For a moment, we simply stood there. Juniper Hollow looked different on Christmas morning. The streets were quiet. Smoke curled from chimneys. Snow drifted lazily from the branches overhead. Everything felt softer somehow.
I wandered a few steps away from the cottage and tipped my head back. Snowflakes drifted through the pale winter sunlight. Somewhere nearby, a church bell rang. For a moment, I simply stood there taking it all in.
Behind me, I heard the faint crunch of boots in fresh snow. I didn't think much of it. A second later, something smacked into the back of my shoulder.
I jumped. Snow scattered across my coat. "What the?—"
I spun around. Several yards away, Thane stood holding a snowball. His expression was a masterpiece of fake innocence. Unfortunately, the evidence in his hand was difficult to ignore. A snowball in his gloved hand.
"You did not."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You literally have the evidence."
He glanced down at the snowball. "That's circumstantial."
A laugh escaped him. That was his mistake. I scooped up a handful of snow and launched it at him. The snowball caught him square in the chest.
His jaw dropped. "Traitor."
"You started it."
The next few minutes dissolved into complete chaos. Snow flew in every direction. Several of my shots missed entirely. Most of Thane's somehow found their target.
At one point, I slipped, nearly landed on my ass, and only avoided disaster because Thane caught me by the arm. He was still laughing when I shoved a handful of snow down the front of his coat.
The resulting yelp echoed across the yard. "KIERAN!"
I nearly doubled over laughing. By the time the battle finally ended, both of us were breathing hard and covered in snow. My cheeks ached from smiling.
Thane reached for my hand. The gesture felt so natural that I took it. I looked down at our joined hands before lifting my gaze to his.
The smile he gave me warmed me from the inside out.
Around us, snow drifted lazily through the air. The town remained quiet. Christmas seemed to linger in every light, every rooftop, every snow-covered branch.
Standing there beside him, I found myself wishing the day would last a little longer.
TWENTY-TWO
THANE
Mr. Maple sat tucked beneath Kieran's arm like he'd belonged there his entire life.
I paused in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, a mug of coffee warming my hands as I took in the sight. The afternoon sun had long since started fading, leaving the cottage bathed in the soft glow of the Christmas tree. Kieran had one socked foot propped on the coffee table and a fleece blanket draped across his lap as he scrolled through something on his phone.
I'd watched Kieran try not to stare at Mr. Maples every few minutes the day before, and seeing the look on his face when he'd unwrapped it that morning was worth far more than the little moose had cost.
The day had been exactly the kind of Christmas I'd never realized I wanted. Now the cottage had gone comfortably quiet. The kind of quiet that came when there was nowhere else either of you wanted to be.
Kieran glanced up from his phone. "What?"
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Because you've been standing there staring at me for at least thirty seconds."
A grin tugged at my mouth at him using my words against me.
