Bell’s finger ghosted over the photo of Hunter and Ethan. “I think they both had a little crush on her.”

My brows rose. “Really?”

She let out a scoffing sound. “Come on, pretty much every guy did.”

“She had a light that drew people to her.”

Bell’s finger stopped just under Violet’s face. “She really did.”

We kept flipping through pages, lost down memory lane. The photos of Vi and me didn’t hurt as much anymore. It was more of a dull ache. Not a sadness for what I’d lost, but for a life that had been cut far too short. And there was a healthy dose of joy mixed in too, at all of the memories we’d never lose.

I shut the book with a thud. “Did it bring back anything that might be useful?”

Bell tucked her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. “After it all happened, and I realized you weren’t coming back, I was really angry.” Bell didn’t look away from me as she spoke, didn’t hide herself from me, but I could feel the regret pouring off her in waves. “People felt bad for me. I’d lost my sister, and they all knew that you and I were close. I think they said things to make me feel better, to show they were on my side, so to speak, but I don’t think most of them meant it.”

I scooted closer, wrapping my free hand around her calf. “You had a right to be angry.”

“So do you.” Bell pressed her lips together before speaking again. “You didn’t deserve all those people whispering about you behind your back, even if you weren’t here to see it. I’m so sorry I fed that machine.”

I gave Bell’s leg a squeeze, pulling myself even closer to her. “Enough apologies. We were both hurting. Neither of us handled it in the best way. What matters now is that we don’t waste the time we have left.”

Bell’s gaze locked with mine. “I don’t want to waste a moment.”

31

BELL

There was a roaring sound in my ears, as if I had suddenly been submerged in water. I was frozen to the spot as Ford leaned in, hesitating for just a moment before his lips met mine, as if he were giving me one last chance to pull away, to tell him that I didn’t want this. But I couldn’t. Almost losing him had torn that last little bit of restraint and self-preservation away.

Ford’s lips met mine in a slow, heady enticement. They were so warm and surprisingly smooth, but the bite of the stubble lining his mouth sent a warring cascade of sensations over my skin. I wanted to sink into the feeling, into the kiss, into Ford. I wanted to lose myself in everything that was uniquely him.