AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Indeed it is.”
She stares out the window at the passing shops and restaurants. “Nothing’s open.”
“Not necessary anyway.” My shoulder tips up as I keep my focus on the road. “I don’t plan on letting you out of our bed.”
When she doesn’t respond, I bite back a smile and glance her way.
“You’re so sure of yourself.” Her arms fold, her body angling toward me with a cheeky grin. “And who’s to say I’m willing to share your bed?”
“I’m a pretty persuasive guy. Don’t doubt the lengths a starved man will go to be with the woman of his dreams.”
Nova’s head shakes as she slides the pendant she confirmed holds the pressed flower I picked for her across its gold chain. “You’re too much.”
“Only for you, Spitfire.” I take her hand and link our fingers. “But in all seriousness, this isn’t about exploring Alaska. This is about us finally finding our way to each other. I just figured you’d appreciate a beautiful ocean and snow-capped mountain landscape in a place we’ve never been. We can always come back when the weather is more appropriate for exploration.”
“You mean when I’m not freezing my butt off.”
I laugh. “Yes, that. Just trust me, Nova. I think you’ll love where we’re staying, and you might agree. We won’t need to leave if we don’t want to.”
forty-two | nova
The winter sunis sinking below the horizon by the time we reach our destination, and it’s not yet four in the afternoon. But the cold and the sun and the nervous beats of my heart mean nothing when Devin pulls up a gravel drive in front of the most perfect retro A-frame cottage I’ve ever laid eyes on.
The cottage’s blue door, nestled in the white-dusted spruce forest, is the only pop of color amongst an exterior made entirely of windows.
I whip my head in Devin’s direction, and he’s already staring at me with a grin. “Told you.”
My boots meet the frozen ground with a crunch when I step out of the car, and I no longer care about the bite in the air because this is idyllic.
“We can see all the way to Resurrection Bay from those windows upstairs.”
Unable to contain my excitement, I hurry over the freshly shoveled path toward the front porch steps with Devin close behind. “Oh my gosh, look at how deep this snow is.”
Devin chuckles at my back, reaching around me and punching in a code on the keypad above the door handle before pushing the door open to let me in first.
Releasing a quiet gasp, my hand plants over my heart. Perfectly quaint, there are a couple cozy chairs facing a leather couch and a little kitchenette on the other side of the open floor plan. In the back right corner is a black spiral staircase leading to a loft that I assume holds a bed.
“How long have you been planning this?” I peer over my shoulder at Devin with his hands tucked in his chinos. “There’s no way you were able to book this on short notice at Christmas time.”
One of his shoulders tips up. “After seeing you at the gala I started researching, and they had a cancellation.”
I face him with my hands on my hips. “Mr. Hawthorne, did I hear you correctly? Did you just say you did some researching?”
Cutting the distance between us in four giant steps, Dev weaves his arms through the circles of mine, clasping his hands at my back. “I guess you rubbed off on me.” His arms tighten, hauling our bodies flush as he lowers his head until the breath from our lungs mingles. “I wanted to find the perfect place for this weekend. Somewhere we could hole up and rid ourselves of the ghosts haunting us and start brand new.” His icy nose nudges mine. “Sound like a plan?”
We’ve done nothing but talk and share caresses in the eleven hours since I found him waiting for me in Chicago. Hours and hours of conversation, but none pertained to us—as a couple. None of it came close to dusting off the cobwebs of why it’s taken us five years to get to this place. He talked baseball, and I told him about my job. He gushed about spending Christmas day in the Magic Kingdom with his nieces and nephews, and I laughed as I shared stories of Myles, Cora, and Crew on the ski slopes earlier this week.
“Nova?” His palm slips beneath my sweater, pressing against my skin and pulling a shiver from me.
Meeting his searching gaze, I confess, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.”
Devin captures my lips, melting me into him. What might have been meant to be a brief kiss blends into another and another before he sucks in a breath and withdraws. “That kiss right there gives me reason to smother that fear. No one has ever owned me the way you do. And that’s why we’re here. To exercise those demons.”
My mouth opens to speak, but I don’t have the right words.
He strokes the small of my back. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“What if they’re too big?” I swallow my uncertainty. “What if working through our past to make way for a future ruins what we’re trying to build? What if there’s a reason we were kept apart for all these years?”
