But even as the thoughts bounced around inside his head, Hardy knew that none of it mattered. He felt it deep down. Miracle was a game changer. She was his game changer.
Several minutes later, Hardy was quiet as the attendant unlatched the metal bar that held them safely inside their cart and helped Miracle out onto the ground. Her contented demeanor seemed even more peaceful in contrast to the tumultuous sea of emotion raging inside him. Hardy found himself drawn to it, drawn to her, just as he had been the first time he’d seen her in the park so many months ago. There was a brightness inside Miracle that shed its light into the dark corners of Hardy’s soul, that illuminated the dim future his father had planned for him.
Hardy recognized what it was that she made him feel. Hope. Miracle gave him hope.
“There you are,” Hardy heard a deep voice say from his left as he and Miracle walked slowly away from the Ferris wheel. He probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought, thinking the guy was talking to someone else, if it weren’t for the fact that Miracle stopped. When he turned to look at her, she was frozen.
“What’s the matter?” Hardy asked. When she didn’t answer, he followed her eyes to a boy that was standing a few feet from where they were. He was smiling and Hardy disliked him instantly.
“Jonah?”
“Hey, baby!” he said familiarly, opening his arms as if she would run right into them.
Hardy’s heart plummeted into his shoes when Miracle left his side and walked slowly into Jonah’s embrace. It didn’t register with Hardy that she didn’t run or that she seemed stiff against him. It didn’t ease the pain in his chest that she pulled quickly away. He only saw the world’s most perfect tall, blond guy smiling the world’s most perfect smile down at the girl Hardy was pretty sure he’d fallen in love with.
“What are you doing here?”
“Your mom said you’d gone to the carnival with a friend from school to take some pictures,” Jonah said, reaching forward to tuck a wavy strand of Miracle’s hair behind her ear. Hardy’s stomach lurched at the intimate gesture.
“No, I mean what are you doing here, in Middleton?”
Jonah’s smile widened. “I decided to go to school at the University of Florida so I could be closer to you.”
Even though he felt like he was intruding on an intimate reunion, Hardy couldn’t bring himself to move. He felt as though he was standing on the shore watching his greatest treasure drift out to sea. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“But you said you—”
“I know what I said, baby,” Jonah interrupted, rubbing his hands up and down Miracle’s arms. “But I was wrong. I miss you. I want to be with you.”
Hardy’s heart skipped a beat when Miracle turned her head and glanced at him over her shoulder. It was then that Jonah acknowledged him, almost as though Hardy hadn’t even registered as a blip on the radar until that very moment.
“This must be your friend,” Jonah said, extending his hand toward Hardy and stepping forward as he draped his other arm casually (and possessively, Hardy thought) around Miracle’s shoulders. “Jonah Elliott. Nice to meet you, man.”
With a smile he knew was tight and forced, Hardy slipped his hand inside the other guy’s and squeezed it briefly. “Hardy Bradford,” he said abruptly, backing up a step and crossing his arms over his chest. Hardy knew the posture probably looked confrontational, but he didn’t care. He didn’t really care what this Jonah thought of him; he just wanted him to stay away from Miracle.
“So you’re one of those artsy types like Miracle, huh? Are you into photography, too?”
Jonah’s condescending tone wasn’t lost on Hardy, and he bristled. “Yep.”
Jonah frowned as he looked from Hardy to Miracle and back again. “Where’s your camera?”
Hardy looked down at his chest, which was free from the camera that should have been dangling there from its neat black strap. He looked up at Miracle and she was doing the same thing. When her eyes met his, they sparkled with mischief. He knew her laugh was coming before it bubbled from her lips. When it finally did, it gushed over him like a warm tide and he laughed, too.
“Oops,” was all she said, her smile letting Hardy know that the intimate, inside joke they shared was not all in his head. She’d been so enjoying herself, she hadn’t even realized they’d left their cameras in Hardy’s car.
Hardy would never forget that moment. It was the moment he realized he would fight to the death for her.
Unfortunately, his elation over their shared humor was short-lived. Every bit the opportunist Hardy suspected he was, Jonah jumped in to seize the chance to get Miracle alone. “Well, since you two forgot your cameras then you won’t mind me taking Miracle home now, right?”
To Hardy, Jonah’s smile seemed smug and shark-like, but there was little he could do wipe it away. He couldn’t argue his logic without admitting some sort of more-than-friendly feelings toward Miracle. And he couldn’t very well do that until he had more time with her, time to convince her that they belonged together. So, Hardy did the only thing he could—he gave in gracefully. For the time being anyway.
“Whatever Miracle wants to do is fine by me.”
Hardy thought he could see regret on Miracle’s face, but he couldn’t be sure. It was only a flash, one quickly replaced by her trademark serenity. She also looked like she wanted to say something, but again Hardy wondered if he was only imagining it because he wanted to see it.
Finally, after a few tense seconds, Miracle’s lips curved and she nodded, first at Hardy and then at Jonah. He grinned like the cat that ate the canary. Hardy hoped he choked on the feathers.
“I’m parked over there,” Jonah said, pointing in the direction opposite of where Hardy was parked. He tipped his head curtly at Hardy. “See you around, man.”
Hardy nodded once and watched as Jonah guided Miracle away from him.
“See you tomorrow, Hardy,” Miracle promised, smiling shyly up at him. “Thank you for bringing me out tonight.” Her eyes seemed to scream at him that she meant so much more, but that was just one more thing Hardy couldn’t be sure he wasn’t imagining.
They’d only walked a few yards when Miracle looked back at Hardy and smiled again. His heart broke and melted all at the same time, leaving him feeling unfulfilled and…lost. He stood watching them go until they were out of sight.