Emmitt climbs off the counter, brushing his knees off, before offering the girl a bright grin. My heart seems to both shrivel and grow at the sight of it. “I want the black wolf,” he says, pointing at the top shelf.

The girl moves to grab it, all the while flushing deeply. She hands it to Emmitt a minute later, and I watch him unsubtly slide her a fifty-dollar bill in return.

Again, I shake my head at him.

But then he turns to me, holding out the giant wolf. “Happy birthday, Mina.”

My lips part in surprise—and Grant gives me an I told you so look—as I stare at the stuffed animal. “Are—are you sure?”

Emmitt’s mouth turns up in one corner. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

My chest warms, sunflowers blooming to life between my ribs. “Thank you,” I say, clutching it tight to my chest.

Grant makes a retching noise, and Emmitt punches his arm without looking away from me.

I’m the one who breaks our stare, looking down and running my hand over the soft fur. “It needs a name.”

A beat of silence, and then Emmitt says, “Well?”

I make a low noise of consideration, tweaking a fluffy ear. “I’ll let you know when I decide on one.”

Emmitt lifts the wolf’s tail, brushing my nose with it. “I look forward to it.”

I don’t know why, but that sounds like a bigger promise than it is.

33

When Emmitt leads me to the Ferris wheel, it’s with his camera in hand. The others have gone their own way, Linli and Noojman as one pair, Rosie and Sofia as another pair, and then a surprising duo of Grant and Kaity as the final pair. Before we split up, though, we wandered through together, playing at different booths, buying cotton candy from vendors, running through the fair with laughter following our every step.

And my heart...it feels almost lightweight.

Emmitt is taking photos every few minutes, and I can’t blame him. The carnival is beautiful, silver streamers and off-white paper lanterns strung high above us. All of the booths are set up in cream-colored tents, fairy lights twined through, and even the Ferris wheel looks as if it’s made of pure snow.

Set against the darkness of the night, it seems to glow.

“Next!”

Emmitt and I move forward, and the person running the Ferris wheel leads us to an empty seat. I eye my wolf plushie with unease. There’s no way I can hold it in my arms, which means it’ll have to sit beside me. Which also means Emmitt and I will be thigh to thigh, arm to arm, unless I want to awkwardly place it between us.

Emmitt doesn’t seem to notice, readily taking a seat.