Surrender to Fate (Fate's Path Part One: A New Adult Romance Series) by Jacelyn Rye Read Free Book Online

worried eyes. She didn’t even know where to start with what she was feeling. How could this moment have gone from pure jubilation to pure hell in less time than it takes a shooting star to fall? Margaret Thornton, that’s how. In fact, Sarah now knew that Margaret’s red hair had been a gift from the Devil himself.
    The crowd around them had hushed and stood gawking, and the soda jerk came over with a genuine look of sympathy, but simply collected the glass and went on to the next customer. “C’mon, Sarah, let’s go,” Will whispered gently as he helped her down from the stool, the ice cubes falling from her lap to the floor. Once again he led her through the crowd, but what had earlier been amusing and playful, was now just a blur of faces that at any moment would meld into a thick, dark blanket and suffocate her.
    Sarah welcomed the jingle of the bell on the door and the splash of cool evening air. They meant that she was out, out of the sea of gaping strangers, and out of the devil’s lair. Sarah’s cheeks glistened with tears and her eyes were as red as the two cherries from their soda.
    “Sarah? Sarah, say something, please?” He brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. Will had never seen her like this, and it was clearly unnerving to him.
    “She did that on purpose.” Sarah could feel the anger in her jaw, and it was actually beginning to ache. “She did, Will. She wanted to ruin everything. She wanted to, and she did.”
    He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. “Look, I’m sure she didn’t do that on purpose. It was just a horrible, clumsy mistake. Why would she? I’m certain it was just an accident. But, Sarah, she didn’t ruin anything. Not in my mind, anyhow. I still got to spend your birthday with you, and you got to spend it with the most handsome guy in all of Myron’s, right?” William was trying everything at this point, and Sarah knew it.
    Despite the fact that she was nowhere near calming down, she wanted Will to know that, just like always, he knew what to say to make everything all right. But she was infuriated to realize that she was the only one to see through Margaret’s façade. She wanted to spout out the litany of Margaret’s devil-incarnate ways, and make Will see her the way she did. But even more than that, she realized how much she didn’t want Margaret to succeed in ruining her night. She decided that Will was right: She was able to spend her birthday with him, and she planned to spend every birthday from here on out with him, as well. Not even Margaret Thornton could take that away from her.
    Sarah smiled finally, and saw relief cross Will’s face. She hugged him. “Thank you, Will. I loved my birthday, I truly did.” Will took a step closer to Sarah and brushed her cheek again with his thumb. Sarah watched his eyes, her heart instantly accelerating. Will’s eyes followed the path of his hand as it slid down her face, and his thumb grazed her bottom lip. He looked back to her eyes with such obsession that Sarah could not stop herself. She no longer felt the need to be reserved with Will. Rising up on to her toes, she found herself lost in the feel of Will’s lips gently melding with hers. With their lips reluctantly pulling apart, Will wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her into him tightly. Breathing into her hair and neck, he sighed contentedly. “Someday, Sarah. Someday.”
    They walked back to the truck mostly in silence, commenting here and there on the window displays they passed. Sarah loved the feeling of his hand around hers. It was warm and safe, and the thought of letting it go made her walk even more slowly. She was still reeling from what had happened, although she hoped she had convinced Will that she had let the Margaret incident go. She decided to focus on the only thing that really mattered. Will was going to make her his own someday. Before they turned the last corner that separated them from