Free Finding London (Flawed Heart #1) by Ellie Wade Page B

know Loïc, I know he’s broken. It’s too soon, and I can’t explain how I know, but I simply feel it down to my bones that, if this doesn’t work out, if I don’t get to keep Loïc, I will be left broken, too.
    Eventually, Loïc pulls his lips away. He leans his forehead down and rests it against mine. Our chests expand against one another with each deep breath we take as we work to calm our bodies and settle our minds.
    Loïc’s gravelly deep voice breaks the melody of our entangled breaths. “I’m fucked. We’re both fucked. You know that, right?”
    Startled, I take a small step back. When our gazes connect, his eyes darken. A myriad of emotions flashes through them, but I know he won’t share them with me. It doesn’t matter because I see them anyway, and what I see is enough.
    I take a deep breath and grin. “Well, you know what they say. Better to have fucked and lost than never to have fucked at all.”
    His frown morphs into a devastatingly gorgeous smile that leaves my knees weak. “Who says that?”
    I shrug. “Not sure, but they sound very wise.”
    He chuckles. “It’s not too late to back out. You can go back inside and forget all about me.”
    I shake my head. “Not gonna happen.”
    “You sure?”
    “Positive.”
    “All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He takes my hand in his, and we walk toward his truck that is parked on the street.
    I’m giddy that he’s holding my hand and of his own accord. I feel like the nerdy girl in school who is finally getting the quarterback’s attention. It’s a strange place for me to be. I’ve never been that girl. I’ve always been the hot cheerleader whom the quarterback would beg to date. But, with Loïc, I feel lucky that he’s chosen me. He’s a prize, and I won him—or at least, I’m on my way to victory, and there’s nothing else more important to me right now.
    “You know,” he says, “I’ve never met anyone like you, London Wright.”
    “Is that a good thing?”
    “I’m not sure yet,” he says as he opens the passenger door.
    I hop up into the truck, and before he closes the door, I respond with, “It will be.”
    A small smile crosses his face as my door closes.
    As I watch him walk around the front of the truck, I can’t help but ponder how serious this is—the start of this relationship or whatever it is that I have with Loïc. This is only our fourth meeting, and each time has been so deep and intense. Maybe that’s part of the intrigue.
    But one thing’s for sure. I’ve never met anyone like Loïc Berkeley before either.

    We’re in the truck for about an hour before we reach our date destination—a drive-in movie theater.
    The drive consisted of a comfortable conversation. Okay, so it mainly consisted of me talking about myself. Loïc isn’t a huge sharer, but lucky for us, I am. I told him about my parents, Georgia, and of course, Paige—my sister from another mister. I informed him of all the places where I lived before college. I talked about my ambition to be a journalist.
    Now, we’re parked with the truck bed facing the giant movie screen. Loïc transformed the back of his truck into a comfortable lounging area. We’re seated on several fluffy blankets, and he brought a handful of pillows to lean against. He packed a cooler of food and drinks. It’s adorable. All he’s missing are the rose petals and candles, and it’d be perfection.
    I’m sitting, cross-legged, watching Loïc get out the food. We have over an hour until it gets dark, and the movie starts.
    He looks up from the cooler. “What are you smiling about?” he asks playfully.
    “You,” I answer simply.
    “What about me?” The corner of his mouth tilts up.
    “All this.” I motion to our surroundings. “It’s so sweet. I’ve actually never been to a drive-in movie before.”
    “Yeah, there aren’t too many left. I found this one on Google.” He puts our sandwiches on plates. “I remember going to one with my parents.