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He leaned his body forward, bringing his face close to her ear so that he could tell her as much. But at the same time, she turned her head toward him. Their noses collided, a quick dart of pain flashing through him before they both erupted in laughter. Her brown eyes were dancing as she looked at him sidelong, and he felt the sudden urge to kiss her.
He leaned forward again, bringing their faces close again. He hesitated just before their lips could touch, giving her the time to process what was happening and pull away if she wanted to. But instead, her breath hitched, and it was Colette who closed the distance.
Or rather, it was Colette who tried to close the distance. One moment, she was leaning toward him, so close that he felt her breath dance across his lips, and then the next thing he knew, their sled jolted hard. His hand let go of the handle on the impact, his arms windmilling around as he tried to find his balance again. But it was no use.
Colette had lost her grip as well, and her body reeled backward, knocking into him, and sending both of them flying off the side of the sled and into a large pile of snow. For a moment, Zach didn’t know which way was up. All he knew was a tangle of bodies, limbs, and snow, until he finally came to a halt on his back.
The blue sky above him was blotted out by Colette, who had landed half on his body and was looking down at him. Snow was clumped in her hair and clinging to her dark eyelashes, and a wild, excited grin lit up her face. He locked eyes with her, and they both burst out into a fit of laughter. It was the kind of laughter that seemed to come all the way from the soul, and after only a few seconds, his stomach was in stitches.
“That was a first,” Colette said through another fit of giggles.
“It certainly was,” Zach answered breathlessly. “But what a ride!”
He leaned up on his elbows and pressed his mouth to hers, finally going for the kiss that he had wanted so desperately before they had fallen. She sighed when their lips met, and he deepened the kiss, feeling the warmth of this moment spreading through him despite the snow enveloping them.
The sound of dogs barking and the hiss of a sled gliding over snow grew closer, prompting them to pull apart, and Colette sat back on her heels as Derek pulled up beside them.
“You guys all right?” he asked, his eyebrows so high they threatened to disappear into his hairline.
Colette gave him a thumbs up as she pushed herself up to standing and then extended a hand to Zach.
“We’re just fine,” she said with a chuckle. “I think we just hit a rock.”
Zach took her hand and allowed her to help him up, brushing off the snow from his clothes as the sled they had been riding pulled up behind Derek, now manned by only the dogs.
“Must have been a big rock to throw the sled off kilter like that. Unless your weight wasn’t entirely balanced.” He gave them a knowing look, his lips tugging up into a small smirk, but he didn’t push the issue further.
Zach avoided Derek’s gaze as they climbed back onto the sled and situated themselves. Before they got moving again, he planted a quick, hurried kiss to Colette’s cheek, and then they were off. The snow sped past them once more, and Zach lost every other thought as he gave himself over to the moment.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Derek walked through the kennels the next day, whistling as he doled out food into the bowls of the yapping dogs. Bart danced around his ankles, his whole body wagging with excitement along with his tail.
“How are you doing tonight, boy?” he asked, reaching down to scratch behind the pooch’s ear. “Doing all right?”
The dog looked up at him, something like a smile playing across his fuzzy face. Derek couldn’t help but smile and laugh too. He stopped petting Bart and continued with his ritual of feeding, but he knew he had to do it quickly. He had somewhere he needed to be, and if he wanted to do it all in time and not make Lacy suspicious, he had to hurry things up.
When he was finished with the dogs, he climbed into his car, letting it idle for a moment to try to warm the engine before pulling out of his parking space and pulling out onto the road. The snow of the day prior had finally let up, making the town look like it was wearing a large, fluffy blanket as he drove through it.
St. Nick’s Place sat on the edge of town on beautiful, sprawling grounds. He turned off the road and onto the long driveway, making his way down it and finding the end of it packed with cars, and a grateful smile tugged at Derek’s lips. Even though it was still relatively early in the afternoon, the sun was making its way toward the horizon and the light of the day was already dimming. The windows of the house cast out a warm glow, spilling faintly onto the snow-covered lawn.
He pushed open the door, the sound of everyone inside chattering merrily rushing up to meet him. Christmas carols played faintly in the background, and as he stepped into the entryway, his mouth popped open in surprise.
He knew that Colette and Sarah had gotten there early that morning, and that varying townsfolk had been popping in and out all day to help with the preparations, but Derek was still shocked about just how much progress they had made. Walking farther into the house, his head swiveled this way and that as he tried to take it all in.
Mistletoe hung in doorways, banisters were wrapped in garland that had stunning, antique ornaments hanging from it, lights twinkled where they draped gracefully from the ceiling. And in every room, there was at least one Christmas tree, sometimes even more, like in the case of the ballroom where there were three.
It was in said ballroom that Derek found Sarah and Colette. The latter woman was putting the final touches on the fireplace, fixing the fake snow that decorated the mantel and adjusting the small ceramic village that sat atop it. Sarah was off to the side, setting up two long tables side by side, and Derek assumed that would be the sight of the bake-off.
He had been excited when Sarah had told him about her plans for the Christmas party. Not only was St. Nick’s Place perfect for something like that, with its professional grade kitchen that had three separate ovens, but he was also excited to get to sample what Sarah and Mindy came up with. He just hoped his friend wasn’t getting too caught up in all of it and was still able to have a good time. He knew Sarah could be a little competitive during the best of times.
The woman in question looked up, her dark brown eyes lighting with recognition when they landed on him.
“Derek!” she said with a grin, her long blonde ponytail swishing as she moved around the table to come greet him. “You’re here!”
“I am.” He smiled at her, and his eyes flicked to his cousin.
Something must have grabbed her attention, because she was now walking over to join him and Sarah. Colette gave him a small wave as she approached, and he returned it happily.
