Page 38 of Lightning Angel
Tristan only chuckled.
When Alexa finished her candy, Tristan led themtoward a line of cars. The attendant greeted them with a smile as they selected a pair of cars, one next to another.
Tristan glanced at her with a glint in his eyes once they were seated in their cars. “Ready for some friendly chaos?”
A chuckle she couldn’t stop escaped Alexa’s lips. “I guess I could use some.”
“Have you ridden one of these before?”
“Plenty.”
The ride started, and the cars jolted into motion. Once again, despite having ridden plenty of bumper cars before, this time, the sense of exhilaration Alexa felt was beyond comprehension.
The smiles she had been holding back didn’t take time to break into wide grins and eventually into delightful laughter as she navigated the arena, trying to avoid collisions but also enjoying the playful chaos around her.
Tristan maneuvered his car, occasionally bumping into others. When their eyes met, a wicked glint teased his eyes. He bumped his car into hers. She gasped, and his face broke into a victorious grin.
A thrill went through her; she returned his playful, wicked gleam and bumped hers to his in revenge. He laughed, but the sound was muffled by the carnival music enveloping them.
If only for a little while, Alexa felt immensely grateful toward him not just for saving her life, but for asking to bring her here where his choice of distractions whisked away her troubles.
When the ride ended, they stepped out of the arena, faces bright and red from laughing. Alexa was thankfulshe was alive to have this moment. She beamed at him; at his responding grin and the gentle look filling his eyes, she wondered once again why he was looking at her like that.
It wasn’t anything creepy, concerning, or something that made her uncomfortable. She had never seen anyone look at her like this before, not even her sister, who only had fondness in her eyes whenever she looked at Alexa.
“How was it?” For the first time since they met today, there was aliveness in Tristan’s voice. Maybe both of them needed this distraction, after all. She was simply glad he’d let her tag along.
“Wonderful,” Alexa breathed, still grinning. “I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much.”
Tristan held out a hand. “Come on.”
He guided her toward a booth filled with stuffed animals and quirky prizes. After a few attempts, they emerged victorious with a large and plush teddy bear.
“Are you going to name it something?”
“Oh, sure. Got any suggestions?”
Tristan’s lips twitched into a smirk; he shook his head. “Miss Cuddles?”
“Too common!”
“Not really good with names.” He laughed at her facial expression.
“Oh, really? How about… Miss Knight, then?”
Tristan’s shoulders stiffened at first, but he eased up almost immediately, and tried to fight off a smile. At least, itseemedto Alexa that he was trying not to smile.
She was simply trying to figure out if he was the Lightning Knight.
“I think Knighthardlysuits a stuffed bear.”
“How about Lightning, then?”
Something sparked in Tristan’s eyes; an amused glint perhaps. “Now, that doesn’t come closer to a teddy bear’s name. Try again.”
Alexa pretended to think. “I’ll come up with something later. I have—” she cut off herself as an announcement came through the speakers that it was time for fireworks. “Perfect. I love fireworks.” She grinned at Tristan.
Tristan grabbed her hand and led them away from the booths, weaving their way through the crowd to get to an open area. When they settled on a spot with a clear line of sight to the night sky, the first bursts of color erupted overhead.