Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Ren frowned as she scanned the signs. “They don’t approve of the festival?”
“Looks that way.”
“What exactly do they think is happening in here?” she asked.
“The devil’s music and fornicating.”
“But people are just having fun.” Her frown intensified, and he wondered if she was thinking of her parents and what they would think of all this. Would they be holding signs and protesting, too? Probably not, and only because they’d never let Ren this close to begin with. That’s when he noticed the cameras capturing footage of the crowd, and an uneasy chill made its way down his spine.
“Let’s go,” he urged softly, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, and gently led her away.
Determined to bring back her smile, they shared fried Oreos, and Fitz bought her a tiara with PRINCESS twinkling in golden LED lights across the top. And he couldn’t seem to stop touching her.
Another band was playing on a smaller stage surrounded by tables and a makeshift dance floor. Fitz left her just long enough to grab them each a glass of champagne and handed one to Ren.
“Ooh, champagne!” Ren took the plastic glass, lifting it to watch the never-ending path of bubbles from the bottom to the surface. “Was it expensive?”
“I bought it from a guy wearing a T-shirt that said SUDS AND BUDS. I’ll let you answer that.”
“Would you be surprised if I said I’ve never had champagne before?”
“Not even a little bit. Should we make a toast?”
She sucked in an excited breath. “What should we toast to?”
“How about adventure?”
“To adventure!”
They clinked glasses and then she tipped hers back, eyes going wide as she swallowed a huge gulp.
“Careful,” he said, laughing. “Champagne hits people differently.”
“Even cheap champagne?”
“Especially cheap champagne. You could be on the floor in an hour.”
Ignoring this, she cheekily drained the glass and set it on a table before tugging him out to dance. “Then you’d better be there to hold me up.”
Fitz tried to resist but, unable to deny her anything, let her lead him into the crowd. They danced and drank and laughed as the music played around them.
“You know, for someone who’s never been to a festival before, you’re a natural,” he said, twirling her and pulling her back in.
“Are these things always this fun? Is this what I’ve been missing?”
The music slowed, and he placed his hand on her lower back, tugging her closer. “Sunshine, I don’t think anything has ever been this fun.”
“Why do you call me that? You only say Ren when you’re being serious.”
He stiffened. “Do you not like when I call you Sunshine?”
“I do. I like that you give me nicknames. I’d never had one before….”
She trailed off, and he placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his. “But?”
“But I only call you Fitz. I don’t even know your first name.”
His blood cooled. He’d put the Fitz mask on for the first time seven years ago and never once took it off. But with her staring up at him like that, it hit him that he wanted more than anything to feel safe being the real him.
“Edward,” he told her. “My name is Edward.”
She met his eyes, and, as hard as it was, he held the contact, letting her recalibrate with this new name on her tongue.
“Edward,” she said, and her fingers brushed through the back of his hair. “I love it.” Ren closed her eyes. “The origin is English. The name means ‘guardian, protector, wealthy.’” She snorted, opening her eyes again. “I guess that fits.”
It was funny how not funny it was. He was none of those things, but of course Ren wouldn’t know that. “You are an encyclopedia of random information.” He grinned down at her. “How about more champagne?”
Ren gave him a dorky thumbs-up. “Champagne is my favorite.”
“Stay here, and I’ll grab us a couple glasses.”
But when he returned, she was gone. Things were really in full swing now, loud and riotous. There was a fiddle player on the stage and people clapped along, faces rosy from drink, noses sunburned. The dance floor was almost completely obscured by moving bodies, and right at the center was Ren, dancing with a crowd of men and women who had brought her into their circle, arms around each other.
He found a chair on the side and sat down to watch. She was a blur of lavender and gold, arms over her head as she spun, blond strands of hair slipping from her intricate braid. A bottle of pure sunshine uncorked, spilling across the park. The song ended and the dance floor exploded in applause for the band, for each other, for the experience they were all sharing. People hugged Ren, touched her hair in wonder, took her hand, and brought her back to the floor for another song, and then another, until finally she escaped, tripping in a giddy tangle over to Edward, where she fell across his lap.