Skyscrapers & Camelot (Renovate Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

what is this?”
    Hanging around my neck is the most exquisite star pendent encrusted with tiny diamonds. It looks beautiful in the moonlight.
    I start to cry. This is a good-bye gift, and I don’t want to say good-bye.
    “Oh, Aimee, don’t cry. I just wanted to give you something to remind you of me when I’m not here.”
    “Keegan James, you are a part of me. I don’t need reminding, and you shouldn’t have spent your money on me.”
    “How come I knew you were going to say that, Brennan? Oh, because I know you. And you’re keeping the necklace. When you wear it, you can think of us, right now, looking at the stars.”
    I place my head on his shoulder. “It’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me, Keegan. I love it. Really, thank you. It means a lot.”
    As we both stare at each other, I don’t know if it’s the alcohol running through me, but I lean forward in that moment and press my lips to his. I begin to kiss him while he stays frighteningly still. After a moment, he kisses me back, and it is the most perfect moment ever. Everything around us disappears.
    Closing my eyes, I no longer hear the crickets chirping, but the sound of my heavily beating heart. The warm breeze blows through my hair, and the scent of honeysuckle surrounds us. The taste of beer on his tongue makes me suddenly need to deepen the kiss, so I grab his head pulling him closer.
    “Aimee, why?” he asks.
    “You didn’t like it?” I have only kissed a few guys, so I could be a bad kisser. Still, I haven’t had any complaints. I’ve dreamed about this for so long. In this moment, I don’t regret it. I didn’t want him to leave without knowing what our kiss would feel like.
    “No, it was fine, better than fine, but this—we … It’s just, this isn’t why I brought you out here,” he tries to explain.
    “I know that.”
    It hits me like a ton of bricks. What the hell did I just do?
    He looks at me with pain on his face. “It’s okay, Aimee. We can forget this happened, and I’ll drop you off at home. I still need to finish packing since we’re leaving early in the morning.”
    “Okay,” I say. “Keegan, I’m sorry, so, so sorry.”
    His rejection is unexpected. I never predicted a declaration of love, but the pain in his eyes is enough to break my heart. I care for him so much, and seeing that I have caused him this despair makes me feel awful.
    The sounds of the party still in full swing take me out of my thoughts as he rubs my back then stands. “Don’t be sorry. There is nothing to be sorry about.”
    “Keegan, can you stop by my house before you leave? I want to say good-bye sober.”
    “Sure,” he answers in a low whisper.
    That was the last time I saw Keegan until today. He never said good-bye and never returned. His parents soon moved away, and then I left for college the following summer. A childhood friendship shattered in a moment just because of one kiss. That will forever stay with me.
    I still have the necklace he gave me, but it was too hard wearing it after that night. I guess, after he never showed to say good-bye, it was his way of breaking our friendship off. If I could only rewind and leave the party then go to the park, instead, things would have been very different.
    “Aimee, are you okay?” Reese asks.
    “Yes, I’m good. It’s just a lot. It’s been eight years, and it’s almost like nothing has changed.”
    “I get it, Aimee. If I was in your shoes, I would probably be a mess, too, but just maybe, this is all meant to be. Whatever pulled you apart years ago could’ve all happened for a reason. You were just a teenager then and had no idea what you wanted.”
    I have always known what I wanted. I have no doubt about that.
    “I know why he didn’t call me,” I whisper.
    I haven’t told her, but I decide, since we are talking about this, I might as well get it off my chest.
    I let out an exasperated breath. “It was my fault. I did something stupid.”
    “I don’t