When we return to the long-range hoops station, Ted and Angie are arguing over who made more baskets. The attendant, David, is ignoring them, and when Ted presses him to tell them who won, David hurriedly turns to Colton and me and asks if we want to finish our round.

I take my time lining up for my shot.

“Go, Sky!” Angie calls out.

“Hit it!” Ted shouts.

“Take your time,” Colton murmurs next to me.

I let out a deep breath, and then I shoot. And—

I miss.

But this time I’m close. I actually hit the rim, and the ball bounces around before falling out.

Colton immediately buys me another round.

“Not another three shots,” I say to him as David hands me a ball.

“Just these three,” Colton promises. “If you make one or if you don’t make any, we’ll stop either way.”

Feeling like I have a coach by my side—a hot, sexy coach who I want to strip naked—I line up for my shot with more confidence this time.

I miss the first two anyway.

But by the third one, I know it’s going to go in.

Apparently so does everyone else, including the attendant, who’s gotten in on the “Can Sky Rosewood hit a freaking basket?” festivities.

---

That’s right: David, along with Ted, Angie, and Colton, are cheering loudly the moment the ball leaves my hands. So loudly, that a small crowd of my colleagues has gathered around behind us.

When the ball goes through the hoop cleanly, Colton scoops me up in his arms and holds my arm in the air like I’ve just won the championship trophy.

By the time I’ve convinced him to let me down, David is asking us what prizes we want.

I point to the Wild bear. “Him.”

“You get two,” David says.

Colton scans the wall of prizes. “Her.”

I laugh as David reaches up to the top row and plucks an adorable stuffed pink pig from the shelf. He hands her over to Colton.

“I think I’ll call her Sparky. She’s going to sleep in my bedroom,” Colton says, his mouth turning up on the corner. “She’ll get to see it before you do.”

“Lucky pig,” I say as I flick him in the arm.

He’s still laughing as David hands me a paper bag. Colton slips both stuffed animals into it, and says he’ll hold onto it for us.

“So,” he says to me as Ted and Angie lead us toward the rides. “You did it. You hit your shot.”

“I did. Thanks to you. No wonder you made it to the pros,” I say. “You probably stayed on the field for hours growing up, practicing until you were perfect.”

“Pretty much,” Colton admits, and I look at him in surprise.

He talks so rarely about his football success. I know he’s modest, but he also seems to feel guilty about it somehow.

“My dad…” He stumbles over the word. “He was like my unofficial coach. He would watch Dylan and me for hours in the backyard or at school when no one else was around. He helped us with technique and form and everything. He never played himself, but he was the world’s biggest fucking fan. He was watching an old game on television the night he…” His voice drops to an inaudible level.

“Oh, Colt.” I drop the bag of stuffed animals and put my arms around him.

People pass around us at the edge of the rides area, but Colton holds onto me and doesn’t let go.

When we do pull apart, he keeps my hand securely in his, like he doesn’t want to lose the connection with me.

---

After riding the roller coaster, we take a turn on Shark Frenzy. When the ride ends, Ted refuses to exit his shark because he wants to “keep riding until he’s so dizzy he pukes, like he used to do as a kid.”

Not interested in that kind of activity, I lead Colton over to the Seaside Swing. There’s a wait, but the line moves quickly, and soon he and I are swinging on the bench-like seats, getting an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains.

The sun is setting when we get off, and Colton says now is the perfect time to do the tower ride.

I’ve never been super into the heart-dropping feeling of plummeting forty-four feet, but after eating tacos, I’m even less into it.

“Let’s do something less terrifying,” I say.

Colton wraps his hand around my hip and pulls me close to him. “Being terrified can be a good thing, babe.”

I reach up and run my hand over the sexy day-old stubble on his jaw. “So come up with something where I won’t walk around nauseous for an hour afterward.”

He leans in until his mouth is nearly touching mine. “I have an idea.”

He turns me around, and we walk through the crowd until he comes to a stop.

I look up at the…

“Ferris wheel.” I smile at him. “This is much better.”

The line is short, and within a couple of minutes, the Ferris wheel comes to a stop, and Colton and I slide into one of the circular seats with the attached overhead umbrella.

He scoots as close to me as possible, taking my hand in his as we start ascending.

“This is the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel,” I say as we near the top. “Have you ridden it before?”

“Once. Jenson came to town with his sons, and we took them here.”

I didn’t expect him to say that. “I thought maybe you would have brought a date here,” I say.

“I am doing that.” Colton brushes my cheek with his lips. “Right now.”

I turn to face him directly, and my breath catches in my throat. The view of the Pacific can’t hold a candle to Colton Wild.

With the ocean breeze blowing his blond hair into sexy disarray, and his flushed cheeks and chiseled jaw, Colton is stunning. We’re over a hundred feet off the ground by now, just at the top. I’m the sure the backdrop is amazing. But I don’t take my eyes off of Colton to glance at the panoramic scene below.

He cups my face in his hands, and leans in until our lips touch.

“I’m glad I found you again.” His words vibrate against my lips, and I shiver.

---

Colton

My mouth lands hard on hers, and she shifts closer to me. She’s melting into me, and I don’t ever want to come up for air. If all I could do was kiss Skylar Rosewood for the rest of my life, I’d count every breath I lived as more than worth it.

We make out like teenagers for the rest of the ride. Her tongue tangles with mine, giving me back everything I take from her, and I rest my hands just above her ass, keeping her as close to me as possible. The ride ends far too soon, and she clings to me for a moment in our seat, not letting me go.

“This was the best ride ever,” she says into my neck. “I kind of wish it didn’t have to end.”

“We’re not ending,” I assure her. “You and I have endless rides ahead of us.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone on a Ferris wheel before,” she says as we finally stand up and disembark.

“No? Me either.” Noticing her hiding a yawn, I put my arm around her. “You want me to take you home?”

She nods, and we wave good-bye to Ted and Angie as we pass them in line for the scrambler.

Sky’s quiet on the drive home. I know she’s worrying about what will happen when we reach her apartment. So I decide to make it easy for her. As hard as it is for me to walk away tonight, I know it’s the right thing to do.

But I’m not prepared for my body’s reaction when she invites me inside.

I say yes without thinking, and follow her up the steps to her door.

As she’s fumbling with the lock, I call out her name. When she turns toward me, I put my hands on her shoulders and back her up against the door.

“I always want you,” I murmur into her mouth, before I kiss her.

We continue the make-out session we’d started on the Ferris wheel, with Sky pulling on my hair so hard I nearly come apart right then.

Somehow, I manage to re-engage my brain, and I jerk backward.

Her lips are pink and swollen, and her green eyes wide when she asks me, “What are you doing?”

“The right thing,” I say as I kiss her on the cheek and back up another step. “I know you need to go slow right now. And I’m in this for the long haul, Sky. So tonight, I’m going to leave.”

She comes forward and clings to me, like she doesn’t want me out of her sight.

But I give her one last kiss and back away. “Good night, Sparky.”

“Good night, Colt.”