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Back The Companion Project Save as PDF
Chapters (89)
  1. Dedication
  2. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  3. ONE
  4. HENRY
  5. TWO
  6. EMMA
  7. THREE
  8. HENRY
  9. FOUR
  10. EMMA
  11. FIVE
  12. EMMA
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. HENRY
  16. EIGHT
  17. NINE
  18. TEN
  19. HENRY
  20. ELEVEN
  21. TWELVE
  22. EMMA
  23. THIRTEEN
  24. HENRY
  25. FOURTEEN
  26. HENRY
  27. FIFTEEN
  28. SIXTEEN
  29. EMMA
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. HENRY
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. HENRY
  34. NINETEEN
  35. HENRY
  36. TWENTY
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. EMMA
  39. TWENTY-TWO
  40. EMMA
  41. TWENTY-THREE
  42. HENRY
  43. TWENTY-FOUR
  44. EMMA
  45. TWENTY-FIVE
  46. EMMA
  47. TWENTY-SIX
  48. EMMA
  49. TWENTY-SEVEN
  50. HENRY
  51. TWENTY-EIGHT
  52. EMMA
  53. TWENTY-NINE
  54. HENRY
  55. THIRTY
  56. HENRY
  57. THIRTY-ONE
  58. HENRY
  59. THIRTY-TWO
  60. EMMA
  61. THIRTY-THREE
  62. HENRY
  63. THIRTY-FOUR
  64. EMMA
  65. THIRTY-FIVE
  66. EMMA
  67. THIRTY-SIX
  68. HENRY
  69. THIRTY-SEVEN
  70. EMMA
  71. THIRTY-EIGHT
  72. HENRY
  73. THIRTY-NINE
  74. HENRY
  75. FORTY
  76. EMMA
  77. FORTY-ONE
  78. HENRY
  79. FORTY-TWO
  80. FORTY-THREE
  81. EMMA
  82. FORTY-FOUR
  83. EMMA
  84. FORTY-FIVE
  85. HENRY
  86. EPILOGUE
  87. ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tentatively, I slide my hand against hers, helping her down the stairs off the stage. We step to the side, in a darkened corner out of the spotlight, and Emma lets go of my grasp.

“I’m sorry,” I say. The apology hangs in the air, weighing heavily.

Her eyes dart to mine, surprise morphing to confusion. “For what?”

“I… I feel like I did something wrong. I don’t want you to think I purposely manipulated you.”

Looking away, she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m not mad. You don’t need to apologize. I’m just…” She sighs, and I can hear the battle happening in her head through the exhale. “It’s stupid.”

“I promise you it’s not. Tell me what’s on your mind, Emma. I don’t know if I should laugh because that was the best kiss I’ve ever had, hate myself for upsetting you, or roar into the wind because I waited too damn long to do it in the first place.”

“I want to do that again, Henry. Badly.”

My name is pure magic coming from her mouth, the two syllables a symphonic melody I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing.

And she wants to kiss me again.

Making a hasty decision, I throw her a half smile. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she answers automatically, and my chest bubbles with pride.

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

I lead her away from the party. The sound of music subsides as we walk down a small path and into a thicket of trees. The grass gives way to dirt and mulch. Emma struggles for a minute with her heels on the rockier terrain before I kneel, offering her a piggyback ride. She jumps on my back, calves looping around my stomach. I run my palm up her bare shin, thumb swiping over the top of her knee.

We walk in silence for a few minutes until we enter a clearing. The moon is bright tonight, light filtering through the branches enough for us to see our surroundings. A bench and old wooden swing sit up ahead and nostalgia hits me as I slow my pace. It’s been years since I’ve spent much time out here, besides a quick walk through the grounds, but it looks exactly how I left it.

“What is this place?” she asks curiously. Sliding off my back, she takes a seat on the bench and peers up at me, waiting for me to share.