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“Of course,” he all but scoffed, but his lips quirked at the corners for a moment. “I’m not sure it came true, though.”
I thought about asking him what it was, but I couldn’t find my voice.
Should I reach out and grab his hand? It was right there, mere inches from mine. I could almost feel his fingers wrap around mine, a steady, warm pressure that would feel as if he hugged my entire body.
Great, I imagined what hugging him right now would feel like—amazing, probably. No,definitelyamazing.
“I don’t usually do this,” I whispered to the stars instead. “Invite boys over.”
“So, I’m the first? Ooh, that really boosts the ego.”
A startled laugh broke out of me. “I mean, I’m not really a rule breaker.”
Harry turned to me then, staring into my eyes. “That’s a good thing, you know,” he said gently. “Breaking the rules is overrated.”
“Says the guy in a rock band. Who got a tattoo when he was sixteen. Without guardian permission.”
Harry bit at his lower lip to keep a smile at bay. “Don’t take after me. Being a Goody Two-shoes is hot in my opinion.”
Flirty words bubbled up on my tongue. “So, me breaking the rules and inviting you overisn’thot?”
A small, slow smile touched his lips, my attention drawn immediately to them. He seemed to lean forward. “I didn’t saythat.”
And just like that, an avalanche of feeling shifted inside me. The air charged between us in an instant, like a universe of little electrodes dancing, heating everything warmer.This is it, I thought, my brain snagging on every single detail, every single angle of his features.He’s going to kiss me.
The idea filled me with so much energy that I pulled back on instinct, unable to be still. Without waiting, I started down the back porch steps.
I heard him follow behind me. “Where are you going?”
“To make a snow angel,” I said decisively, and then flopped down onto the snow. My cardigan was a crude barrier against the cold, and the snow sunk its teeth into my skin. It wiped away the traces of nerves and the flash of heat, rapidly building to a pins-and-needles pain. “I haven’t made one this year, and it’s already March—the snow won’t last forever.”
“You’re going to freeze,” he said emphatically, sounding almost like a parent. “I have socks thicker than that jacket of yours.”
“It’s called a cardigan,” I told him, pushing and pulling my arms and legs through the snow. “You sound like someone who’s never made a snow angel before.”
“Is that a challenge?”
And then Harry fell into the snow beside me. He fanned his arms too close to mine, hand bumping my fingers. “You’re ruining my angel.” I tried to sound sad, but amusement seeped through.
“Our angels are just holding hands.”
Okay, I could get behind that.
Harry kept hitting my hand as he waved his arms in the snow, causing me to laugh harder and harder, and even though I strained to keep quiet—I definitely didn’t want to wake the neighbors or the twins—my laugh echoed in the night.
I suddenly saw things differently. Two different worlds, maybe, but in a way that freed me from the realm I’d been trapped in. A world I was so desperate to get out of. Harry was bridging the gap between Destelle and Stella, if only for this moment. It gave me a taste of what freedom felt like, and I craved more of it.
After a few moments, Harry pushed to his feet, offering a hand to help me up. My fingers were numb as I gripped his, the heat in my blood tempering enough that I could feel the cold a bit more sharply. Clumps of snow stuck to my sweater, holding tight to my curls.
We both looked down at our angels. I couldn’t help but frown at the ugly outline in the snow. “Does mine look lumpy to you?”
“Maybe. Why did my butt make so much of an imprint?”
I started to shiver, curling my arms around myself. “Hey, at least the hand holding looks cute.”
And it did. The waves our arms made connected perfectly, as if our angels were actually holding hands. “Well, I’m glad I drove out here to make snow angels,” he said with a chuckle.
“Why did you drive out here?” I was half afraid to hear his answer, afraid he’d say something and ruin this whole thing. Because it felt like a big question. A make-it-or-break-it question.
