Defying Gravity

by Kendra C. Highley

  Parker stripped off his pack and tore open the pouch that held his survival blanket. The thin foil crinkled and sailed out full in the wind. He struggled to capture it all and wrap Zoey in half of it. “Hope you don’t mind a little cuddle,” he muttered, shoving his gloves back on and lying down next to her. He tucked the other end of the blanket underneath him to keep it down, then wrapped an arm gingerly around her.

  “See? All toasty.” He brushed a strand of hair gently out of her face. “Everything is going to be fine. Ski Patrol is coming, and I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay, Miller? I’m here, and I always will be. I’ll do anything for you, even literally freeze my ass off on the side of a mountain in a blizzard.”

  He said all those things thinking she was out cold, even though he meant them. But she stirred and mumbled. “I’m glad it’s you.”

  “You, who?” he asked, going limp with relief to hear her voice.

  “Yoohoo? Who said anything about a drink?” Her words slurred and a little of his panic returned. “Parker. I’m glad it’s you.”

  He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’m glad it’s me, too.”

  She chuckled, then moaned. “Collarbone’s shot.”

  “I wondered. How’s the pain? Should I go for help?” She didn’t answer. “Keep talking, Zoey. Don’t go to sleep.”

  “I’m tired.”

  “I know.” He’d coax her to talk even if he had to babble like an idiot. “Let’s play a game.”

  “Not ‘tell the truth.’”

  He laughed sadly. “No, I won’t suggest that again. How about ‘all the things I love about Zoey’?”

  “But that makes me sound egotistical, if I talk about me.” Her blinks were growing longer, and her body was slowly going slack against his.

  “I meant I’d tell you those, and you’d say things like, ‘aww, thank you!’ or ‘really? That’s dumb.’”

  “’Kay.”

  “Let’s see. Number one: Zoey is my badass best friend.”

  “I like that one,” she said sleepily. “That I’m your friend.”

  “Uh huh. Number two: Zoey is hot but she doesn’t let it go to her head.”

  A snort…or a snore. He couldn’t be sure, so he hurried to add, “Number three: Zoey is kind to her friends.”

  No answer. He shook her gently. She groaned, but didn’t open her eyes. “Number four,” he said loudly into her ear. “Zoey is a sleepyhead when she should wake up.”

  “Number one,” she mumbled. “Parker is a dick to tired people.”

  He laughed in sheer relief. “Yes, yes I am. What else?”

  She sighed. “Number two: Parker is a really great guy.”

  “I try. How about another?”

  “Number three: Zoey thinks she loves Parker.”

  “You do, huh?” he whispered into her hair, wishing he could hold her tighter. This was the first time she said the L-word, and they were stuck on the side of a mountain in a blizzard. The timing sucked, but he’d count it. “I love you, too.”

  “If I live through this…” She patted his arm with her good hand. Her movements were clumsy. “I’ll kiss you for that.”

  “Then, goddamn it, you better live,” Parker said, alarm sending his pulse into a gallop.

  “Okay.” She shifted a little. “You hear that?”

  Parker strained his ears. Shouts of, “Parker? Zoey?” came faintly from the trail. “Yeah. Sit tight. I’ll go get the cavalry.”

  She didn’t answer—she’d passed out again. Parker tucked the blanket around her and plowed through the snow, yelling, “Here! She’s here!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Zoey

  Coming back to consciousness was a little like swimming up from the bottom a deep lake. The sun shone up top, a faint glimmer that grew brighter with each stroke, but the trip was a struggle. She hurt all over and sleeping seemed like a much better idea.

  “I told you we’d make it back,” a soft, warm voice said. A larger hand took hers and squeezed it gently. “And we did.”

  Zoey forced her eyes open. Parker sat in a chair drawn right up next to her bed. His left hand was bandaged, his hair stuck out in all directions and his eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, but his smile was bright…the brightest she’d seen it this trip.

  “You were right.” She swallowed hard. Her throat was so dry. “My throat hurts.”

  He nodded, then reached for a cup. “Ice. It’ll help.”

  After he fed her a few chips, her throat felt better. “What happened?”

  His smile disappeared and his face flushed. “Luke was an asshole and you stormed out to take The Cirque by yourself.”

  Oh, yeah. She mostly remembered that part, along with how empowered she’d felt, taking that run alone. Too bad she ended up in the ER. She couldn’t make a habit of allowing her girl-power mojo turn into catastrophes. “That was stupid of me.”

  “Nah. I go on trails by myself when I need to clear my head. Lots of Zen to be had on the mountain. And Luke upset you.” His voice was hard, cold. “Which is why my brother has a black eye. See, I promised him that if anything happened to you, I’d beat him senseless. Dad had to pull me off of him in the parking lot when the doctor kicked us out so he could reset your collarbone.”

  She nodded at his hand. “Is that why you have that bandage?”

  “Yeah. I split my knuckles on his jaw.”

  Zoey winced, which made her head hurt. “I would say you both deserved it, making a bet on me like that.”

  “Yeah, I know he told you.” Parker ran his thumb along her hand, to the inside of her wrist. The room grew warm, or maybe she did. “And I’m sorry. I never should’ve agreed to something so stupid. If anything, it’s my fault you’re in here. If I’d listened to my gut and told him no, everything would’ve worked out.”

  She nodded. “Probably. But…tell me one thing. Do you really see me as something to be won? Because I thought you knew me better than that. Is all you see the pretty girl, or do you love me?”

  It was his turn to wince. “I absolutely don’t think of you as ‘just a pretty girl.’ I’ve never thought about you like that—I know the real you, and the real Zoey is enough for me. I mean that.”

  She flushed clear down to her toes. “Good.”

  He breathed out a long sigh. “So…you said something on the mountain. I’m not sure you remember, but I wondered if you meant it.”

  Now she knew for sure she was warm. “What did I say? Scratch that. What happened after I fell?”

  He laughed, and his eyes crinkled in such a nice way. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Sometimes you really didn’t see things right under your nose. “Zoey, I—illegally—went up on Cirque by myself in a blizzard to find you. I have the ticket from Ski Patrol to prove it. Do you remember any of that?”

  She frowned. She’d hit the tree. Someone had wrapped her in a blanket. She remembered talking, but not what she’d said. “Not exactly.”

  He murmured something like, “Just my luck,” and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. “Okay, so I’ll file that entire conversation under Too Long To Explain, and sum it up, how’s that?”

  The way he was looking at her, like she was the only person in the universe, made her suddenly conscious of the ugly hospital gown and the pull of stitches in her forehead. She tensed up in bed, nervous and a little shy. “Okay.”

  “I think you said something about, if you lived, you were going to kiss me for telling you I love you. Of course, I said it after you told me you loved me.” He smiled and braced his arms on either side of her. “Ring a bell?”

  She shook her head, hardly breathing. She told him she loved him? It wasn’t untrue…but way to jump on that early, girl.

  He leaned closer, enough so she could count the golden-brown flecks in his eyes. “I won’t make you repeat it if it was just the concussion talking, but I want you to know I’m all yours, for good, if you’ll have me.”

  She closed her e
yes, surprised by the tears sliding down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. About everything. If I’d just been smarter…if I’d seen…”

  “Hey, stop.” Parker wiped her tears away with his thumb. “Look at me.”

  She opened her eyes, and he smiled, something gentle and sweet, all for her. “You aren’t stupid. Luke and I were. We never should’ve dragged you through all this. I should’ve told you how I felt and let everything work itself out.”

  She rolled onto her hip, wincing when it jarred her collarbone. “About that L word thing?”

  He scooted to the front of his chair and leaned on his elbows so they were eye-to-eye. “Yes?”

  She picked at her blanket. After Luke tarnished everything this morning, she felt like she had to be sure, that this wasn’t part of his reaction to almost killing herself up on The Cirque. “Did you mean it, or were you scared I was going to die?”

  He reached out and traced her cheek with a fingertip. “Miller, we’re going to be those old folks telling kids to get off our lawn, remember? I said it because I love you, with everything I am, and have for a long time now. You’re my best friend. I love how you act like a kid on Christmas morning. I love how you peel the frosting off your Pop-Tarts before you eat them. I love when you sing—off-key, I might add—in the car without seeming to realize it. There are a hundred little things that make you Zoey, and I love every last one of them.”

  There were times, like when she watched Parker at the terrain park, that she thought he must be able to defy gravity. Now she was sure of it, because she felt like she was floating, and it was all his doing. He always knew what to say to make her feel like her very best self, like she was worthwhile for being her.

  “Are you going to say anything?” he asked, still smiling, but a hint of worry in his voice.

  She nodded and crooked her finger to bring him closer. “I owe you a kiss.”

  He brushed his lips against her cheek. “Just one?”

  She tilted her mouth up to his. “Right this minute? Yes. But I think it’s safe to assume this is the first of a whole lot more.”

  Epilogue

  Spring Break, Aspen

  Parker

  Zoey was going to wear a hole in his mom’s favorite throw rug any minute. The same one she’d brought home in triumph from an antique show, only for Luke to say the rug looked like a vomit stain. Parker had privately agreed. Maybe he should let Zoey wear it out. His parents were in Cabo with hers, so who would know?

  The back of his neck grew warm. Who would know about anything they’d done over the weekend? Having both houses all to themselves for the last two days had been…amazing. And they’d pretty much cemented the way he felt about her—Zoey was the air he needed to breathe, to live. She was a part of him, for good.

  “Staring,” Zoey muttered as she made another round across the rug.

  His lips twitched. Busted. “You know I hate that rug, but pacing isn’t going to make them get here any faster.”

  She sighed and crossed the room to drop her forehead against his chest. His arms snaked around her waist of their own accord, almost by memory. It felt good to know he could hold her anytime he wanted, anywhere he wanted, and no one thought it was strange. His heart still did, just a little, and it raced when she leaned into him. The smell of her hair was enough to drive him crazy.

  Whatever had he done to become the luckiest bastard on planet Earth?

  He pulled her closer. She was here, she was real. Being apart for the last few months had been hard, but that only made this sweeter. Even though he’d memorized the feeling of her body against his, he couldn’t get enough of it. He rubbed her back, wishing they had more time. Too bad her friends would be here in five minutes. He wanted to meet them, but time alone with Zoey was too precious to waste.

  “Hey, you’re okay,” he said when she didn’t stir. Her body was tense against his, and he needed to fix that. “I don’t know what’s making you so nervous.”

  “I’m excited for them to come, but…I kept Aspen to myself for a reason.” She tilted her head up to look at him. “What if they don’t like it here?”

  He reached up to cup her cheek, smiling down at her. “Knowing what I do about Paige and Ben, they’re going to love it, because they love you.” He cocked his head. “Wait, are you really worried they won’t like me?”

  “There’s no way that happens. They’re going to love you.” She gave him an impish smile. “Because I love you.”

  “Care to prove it?” He lowered his face close to hers. “I think we still have a little time to ourselves.”

  Her eyes fell closed as he covered her mouth with his. Knowing that they’d be together for good after graduation made the idea that she’d leave in less than a week more bearable—just a little.

  He tangled his hands in her hair. She’d worn it down, and had made some effort with it, which he gently teased her for, before suggesting she didn’t need the makeup bag. Her best friend needed to see her face like he saw it: real.

  A car pulled into the driveway and two doors slammed. Zoey pulled away, her eyes wide. “You ready?”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead. With Zoey, he could meet anything head on. “Always.”

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  Acknowledgments

  Sometimes books need a little extra love to hammer them into shape. This was one of those books. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Entangled editing staff, we finally crossed the finish line. An extra serving of gratitude goes to Heather Howland, my senior editor, for helping me plot, plan, and discern where the story really needed to go.

  More thanks go to my beta readers, who suffered through a very early draft of this book and gave me the advice I needed to hear. Becca Andre and Kary Rader, you two are the best!

  Without my family’s support, I wouldn’t have time to write at all, let alone herd cats on a draft that stubbornly tried to drift off track. To Tanner and Alex, I love you, and I’m so proud to be your mom. To Ryan, you’re the peanut butter to my jelly.

  Finally, thanks to you, the readers, for your support over the course of this series. You rock!

  About the Author

  Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most critical job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate.

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