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Once they’d gotten their tickets and made their way to the mouth of the giant slot machine they would zip-line out of, Link focused on taking deep breaths. A couple of employees strapped harnesses around them and connected them to the zip line so that they were lying belly down, supposedly to fly over the city below like superheroes.
“Why the fuck did I agree to this?” he grumbled, nerves twisting him up.
Emma giggled next to him, her eyes glittering with excitement and anticipation. How had he not noticed how expressive those turquoise eyes of hers were before?
“Ready to have your world shook?” Emma asked.
He gazed back at her, a smirk displaying more confidence than he felt. “I think I can handle anything you dish out, sweetheart.”
“Challenge excepted.” She winked.
Fuck, that sass—that life that bled from her like the brightest star. Her light touched everyone around her until they had no choice but to fall in love with her. From his dad to the other people in Shattered Cove, and the thousands of screaming fans, Emma was a force to be reckoned with. A tornado, spinning him up, sucking everything in her path into her beautiful chaos. He’d resisted her for as long as possible, but she was right. After this was over, they were still family. All they had was each other. A pang of grief constricted his rib cage.
“Ready to fly?” one of the employees asked.
“Yes!” Emma answered.
Link nodded despite his stomach roiling. Somehow, he’d ended up vulnerable, eleven stories high on a wire rope, about to risk his life all for the girl with the big blue eyes and golden hair who’d showed up in his home one day with her mom. The girl who’d grown into a woman with a body that tempted his sanity and desolated his restraint. That was the thing about tornados—their force was unmatched. But they also destroyed everything in their path. If he wasn’t careful, she’d leave him ruined. He had to remember this was just sex. Just a temporary escape from their grief. Tomorrow they’d drive to California, dip their toes in the Pacific Ocean, and spread his father’s ashes in the waves after they said their final goodbye.
An ache burned in his chest. These three months without his father had been hard. Every tool held a memory. Every Post-it note scribbled in his father’s writing along the office wall in the shop was one more reminder his papa wasn’t coming back. After they’d fulfilled his father’s final wishes, he’d drive them back to Shattered Cove, and they’d return to their normal lives: she a rock star, and he a mechanic. Like the African proverb said, “A fish and bird may fall in love, but the two cannot build a home together.” After this trip, they’d move on with life . . . somehow.
Emma reached over and squeezed his hand as if she could sense his inner turmoil. “I got you.”
He might have staggered back if he was standing. Her understanding gaze held his as the employee counted down.
“Three. Two. One. Fly!”
His body was jerked forward along the metal cable before the hot city wind hit his face. Lights glowed below them as his stomach rose to his throat. Adrenaline coursed through his veins before a feeling of part terror and part awe swallowed him.
“Weeeee!” Emma squealed beside him, holding tight to his hand, never letting go. She had the same look in her eyes she got when she sang. Like a caged bird let out to fly towards the heavens, free of her chains.
He laughed. I’m an idiot. What kind of chains could hold his little bird back? She was a rock star for Christ’s sake. All the amazing sex was making him delusional. The city below whizzed by as neon lights surrounded them in a tunnel.
For the first time in a long time, he let go. Let go of expectations and his plans and agenda. He just was—living the moment to the fullest. Just like his little bird.
22
Emma
The sun was setting by the time they reached the California coast. The ride was mostly silent with Hozier on the radio. The windows were down; the wind whipped Emma’s hair free. She closed her eyes, leaning her head towards the door, scenery passing in a blur as Link drove them along the highway through Malibu towards Topanga Beach.
A heaviness descended like a cloud with the reality of what they were here to do—say a final goodbye to their papa. Link’s sinewy forearms had remained tense the last hour of the journey, his shoulders rising to his ears. She was sure he’d have a headache from all the jaw clenching he’d done on the last leg of the journey.
As long as she’d stayed busy, she had been able to keep the grief at bay. But now it was staring her in the face, bearing down on her with the silence.
She reached over and took one of his hands from the wheel before resting it on her thigh and wrapping hers on top protectively. If she cared for him and focused on his pain, she could push hers further away. He needed her to be strong for him. It seemed he was teetering on the edge of a breakdown, barely holding it together. Emma would be there to pick up the pieces, hold him up, and support him. She’d always loved him. Maybe he’d see that after this trip. Maybe he’d see that she was good for him. That no one on earth could love him like she did.
He flicked the blinker on and pulled into Mastros Ocean Club, off to the left. Waves crashed against the beach to the side of the restaurant. Inhaling the salty ocean breeze, she shoved thoughts of what they were about to do out of her mind.
Turning to Link, she asked, “Ready?”
“Let’s grab dinner first.”
Was he delaying the inevitable just a little longer? I don’t want to say goodbye either—don’t want this to be the end.
She rolled up the window and followed him inside. He asked for a table overlooking the beach below. They were seated by a giant window. The server came and took their order.
Their drinks and food were brought, all with silence between them. Her gaze snagged on him. His face turned towards the setting sun. Red and pink light cast him in burned sunset shadows. The edges on his face, sharp and somber. The deep tone of his skin seemed more bronze under the soft light. One would think black eyes couldn’t be that expressive, but his were—like the night of a new moon. They had a powerful energy that drew her in. There were a million shades of emotions swimming in those raven pools. Pain. Anger. Guilt. Sorrow. Grief.
