AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In fact, my headache is almost gone by the time I mutter, “She’ll be there for sure?”
Holly grins. “She will. And she’s planning to get there at eleven when it opens. She doesn’t think she’ll have the energy to stay up much later than midnight this year, but maybe seeing you will change her mind.”
“We even bought you a scarf for the occasion,” Luke says. “It’s on your bed. The red hearts should make your intentions clear.”
“And it’s so romantic!” Holly enthuses. “You can give it to her on the ski lift, wrap it gently around her neck, and promise you’ll never go to bed angry again.”
“You’re both insane,” I say, but it only makes them smile wider.
“And you’re feeling better now that you have a plan to see Kayley,” Holly says smugly. “Don’t even try to deny it.”
She’s right, so I don’t. I grumble my thanks and hurry upstairs to get dressed. I still have several hours before eleven, but I want more than a scarf to give to Kayley. I want a more meaningful sign that I understand what she needs.
And really, what do I have to prove by holding on to this property that I haven’t been able to bring myself to close on since Kayley and I parted ways?
Deep down, I think I’ve always known it should be hers.
And if I hand her the mountain, and she still wants to give dating a second chance, that will answer my question about what was real between us every bit as much as holding onto it. Maybe even more so. After all, once she has the property, she’ll have no reason to fake her feelings. If she still wants me after that, I’ll know it’s because she feels the same spark I feel when we’re together, the one that assures me I might never find a woman who’s as perfect for me as Kayley Valentine.
Placing a call to Chase, I’m able to get everything in order before he leaves the office at six. Now there’s nothing left to do but shower, get dressed, and hope that I’m not about to make a total fool of myself.
But better a fool for love than a winner at the game of pride.
Fuck pride. I’d rather have the girl, and I’m going to shoot my shot to win her.
ChapterTwelve
KAYLEY
“This is both a soothing balm to a wounded heart and salt being rubbed in it,” I sigh to Violet, as the Mount Love midnight ski is about to commence in front of us on the slopes. From the bench where we sat to put on our skis, I have a perfect view of the red and pink lights strung on the ski lift and the rose-covered hot chocolate hut. “It’s only eleven o’clock and that lovely accountant visiting from Florida with his boyfriend has already proposed. He said he got carried away and couldn’t wait until midnight and honestly, that is the cutest darn thing I’ve ever seen or heard in my life.”
I love watching marriage proposals. They’re so heartwarming and emotional and brimming with all the love and possibilities of a lifetime together. I’ve witnessed a dozen now in my business and I’ll never get tired of seeing the wide eyes, hearing the gasps, waiting anxiously for a response.
The hugs, the kisses, the crying. It’s magic.
The mountain at night is also magic.
I breathe deeply, determined not to feel sorry for myself when there is so much love in the air. I may be the only Valentine without a partner on the biggest day of the year for couples, with a scratchy throat to boot, and it definitely stings, but I’ve seen what love can be.
And I have a secret hope that Bran might show up tonight.
I cling to that hope as the newly engaged couple skis off to take engagement pictures by the heart-shaped ice-sculpture near the base of the ski lift.
“They were so cute,” Violet agrees. “I love that he said the smartest thing he ever did was take a risk and confess his love. If he hadn’t, his boyfriend would have moved to Texas and enrolled in podiatry school and never looked back. He’d been pushing the accountant to reveal his feelings, but the accountant was afraid he might get his heart broken. But then he realized that he was going to lose the love of his life anyway and he had to take the chance.”
I eye Violet. “Your hearing must be way better than mine. You got quite the backstory there.”
“I did. But more importantly, does that sound like anyone you know?” Violet adjusts her knit hat with a pointed look my way.
I sigh. “Me?”
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!”
“So, you think I should tell Bran how I feel?” Which is that I had the most perfect time with him and I’m falling in love with him and—mountain or no mountain—I want more fireworks. “He’s the one who sent me a very reserved ‘see you around’ text.”
“Because you left him sitting in the lobby waiting while you bounced.”
Gripping my ski poles tightly, I glance up at Mount Love. In addition to the lights on the ski lift, the slopes are lit with luminaries for the nighttime event. I study every man that glides toward the lift, hoping to see a familiar head of luscious hair. But there aren’t many men here flying solo. Or women, either.
