Ella’s lashes tickled his cheek. She was closer than she’d been in ages, so close he could make out the little indent of her teeth in her bottom lip. Ella had always been beautiful, but up close she was breathtaking. He could make out the little freckles on her nose and the curl stuck to her cheek. He wanted to brush it aside. He was still holding her wrists, the thin skin warming beneath his own, and she laid her forehead against his shoulder. The odd fluttering in his stomach spread to his heart and stole the air from his lungs. Her breath ruffled his shirt.
