Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Then he jerked his chin toward the park entrance. “She’s in the purple tent.”
I nodded my head at him and started walking through the front gates.
I also noticed that I was one of the few ones with a purple wristband.
There was one other person, and that person looked like he was going in and out of the circus personnel areas as if he was allowed to be there.
I moved under the large metal arches that said “Singh Circus” in big marquee letters and came to a stop right inside the front entrance.
The circus itself was huge. I could make out multiple tents around the sides of the large fairground area, with one really massive tent right in the middle that was red and white.
There were a crap ton of booths, too.
Kissing booths. Apple carts. Funnel cakes. And on and on it went, making me shake my head in surprise.
I’d thought the circus was going to be a Podunk one that Heartsway usually attracted. But this one? Wow.
I’d heard of Singh Circus before, of course. It was kind of like Cirque du Soleil in Vegas. It was just a huge brand name that you knew because it was that good.
But I hadn’t realized just “how” good.
My jaw was likely dragging the floor as I made my way around the outskirts of the fairgrounds, looking for the elusive purple tent.
I found it in the very back, tucked away behind a much larger, green tent.
Walking right up to the flaps, I pushed them aside and came to a sudden, bone-jarring halt right inside the entrance.
My breath left me in a whoosh as I got my first look at what an “aerial artist” did in a circus.
Blonde curls bouncing; the very first sight I saw when I entered was that beautiful head traveling right toward the floor.
The red fabric that was wrapped around Simi’s legs was unraveling at what seemed like an unsafe rate of speed, allowing her to fall fast toward the floor.
“Sim…” I called out, but before she could hit the floor, her legs went out wide, the fabric stopped unraveling, and her curls brushed the grass floor beneath her.
She twisted, placed both hands on the ground, and turned her head so that she could face me.
Then she smiled.
“You came!” She beamed, lifted herself up, then pulled herself free of the long yards of fabric.
“I did,” I confirmed. “I saw the flyer in the parking lot last night as I tried to catch you and pay you back for my beer.” I offered her a narrow-eyed gaze. “But then you were already gone. Seems awfully suspicious that you got out of there so fast.”
I would’ve quit my damn job if they hadn’t given me the night off so I could go see her.
Her smiling at me with that sheepish look on her face made my freakin’ heart flutter.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember that,” she admitted.
I waited until she fully disentangled herself from the long lengths of fabric before saying, “I’ll forgive you on one condition.”
Her eyes widened and she moved forward, her hands once again tangling in the fabric as she leaned forward into me. Not quite touching but close enough that if I wanted to, I could brush our chests against each other with only a full breath.
“What is that condition?” she wondered.
I tucked a stray curl behind her ear, only for it to pop right back into place.
I dropped my hand before saying, “Come out to dinner with me after this.”
She tilted her head. “We won’t be done until well after ten tonight since it’s the last night. We usually do the big show on the final nights, and that takes all of the sisters and Keene to do.”
I shrugged. “I can get my fill of cotton candy and funnel cakes while I wait. Plus,” I looked around, “this place looks kind of nifty as if I really need to explore.”
“Come on,” she said as she stepped away from the fabric and grabbed my hand. “We can go explore together. My show isn’t until well past nine tonight. That means we have a whole hour and a half to look around.”
Folding my hands around her fingers, reveling in how right it felt to have her hand within mine, together we walked out of the purple tent.
“Take me where you suggest we start,” I urged.
She led me straight past the Fun House, which she didn’t even turn to look at, let alone take me into it, and didn’t stop until we were directly in front of a big, indistinct, gray tent that almost blended in with the night.
“What’s this?” I wondered.
“This is a selfish stop first,” she said. “Technically, this is Caristonia’s domain, but I need to feed the animals before the performance, or they might get hungry and get angry.”