down like a pin, and I just know I'll have a couple of bruises.
They don't matter at all.
I steal a glance at Alex by my side. His face is flushed from the exercise, his red shirt smeared with dirt and grass stains.
“You’re a mess,” he says.
“Ditto.”
“But you’re still beautiful.”
My heart squeezes. Is this not the best feeling in the world? An incredibly hot guy, who so many women want, has eyes only for me. Me, the lost girl from Texas, who never felt like she was leading the right life. Me, the Texan backup princess.
