Sparkling Hope (The Eastburgh Devils Series Book 1)

Weston and I were exactly what we needed to be able to heal each other. He was everything I wanted.

‘Stop staring at me,’ I muttered with my eyes closed.

‘I can’t stop looking at you.’

At that sentence, I couldn’t help but grin and hide under the covers. ‘I don’t want to go back home yet. I like it here,’ I mumbled dreamily under the covers.

‘We don’t have to go back yet if you don’t want to, but I have an idea.’ Weston got up from the bed and picked up all the clothes. He threw mine at me while he put his on.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to get used to the bright light in the room. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Getting dressed, and you should do the same if you want to come with me.’

I watched Weston zip his pants and pull his shirt over his head.

I looked at him, still unsure if I was dreaming or was awake, and this had just been my reality.

‘Come with you?’

‘Let me surprise you, Luna,’ he smiled and braced his arms on his hips, waiting for me to put on the clothes that lay in front of me on the bed.

I followed him downstairs, and the house was flooded with daylight, and the bright colors and furniture looked different again in the sunlight.

‘Put on some shoes.’

I did as he told me and slipped into my shoes. We entered the living room, and through the large window front, we saw the beach for the first time in daylight.

Weston and I walked from the terrace to the beach, and the first thing I noticed was the thin layer of snow on the sand. The horizon of the sea was fogged, the water dark.

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,’ I said in amazement.

‘It really is,’ Weston looked at me dreamily as I turned to him, and he was already looking.

This is where we stand now.

Just Weston and me.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and leaned against his chest, feeling his regular heartbeat. We both stood on the shore, arm in arm, enjoying each other’s presence.

Never in my entire life had I felt so loved and at home.

I pushed him away from me, telling myself that I hated him to create as much distance as I could, completely shutting out the thought that he was also suffering from the car accident.

‘After I lost Ethan, I thought I lost you too,’ I mumbled, resting my chin on his chest and looking up at him.

His eyes met mine. ‘Luna, you never lost me. I would never let that happen. I’ve been waiting for you, hoping you’d be willing to forgive me,’ he whispered softly, ‘to look at me and see the person who loves you the most and not the one you hate,’ he continued, and I felt his warm breath on my cold cheeks.

‘I’m so sorry, Wes.’

‘Never apologize for that, okay? We have each other again. That’s all that matters… God, Luna, I love you so much.’

I grinned at the last words.

‘I love you too,’ I stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

He found his hope in me as I did in him. This was our story, which was just beginning. Weston was my sparkling hope.