My gasps for air quickly turn into a fit of coughs, and now I’m more than positive that I’ve disrupted the ambience of the entire restaurant. If I wasn’t so busy choking, I would be humiliated.
Unadulterated fear floods Hayes’ expression, and he’s up and out of his seat before I can stop him. He comes up behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my ribs and thrusting upwards.
Oh my God. Hayes is giving me the Heimlich maneuver. In front of hundreds of eyes. Will this end up on some Reapers fanpage? Will this haunt me for the rest of my life?
A group of waiters stand by the phone in case an ambulance is needed, and hushed whispers fall over the restaurant.
With one final pull, whatever was in my airway ejects out of my mouth, and I sag against Hayes’ chest, wheezing for oxygen. Saliva runs down my chin, and I’m pretty sure my eyes are bloodshot from bulging out of my head.
Something shiny gleams in my peripheral, but I’m too distracted to take much notice. You know when people say they saw their life flash before their eyes? They’re telling the truth. For a second, I truly thought I was going to die. Of course a post-dinner choking fiasco would only happen to someone as unfortunate as me.
Once the tears have subsided and my vision has cleared, I see Hayes bend down to grab something, and then my brain registers what I saw sparkling out of the corner of my eye.
A ring.
And not just any ring, but a ring with a stupendous diamond attached to it.
Is this really happening?
Hayes lowers to one knee, taking my shaking hand in his steady one, love sewn into his chiseled features. He doesn’t seem apprehensive—in fact, he’s never looked more certain of anything before.
I sink my teeth into my lower lip, hoping that the pressure will stop my body’s quaking. His touch is featherlight, and affection bleeds into my heart like watercolors seeping onto a blank canvas.
“Aeris, when I first met you, I never thought I’d end up on one knee for you. I never thought I’d settle down with anyone, actually. Every moment we’ve spent together has been the best kind of ride. I never believed that I was going to find love, much less find the person I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. And it just so happened that I got lucky enough to find both in you,” he says, his voice laced with a tenderness warm enough to unfreeze an icy lake.
Tears rage behind my eyes, but I’m not sure if it’s because of his speech or an aftereffect of nearly choking to death.
“You’re the most incredible person I know. You have the biggest heart in the world, and I’d give anything to occupy just the tiniest part of it. I can’t imagine not spending my forever with you. I can’t go another day without letting everyone know you’re mine…without putting this ring on your finger and promising to love you until I take my last breath.”
Okay, the tears are definitely from his speech.
Words feel heavy on my tongue, and they’re also obscured by the water gushing down my face and over my lips. Awws spread through the audience we’ve attracted, and cameras flash on the outskirts of my vision.
“Aeris, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
I can’t believe this is really happening.
Remember when I said that Hayes was my life jacket? He’s more than that. He’s the very person who makes me want to swim, not just float. And I refuse to spend another second without taking his last name.
“Yes, Hayes. I would love to marry you.”
The minute that band slides over my finger, my future is sealed. Forever doesn’t seem so scary anymore, and I think Hayes Hollings is the best kind of forever.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you’d like to stay in contact for updates on new releases or just to talk, look down below! Subscribe to my newsletter for more details regarding the Reapers series! ♡
Instagram: @celestebriarsauthor
TikTok: @celestebriarsauthor
Website: www.celestebriars.com
Keep reading for a sneak peek of The Worst Kind of Promise （Reapers #2）， Faye and Kit’s story! Stay tuned for the release date! ♡
THE WORST KIND OF PROMISE
THE NIGHT OF NO RETURN
FAYE
I look up at the ominous storm clouds as they inch across the desolate sky, draping the night in everlasting darkness, the promise of rain poised on the horizon, waiting to fall in tandem with my tears. The streetlamp beside me flickers precariously, a large beacon that shines down on me like I’m a moth caught in a filth-covered flame. Cold air spills over my naked arms and legs, raising goose bumps on flesh, and the cement patch I’ve claimed as home for the time being has only made my core temperature drop.
My dress—once a thing of happy memories—has been forever tainted. I can’t feel my body. It feels like it doesn’t belong to me.
See, that already broken part of me has lost another crucial piece tonight, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get it back.
I look at my phone and check the time. Ten minutes have passed since I called the only person I could trust—the one I know wouldn’t ask questions and who just so happened to be in Pennsylvania visiting a friend.
I called Kit Langley.
Star left defenseman for the NHL’s Riverside Reapers. One of my brother’s best friends. The guy I’m secretly in love with. And the guy who looks at me like I’m his kid sister.
I’m sitting on the cold, hard gas station curb, wondering why I can’t feel the rain penetrate my clothes when a Jeep Wrangler pulls haphazardly into one of the parking spaces, parking diagonally across two white-painted lines. The door swings open with enough force to jar me from my thoughts, and Kit’s behemoth frame lumbers out of the vehicle. The minute I meet his dark eyes, I feel mine surge with water, and despite my efforts to keep my emotions at bay, all of them flood out of me like a fast-rising tsunami.
Kit races over to me and yanks me up by the arms, pulling me into his large chest. His grip suffocates me, but I don’t try to pull away. He’s mumbling something into my hair, his hand cradling the back of my head, the rapid thundering of his heart a steady medium in my ears.
When his embrace loosens and he backpedals to look at me, his naturally dark eyes are alight with worry, a muscle in his jaw flickering. “What happened?” he asks.
I’m not alert enough to form a coherent sentence, but my voice box is vibrating before I have the chance to clamp my lips shut.
“I…” My chest feels tight, like there’s a thorn twisting in my sternum. Pair that with the tears wanting to make a quick getaway, and I’m pretty much as useful as a push sign on a pull door.
“Faye, breathe. You’re okay. I’ve got you,” Kit says, the softness in his tone wrapping around me like a gentle caress. His hands are still on my arms, and he’s craning his neck down to look at me.
A few sobs slip unbidden from my mouth as I inhale shakily, forcing my bloodshot gaze to focus. My vision is peppered with all sorts of ink blots, and my tongue feels like it’s swollen to twice its size.
Anger tears across his expression. “Faye, who hurt you?”
“He’s…I…”
Come on, Faye. You’re safe. You’re with Kit. You’re not in danger anymore.
The minute I stop trembling from nerves, I break down into a gigantic, blubbering mess, clinging to the back of Kit’s shirt. He hugs me with the same bone-crushing desperation, absorbing the weight of my pain, wringing every tear from me until I’m nothing but a hollow shell.