Page 43 of Final Temptation (Alpine Peak #2)

I could hear every “I love you.” Every “I miss you.” Every joke she cracked to try and make light of a dark situation. I could hear the conversations she had with Paige and Declan each day.

Every day I wished I was able to respond.

I could feel her near me. I could feel the way her hand held mine and the way her body hugged around me when she laid by my side. I could feel her warmth encompass my whole body.

I dreamed of her being able to feel my touch in return.

I could smell the wildflowers, their aroma reminding me of home—reminding me of Emerald Lake and our last day together. I could smell her sweet floral perfume mixed with my sandalwood scent.

Each whiff transported me into a dream-like state of her and me meandering along a vibrant field of flowers, hand in hand.

I could taste her tears. With every tear that trickled down her cheek and rolled onto her lips, the saltiness became a taste I started to despise.

I hated that I couldn’t kiss her back. I hated that she cried every day in my arms, yet I had no way of consoling her.

I hated that she was still here, wasting her precious life on such a waste of space like me.

She was my dream, but I couldn’t be hers.

Not like this.

Our journey started as a kiss—craving her lips for six months before I saw her again.

For six months, I waited for life to work itself out, for her to somehow be sent to me if I was deserving enough.

After six long months, I was lucky enough to have four months of fun and games with her—every bit of that time a goddamn blessing.

For not even twenty-four hours was I fortunate enough to be able to call her truly, one hundred percent, mine.

She’d been ripped away from me for five heart-wrenching weeks, and every second I lay here in this dream-like state, I begged myself to wake up again.

I tell myself that if I just woke up, I’d finally be able to tell her I love her back.

I’d be able to wrap my arms around her and never let go.

I’d be able to see the makeshift flower field we lay in every day together.

I’d be able to kiss her, the salty flavor evaporating from her lips.

It had become the norm—Sophie here, by my bed, clicking her fingertips against her laptop when Paige, Declan, Chase, or my parents weren’t here.

Chase stopped by for a visit shortly after all this happened, before he went off to college.

I hated every moment of how my best friend had to enter his first weeks of freshman year in such a fucked-up way.

He was supposed to spend his time partying with new friends, meeting women, and getting his dorm ready.

Not face-timing my girlfriend every few days to check in on me.

From what I could hear, he called Sophie to check in on her, just as much as he did me.

I hated that he had to step up because I wasn’t able to be there for her .

I hated that I couldn’t introduce her to my parents as my girlfriend—she had to do that herself.

I hated that I put her in this position.

But if I was certain of anything, it was that Sophie was resilient.

Even if I didn’t like it, she could handle this.

I got the sense Mom loved her just like she did Paige.

Sophie was easy to love, and it was impossible not to feel at home with her.

She’d always be a part of the family, no matter what happened to me.

The moments Sophie spent next to me, all by herself, were the highlight of my days.

It gave her the opportunity to voice her thoughts and feelings out in the open.

For five weeks, I’d gotten to know her on another level.

She told me about her relationship with her father, her days of working at Peaks, what she was like as a kid, her nonexistent relationship with her mom—she talked about anything and everything.

I couldn’t fathom ever getting tired of her voice.

There was one memory she spoke of that stood out above the rest. It was the first time she recalled seeing me.

“We are only a year apart; we grew up together,” she said.

“But it wasn’t until high school that I really remember seeing you.

We may have run in different circles—you with the stoners and me with the cheerleaders, but you were the epitome of a bad boy.

You walked up to where I was sitting on the school bus and said, ‘This seat taken, Princess?’ You took a seat before I could even answer, and it was the first time I vividly remember having butterflies.

The memory hadn’t crossed my mind until the second time you referred to me as Princess—it was always meant to be your name for me. ” That made her laugh.

“It took me years to convince myself that I didn’t want you.

But who was I kidding? Ever since that moment on the school bus, I had a soft spot for you, a craving I dreamed of exploring.

When Paige and I met at Peaks, and she started dating your brother, fate took control of the rest, and fuck me if I’m a hopeless romantic, but I swear it was meant to be, Myles. ”

Every fiber of my being hoped I’d remember every single word she’d said when I woke up.