He doesn’t see me at first, but I’ve been sitting on the plane for so long, my heart in my throat, that he’s all I can see from the moment he steps into the plane. The metal hums around me, and Dave nudges me, a warning that we’re about to take off. I register it, but barely. My eyes are locked on Gideon, who blinks, his jaw set in a hard line.

He looks tired. He looks frustrated. And he looks a little bit excited.

Then his eyes adjust, and those green eyes are boring right into mine, the fire starting with his gaze and burning in a rush down my spine.

“Hi, Gideon.”

The words that come out of my mouth aren’t the romantic apology I’ve been running through my mind all day, but at the sound of my voice, his face changes completely, eyes going wide with surprise. A fleeting smile is there on his lips, but then it’s gone and he’s staring at me, his mouth slightly open.

“Kennedy?”

He says it like he can’t believe it’s me, even though it’s clearly me. I asked him to come here, and he’s surprised to see me?

In a way, it makes perfect sense.

There’s an ache in my throat, and I swallow past it as Gideon and Hank, the other guy who will be diving with us, take their places next to us. There’s another word from the pilot, and then we’re racing down the runway, the metal of the plane vibrating around us. 

I can’t look away from Gideon. “I planned something for you,” I say, and my voice is choked with all the emotions I’ve been shoving deep down today.

“Why?” The word is soaked in heartache, and it’s all I can do to keep tears from spilling out of my eyes.

“Because you were right,” I say, over the sound of the plane’s engines. 

“Right about what?”

“That life—” I blink another wave of tears back. “That you can’t live it if you’re going to be afraid. Sometimes, you can try shit out and it turns out really, really well.”

He grins, a sheen of wetness in his eyes. Dave and Hank look away. “I don’t think I ever said that to you.”

“You didn’t have to. You took me to places I never thought I would go. That I was always too afraid to visit. And you showed me that my sister—” I have to stop again, but I want to get the words out before it’s time to jump out of this airplane. “My sister isn’t letting that accident rule her life, and I shouldn’t either. She was so mad at me for walking out on you.” I let out a laugh that’s almost a sob. “She’s a bigger daredevil than you are, and I never saw it. I’ve been spending all this time worrying, and none of it actually seeing her.”

Gideon’s mouth works, and when he speaks again his voice is firm. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do.” Then, because I can’t stand it anymore, I lean forward and press my lips against his. He tenses for the barest second, and then he wraps his hand around the back of my head, kissing me so hard I’m sure he’ll leave a bruise.

When he pulls back, Hank lets out a low whistle. “Are we about to see a proposal?” He and Dave laugh together, but Gideon’s eyes are locked on mine, blazing with heat and hope.

“I’m sorry, Kennedy. I should have woken you up from that nap.”

“I should have realized that Abby’s an adult, and a schemer, too. She was going to convince you to do something I wouldn’t approve of, guaranteed.”

He pulls me closer, kissing me again, softly. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“Please don’t walk away from me again.”

“I won’t.”

I breathe him in, relishing his clean, spicy scent, my entire chest exploding with warmth and love and a rightness that rights the entire world around me.

Then Dave taps my shoulder, and my gut plummets back into my shoes.

“Kennedy. We’re about there.”

Gideon’s eyes shine with glee.

When the green light goes on, Hank rises and triple-checks the clips that bind his harness to Gideon, who’s grinning like a maniac. They move toward the open door of the plane, the wind whipping by.

I don’t know if I can do this.

Gideon turns back. “I’ll see you on the ground, pretty thing.”

Then Hank is counting—one, two, three—and on three he pushes them out of the plane, tumbling gracefully into the air. I choke back a scream.

It’s my turn.

Dave and I stand, and he clips our harnesses together, his hands working over everything two times, then three. I’m so tense that my muscles must be vibrating more than the plane itself. My face feels pinched, and I can’t get my breath.

“Ready?”

“Yes!” I scream, and Dave laughs, his voice low in my ear.

My entire body wants to lurch backward, back toward the safety of the plane, but Dave is moving us forward, toward the open door.

It’s a gorgeous day.

The sky is a clear blue, and below us, New York City’s skyline is rising from the earth. From here, everything looks clean and fresh.

I still don’t want to jump out of a plane, but I think of Abby. I think of Abby, and how she clawed her way back after the accident, and how she never lets it get the better of her. I think of how shocked she’s going to be when I tell her what I’ve done. And I think about how, after this, nothing will ever be the same. I’ll have officially moved on, and I’ll have jumped out of a plane to prove it.

I don’t have time to think anymore because Dave is counting—one, two, three—and then it’s out of my hands, because we’re tumbling into that cool blue sky.

I scream, releasing the pent-up energy and fear, and then I suck in a breath. I’m weightless, I’m flying, I’m free, and New York City is so beautiful beneath me, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m doing this. Nothing will ever hold me back again. Not after this. It doesn’t feel like falling. It feels like soaring.

It surprises me when the minute is up, when Dave pulls the parachute, and then we’re descending over the skyline.

“You’re doing great!” he says into my ear, and for the first time I realize that I’m crying.

“I know!” I shout back, the joy filling me to the brim. “I know!”

The only thing that could top this is being in Gideon’s arms, and I’m flying toward him now. I’ll be kissing him before I know it. I take a big breath of the crisp, cold air, feeling alive and free and glorious, ready to touch down into my brand-new life.