Page 89 of Shut Up and Drive

“The best part about fireworks is the awestruck faces of the people you love. I want to watch them from your face.”

“What if my lack of excitement disappoints you?” I say as the first firework shoots off. I make an overly exaggerated expression to make her laugh.

But when I look down at her, the fireworks are reflecting in a pool of tears brimming in her eyes.

“Hey, don’t cry. Today is a happy day. Remember? We beat the British!”

A laugh escapes her and I catch a stray tear on her cheek with my thumb.

“I’m just grateful to be here, in this place,with you.”

I squeeze her tight. “Me too. I’ve hoped for this moment for a long time.”

I fall asleep that night on the loft couch with her in my arms, and it’s the perfect way to end our vacation.

My hands shakeas I fold the last of my clothes into my bag. I pack as slowly as possible, because I don’t want this week to come to an end. Sera and I have come a long way in ten days, but deep down, I still feel like any minute I’ll wake up in a hostel somewhere and this will all have been a dream. She is my everything. She never stopped being my everything—no matter how long we were apart.

The truth is, I don’t want to waste any more time livingmy life without her. If I knew with absolute certainty that she would say “yes,” I would ask her to marry me today. But I also don’t want to spook her. She needs me to build trust with her again, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get that done.

“Hey, you about ready to go?” Sera asks, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

I clutch her hands on my chest, wanting to keep her there forever.

“Almost,” I say with a forced smile.

She leans her head against my back and tightens her grip around me. Her hand stills over my heartbeat. “Is everything okay?” she asks. “Your heart is goingcrazy!”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Rule Number One, T.”

I take in a big breath and let it out slowly.

“I don’t want this to be over. I worry that as soon as we leave here, things will fall apart.” I squeeze her hand. “I don’t want to go back to a life without you in it.”

“Me either,” she says softly. “I’ll be right back.”

Before she shares with me why she’s running off, she’s halfway down the stairs. I shove the rest of my clothes and gear into my duffel and zip it closed before throwing the strap over my shoulder as I take off after her.

By the time I find her outside, she’s waving at our family as they ride off in their Ubers.

“Um, weren’t we supposed to be caravanning with them on the way to the airport?” I ask.

“Yep. But I have a better idea,” she replies, tossing me the keys to the lake house. “It’s too late to leave now if we want to do the whole trip in one day. I think we should stayone more night here. Then we get up at sunrise tomorrow and hit the road. What do you say?”

A grin chases away all the worries I had and I jog toward the lake house with a pep in my step. “One more night?”

She nods. “You up for another road trip?”

I put my arm around her.

“Absolutely.”

I spendthe rainy morning wrapped up with Sera on the couch, melting into the sound of her voice as she reads her book to me. I’m certainly not a rom-com kind of guy—at least, I didn’t use to be. But after I left Long Island, following Sera’s bookstagram made me feel like she was still a part of my life. Watching her reels and hearing her voice allowed me to be a tiny part of hers. But it was the act ofreadingthe same books that brought me closer to her. Like we were looking up at the same moon, connecting in a world that didn’t feel quite so big anymore. That bond to her was the only thing that kept me going sometimes. Getting lost in a book that brought her joy gave me some too. And now, as I listen to her tell me the story, every muscle in my body relaxes one by one.

“Thane,” Sera says, shaking me awake. “We fell asleep. It’s after noon.”

I open one eye at a time and release my hold on her body, but she doesn’t move. Her stillness is stiff, and thetension she holds in her muscles spreads to me. I clear my throat.