“It just is.”
I roll my eyes.
Tyler looks entirely too pleased with himself.
Rain drips from his short brown curls onto his tattooed shoulders, chest, and arms and I see every ripple of muscle.
I hate how much I love it.
Ahead, the car waits where we left it.
We are both a disaster. Soaked through, mud in possibly every crevice and covered in bits of grass and leaves.
Then I remember that home is just down the road, and a wave of relief washes over me.
Tyler opens the passenger door with an exaggerated flourish.
“Your chariot awaits.”
I stare at him.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Yet somehow you remain infatuated with me.”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it.
His expression softens on the spot.
As though hearing me laugh is his favorite thing in the world.
For a second neither of us move.
The storm.
The woods.
The chase.
Everything else fades away.
There’s only us.
Tyler extends his fingers and brushes a damp strand of hair away from my face.
His thumb caresses my cheek, lovingly.
“There she is.”
Emotion catches me off guard since I know exactly what he means.
Not the girl from tonight.
Not the girl consumed by revenge.
Just me.
Cassidy.