Page 62 of Everything She Does Is Magic

“We’re pretty alone up here too,” I remind her.

We can see the feet swinging from the cart above us. If we looked behind our seat, we could probably see the cart beneath us. But it doesn’t matter. No one can reach us here. That’s whatcounts.

“I’m sorry,” she tells me. “I never should have told my parents you would be my protector. Or I should’ve told you about it much earlier, especially since I never meant for it to be true.”

“I’msorry,” I insist right back. “I had all this adrenaline from telling my parents about college. I was too in my own head to hear you. I know it’s not easy for you, after the way Julia abandoned you.”

We’re above Fableview now, at the peak of the Ferris wheel. The ride jerks to a stop. Maybe there is someone on the ground, desperate to get on the ride like Anya was with me. Maybe there are other people here with us. But none of them matter.

Not when the two of us are on top of the world together.

“Everything she told you about yourself was a lie,” I say. “You are the most thoughtful person I know. You’re the only reason I’ve been able to do half the things I’ve done this month. I think if I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t really know myself the way I do now. I’d still be in this fog, waiting to figure it all out sometime down the road. But thanks to you, I get to know myself morehere. Now.”

I reach for her hand. It’s a question. A risk. Will she accept this? Will it be enough?

She grabs on without hesitation, weaving her fingers between mine.

“You don’t understand how much you mean to me,” she says.

“Yes, I do,” I tell her. “Because it’s the same way I feel about you too.”

When we look out again into the yawning darkness, all my aches float away, off to the clouds, replaced with joy.

“We’re dating,” I say. It’s no longer a teasing question. It’s a statement. A fact.

“Hold on.” Anya jerks enough that our seat rocks. We both let out tiny yips of surprise. “Sorry.” She angles herself inward, knees pressing against my side. “Darcy Keller, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Obviously,” I say back. “Will you be mine?”

“Always.” She brings our hands to her mouth and kisses mine, sealing us to this.

The ride starts moving again, bringing us backward. Our view is no longer of the carnival but of the ride itself, the rainbow of lights decorating the wheel, and all the carts around us, legs swinging in delight.

“Did you know Piper’s a witch too?” I ask.

“What?”

“See!” I say, delighted by her surprise. “That’s what I said too! It’s not always that obvious, is it?”

“My aunt has dead animals on her mantel,” she says.

“I thought she was sentimental.”

“Speaking of Piper and my aunt, Cal used to date Piper’s dad.”

“What?”

“That’s what I said too!” Anya teases, mimicking my voice with affection. “He’s actually Cal’s protector. That’s the reason why she doesn’t want mine to be a romantic interest. He broke her heart. Cheated on her with another woman.”

“That sounds like Mr.Blake,” I say. “He did it to Piper’s momtoo.”

“What an asshole.”

“Well, seeing as I’m now officially your girlfriend, who do you think could be your protector instead?” She moves to pull her hand away, but I don’t let her. She needs to know I’m with her, no matter what. Even through the hard stuff.

“My parents came out here to find one for me,” she says. “They knew you were never my real choice. They want to ask Kyle.”

This gets a belly laugh from me, rocking our cart again. “I mean, he did just save you from a night in the slammer.”