Page 43 of One Killer Night

I’m going to kiss the fuck out of my girl. And who’s going to stop me?

Both my hands are in her hair now as I hold her face to mine, kissing her like she’s the air I need to breathe. Our mouths are sealed, tongues swirling, and all I can think in this moment is how I can’t make myself end it.

“And it seems there’s not just charity in the air. Love is too.”

The voice in the distance slowly begins to seep in, growing louder until everything registers at once—the sound of Chase’s and Evie’s commentary, the laughs and cheers from the rides, and the news reporter.

It all hits me at once. Like a brick shattering our perfect bubble, reducing every ounce of heat I’m feeling to ice.

Goldie’s breathless as I jerk away, immediately turning my back to the cameras, pulling her in front of me.

“Shit. Sorry,” I mumble, blinking too fast, trying to keep my grin in place.

She’s laughing. “We keep doing that ... making a show of it.” She smiles up at me. “Maybe this is our moment. Now we can piggyback off this fame to a million-dollar OnlyFans.”

I swallow, hoping she thinks my heart’s beating fast because of her.

It is . . .it was.

I walk her backward toward the House of Mirrors entrance and away from the news crew as she tucks her hands under my jacket, closer to my body.

“Oh my god, you’re so cold you’re shivering,” she says sweetly.

Be fucking chill. Say something.

What I can’t say isI’m not cold. Adrenaline and panic are the same. They spike quickly and drop off just as fast.

I clear my throat. “The only people making seven figures are selling feet pics. And these dawgs are shy. So, we’ll just have to be poor and happy.”

I glance over my shoulder, seeing that the crew have stopped filming and are packing up, so I look back at her. This time, my smile feels more genuine.

She dramatically rolls her eyes. “Who said we were usingyourfeet? We’re trying to make money.”

More people file in behind us, and just like that, we’re back to being lost in a crowd. All the tension in my shoulders sloughs off as I throw myself back into this conversation.

“No way. I’m taping your shoes to your feet. There will be no feet pics.”

She chuckles, still rolling with the joke. “God, you’re such a tyrant. Fine, but I’m only agreeing because I like you so much.”

I stare down at her, half a smirk on my face. There must still be a little adrenaline running through my veins, making me brave, because I go all in.

“How much?”

Her brows rise. “What?”

I start playing with a piece of her hair.

“Howmuchdo you like me? You said, ‘so much.’ So, I wanna know how much is so much.”

I can feel her grip on my shirt tighten. “Well, what’s my scale?”

The familiar crackling between us starts firing like an electrical box. We’re just staring at each other, half smiles on our faces, silently urging the next question.

“One is I’m your boyfriend. Ten is—”

Only the sound of my heart is in my fucking ears as I stare at her mouth, scared to say the rest. Goldie blinks those big doe eyes up at me while nibbling on her bottom lip.

But just as I start to finish my sentence, Evie’s voice cuts in. “It’s our turn.”