Page 74

The carousel spins in musical circles, lifting mine and Jude’s horses up in opposite turns.
My stomach hurts from laughing, aching from the constant tensing of my muscles as I continue to crack the hell up. At first, it was just the sight of Jude—moody, broody, tattoos lining his body from his neck to his toes—riding on a colorful, vibrantly-painted horse moving him up and down beside me, his large body dwarfing the animal beneath him. But then it was his expression when he caught me laughing. His features tensed and drew tight into a scowl that would have been intimidating if he weren’t spinning around on a hand-carved, rainbow-colored, elegant horse on a carousel. What really did me in, though, was when he reached across the space between us to tickle me in retaliation, andfelloff the fucking horse.
Now he lies on the floor, laughing his ass off, too, and I can’t catch my breath.
My cheeks hurt. Tears burn at my eyes and spill free with my laughter.
When the ride slows to a halt, I book it off my horse. Jude chases right after me, and adrenaline rushes through me, urging me to run even faster.
He catches up to me in no time, throwing his arms around me and bringing us both to the ground, though he softens the blow with the weight of his body beneath me.
His hands slide up my sides and dig into my ribs, tickling the shit out of me.
I howl in laughter, gasping for breath. “Okay! Okay! I’m sorry!” I manage. “I swear to God, you looked fucking majestic on that thing,” I add, but my words don’t help my case, and he tickles me even harder. “Truce!” I scream. “Truce! Please!”
He stops his assault on me, and I roll onto the grass beside him. Swallowing down large gulps of air, I can finally breathe. I tilt my face sideways to meet his, and gray eyes catch mine. Humor swirls inside them, rivaling the usual storm. I’m not sure which version is more beautiful.
But God, I could stare at him all day.
I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun as I did with him today.
Taking in a deep breath, I tell him as much, and his resulting smile makes the admission entirely worth it. Satisfaction edges his lips, matching the light in his gaze. It sends my own possessive sense of pride blooming through me, too.
I reach for my necklace out of habit, appreciating this moment and wanting to hold onto it a bit longer—but it’s not there.
Panic seizes my chest for a startling breath, but I force myself to remain calm, because surely, it must be here somewhere.Tucked somewhere beneath my shirt, or caught up around my chin, or—I pat my chest and neck frantically—but no, there’s nothing there.My necklace is gone.
No.
No, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I shoot up onto my feet and scan every inch of the grass around me.
Nothing.
Fuck.Fuck.“Where the hell is it?” I breathe, but it sounds more like a pained cry.
“Where’s what, Little D?” His brows pinch together, his hand sinking into his hair as he rises onto his feet. “What’s wrong? You look as white as a ghost.” The worried look he’s wearing sends another rush of panic flooding through me.
“My—shit—my necklace. Quinn. My—” I can’t make sense of my words when I’m still trying to catch up to my own thoughts. A sob gets caught in my throat.There’s no way in hell I’m going to find it.Eight hundred and forty acres, and it could beanywhere.
Calm down;I need to calm down.
But my breaths aren’t coming fast enough, trapped somewhere inside my lungs, and I can’t fucking breathe.
My vision clouds and bleeds out of focus.
“Hey. Hey, hey, hey,” Jude says softly, his forehead pressed to mine. “I got you. Look at me.” His firm hands wrap around my upper arms, steadying me. “Breathe. Breathe with me,” he’s saying.
He takes in a deep breath of his own, and I watch his lips part, his chest rising and falling, and rising and falling. I try to match my breaths to his. They skip and stall, but I continue to force air in and out of my mouth in strangled gasps anyway.
In, and out.
In, and out.
I hate that he’s seeing me like this. Hate that he’s the only person who’s ever been able to pull me out of the dark place my mind lingers inside of and direct it toward him instead.