The door to the hall clicked closed, and Kit walked around to stand in front of me, interrupting my view of the room with something equally stunning: his smile. He was as happy as everyone else here. Despite the days-long journey that left shadows under his eyes and stubble peppering his jaw, he was beaming.
He stepped in, resting one hand on my waist and cupping the other to my cheek. I’d been shocked stiff, but as soon as he touched me, the tension in my body began to unwind. I melted into him, bypassing what might have been a kiss to throw myself at him and squeeze until I was certain he was real, I was real,thiswas real.
Kit groaned as I wrenched the air out of him. I pulled back, apologetic but still speechless as he brushed his knuckles over my jaw, then curled his fingers around the nape of my neck.
His deep brown eyes searched mine. “Do you like it?” he asked.
I started nodding long before my words caught up to my thoughts. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
If I hadn’t been so stunned, I would have grabbed him then, because this grand of a gesture deserved one in kind. I would have flung him down on the bed that looked as cottony as a cloud and ravished him with every kind of pleasure I knew how to give. But I didn’t move at all, still held in Kit’s careful hands as his smile spread.
“There’s more,” he said.
My head lolled back as I was stricken with further disbelief. “How could there possibly be more?”
Kit tugged me in for a kiss that was far too brief, then used his grip on my side to guide me toward the balcony doors. Standing before them, we could see below and down the street on both sides. The shops were bustling despite the late hour, and the darker it got, the more vibrant the colors from the streetlamps and storefronts became.
“I had your sketchbook bound here,” Kit explained, “with some help from Levitt. It’s an artisan community. I’m sure you noticed all the glass.”
“And the textiles, and the wood, and…” While I rambled, a sleigh passed by with the muffled thud of hooves. “They have reindeer,” I murmured.
Kit nodded while echoing, “They raise reindeer.”
My gaze roamed down the road to where we’d first entered town. A canopied stand framed in a steel cauldron heating over a low fire. Customers ferried away cups of steaming cocoa, and I found myself sniffing the air as if I could smell the sweetness from here.
“And drinking chocolate,” I added.
Kit laughed. “Shall we start with that then?”
24
Kit
We ended our first night in Stagcross with a visit to the shop that had bound Penny’s sketchbook. We left there with coloring pencils in almost every possible color and stayed up late huddled under the covers while Penny tried them all out.
I loved every moment of it.
After sleeping in the next morning, we barely made it down into the tavern before they stopped serving breakfast. While Penny secured our meal, I stopped at the front desk to hand off a handful of letters he wanted sent back to Eastcliff. We managed to get our fill of porridge, eggs, reindeer sausage, and coffee before the kitchen closed, then ventured into the snow to explore.
I’d planned this trip for Penny to mingle with the artisans and be around people who would appreciate his talents as much as I did. He found new friends everywhere, from the man who hand-stitched all the reindeer harnesses and the woman who crafted the buckles and hardware for them, to the gray-haired twin sisters who let him try his hand at weaving on their massive tapestry loom.
He came alive in this place, radiant and beaming and blinding in his joy. I was so focused on memorizing every moment of his delight that I hardly had eyes for anything else.
The market was still bustling at sunset, and Penny and I shared a meal tucked in one of the many covered stalls at the edge of the square. The plan was to return to the inn once we were finished, but when a lazy snowfall picked up, I got a better idea.
I nudged Penny with my elbow. “Do you mind taking the dishes back to the stand? I’m going to see if I can find us some dessert.” He’d forgive the white lie later if I could pull this off.
Penny nodded and trotted away while I took the moment alone to wind through the crowded market toward the man with a sleigh on the other side.
“Excuse me?”
The man looked up from adjusting one of the harness straps and met my smile with one of his own. “Evening,” he said.
“I was wondering if you hire out? Just for a ride around town.” I gestured to where Penny was caught in conversation with the woman manning the stall where we’d bought our dinner. “He’s never had a sleigh ride, and I would love to surprise him with one.”
The man chuckled and rubbed a mittened hand over one of his reindeer’s noses. “Not from around here?” he asked.
My smile turned sheepish. “Not even close. Though, I’ve wanted to bring him here for months. He’s an artist, and these are his people.” I stuffed my hand into my pocket and ran my fingers over the leather cord tucked inside. “I would have preferred to give him the full experience without having to bother strangers on the street, but we got the chance to come unexpectedly, and I wasn’t going to miss out on it.”
