She stared at him for a moment, weighing the options. It wasn’t as though Adam had broken her heart – she’d never even met the guy for goodness sake. But he had embarrassed her, stood her up, and then blocked her. If for no other reason than the sake of her pride it would be good to get her own back.
“Okay then.” She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
18
The line for the Ferris wheel wasn’t long. Maybe twenty people deep. Lucas held Ember’s hand tightly in his as they walked across the grass and joined it, around five people back from Adam Michaelson.
Lucas noticed that the guy turned around again, his brows still knitted together as he looked back at them. A second later a look of realization washed over his face – as though he’d finally placed where he knew her from. It was quickly replaced by horror as he whipped back around, turning his back firmly onto them once more.
“I think he’s worked out who you are,” Lucas murmured to her.
“Oh God.”
He reached out to her and grabbed her hand, folding it in his own. “Look, if you want to get out of here we can.” There was no way Adam Michaelson was spoiling another one of Ember’s evenings.
Ember opened her mouth to answer, but then a smiling woman ran past them, throwing her arms around Adam. Even from this distance Lucas could see the glint of her wedding ring on her left hand as she stroked Adam Michaelson’s cheek.
“His sister?” Ember mused, as they both looked over.
But then Adam leaned in and pressed his lips against the woman’s, cupping the back of her neck with his hand to deepen the kiss. “Not his sister,” Lucas murmured.
Adam pulled his hand away, a wedding ring visible on his finger. “Do you think they’re married?” Ember asked.
“To each other? Maybe.” Lucas frowned. “What a bastard.”
“I really didn’t think this could get any worse.” Ember buried her face in her hands. “What’s he doing on a dating app if he’s already married? What kind of man would do that?”
Lucas didn’t answer for a moment. He was too busy trying to bite down his anger. He hated cheaters with a vengeance. There was a part of him – the knight in shining armor part – that wanted to stalk right over to the guy and show him just how much, but he was sensible enough to know that was a really bad idea.
“Oh my god, that poor woman.” Ember covered her mouth with her hand, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment. “I feel awful.”
“You shouldn’t, you didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t know the guy was married.”
Ember shook her head, looking upset. “I never would have agreed to go on a date with him if I knew.” She looked up at Lucas, her eyes watery. “I’m not like that. I promise.”
“I know you’re not.” There was a softness to her expression that made him want to put his arms around her and protect her. A tiny glimpse of vulnerability in her armor. “And I’m sorry he hurt you.”
She shook her head. “He didn’t. I’m just mad at myself because I knew that app was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.”
“Don’t be mad,” he said, squeezing her hand tightly. “This is on him, not you. And anyway, it’s Angel Day. Nobody’s allowed to get angry today.”
She relaxed visibly and it felt like a victory. “You’re right,” she said, nodding at him. “Let’s forget all about him and enjoy the evening.”
“Do you want to go on a different ride?” he asked her, inclining his head toward them. “The bumper cars or the carousel maybe?”
“You know what?” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I don’t want to go on another ride.” She ran the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip, and he couldn’t help but be entranced by the movement. “I think you might’ve had the right idea after all.”
“I did?” he asked, confused.
“Yeah. This place is too crowded anyway.” Her lips curved up into a smile. “I hear the beach is always deserted on Angel Day, maybe we should go and check it out.”
She was staring up at him again, in that wide-eyed innocent way, and it was all he could do not to incline his head and kiss her right there. He wanted to touch her skin, to taste her lips, to hold her body against his until they were both breathless.
But not here, not when everybody was watching.
“Yeah, the beach sounds good,” he said, his voice thick and graveled. It had always been his favorite place in Angel Sands – and now he’d get to share it with the woman who was quickly becoming his favorite person.
Before he could think too deeply about the implications, he took her hand and pulled her toward the exit.