Chapter 4 #2
“Want to take a look?” he asked, nodding towards the festivities.
“I’ve seen it every year,” Ellie replied, but she still fell into step beside him, making their way carefully over the salted sidewalks, past store windows crammed with Christmas trinkets.
“I guess even a winter wonderland loses its appeal after long enough,” Dash asked.
“No,” Ellie said quickly, “I love it, I do. Just…it would be nice to spend the holidays somewhere else for a change. To be somewhere else at all.”
She slipped suddenly and grabbed his arm for balance. Dash held her in close for a moment. “You OK?”
Her body was warm against his, and Dash caught the scent of her shampoo for just a second—something citrus and light cutting through the scent of roasting chestnuts in the air. Then she stepped away.
“I’m fine. Thanks,” she said, sounding breathless as she found her footing again.
But she didn’t drop his arm; she kept her gloved hand nestled in the crook of Dash’s elbow, and somehow, it felt so natural, he didn’t even think twice.
They kept strolling, but every few steps, someone stopped to say hello.
“Ellie, sweetheart, how are your parents getting on?” an older woman with a walking stick asked, beaming affectionately.
“They’re great, thanks, Debra. Enjoying the sun!”
“They deserve it. You know they’re forecasting more snow tonight?”
Ellie looked up at the sky. “They’ve got the right idea, off in the Caribbean.”
“You send my love!” Debra limped off, replaced by a new stream of local well-wishers in the square. It seemed like Ellie knew everyone in town.
“Happy holidays!”
“You must come by for some fruitcake later.”
“Did you need me to bring some more wood by the inn?”
Dash waited until a quiet moment in the caroling. “Someone’s popular,” he noted. “I don’t even know my neighbors back in LA. The guy taking my order at the coffee shop still screws up my name.”
She laughed. “Like I said, I’ve spent my whole life here. Plus, I’ve worked with pretty much everyone in town.”
“At the inn?”
“No, book-keeping,” she explained. “Debra owns the gift shop, and then there’s Summer at the bakery, Grayson down at the bookstore, Larry at the hardware store…”
Dash whistled. “You’re a one-woman accounting machine.”
Ellie looked bashful. “I know it’s not glamorous, but I like organizing things.
Getting all the details worked out.” She gave a proud little smile, looking around at the town businesses she’d clearly whipped into shape.
And then Dash realized the reason she was still there in Sweetbriar Cove, why she hadn’t taken off yet, despite all her wistful talk about travel and warmer climates and being anywhere but here.
She liked being needed.
There in town, they knew her. They appreciated her. She couldn’t walk down the street without a friendly smile or conversation, and coming from a big city where he’d spent years being completely anonymous, Dash could see how comforting that would be.
The carols started back up, sweet music drifting into the winter’s night, but he wasn’t paying attention anymore, because suddenly, the character he’d been trying to write clicked into place.
Not the lead guy, but the girl who turned his life upside down.
Dash had thought she was a reckless femme fatale: stuck in her small town and restless for danger, but now, he could see her in a whole new light. A new character, with a new face.
Ellie’s.
The spitfire with a soft side. Longing to leave, but scared to go.
Clinging to the comforting routines of the past, no matter how much her heart yearned for something more adventurous.
It was all right there in front of him: five foot six of bulky snow gear, with silky blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.
His muse wasn’t some abstract metaphor—it was her, all along.
Ellie caught his eye. “Ready to make a move?” she asked. It was already starting to snow, a light dusting of flakes spiraling down out of the dark skies.
“Sure.” Dash couldn’t have been more ready.
For the first time in months, his fingertips were tingling, just itching to get back to his keyboard and write.
He followed Ellie back to the Jeep, his mind still racing.
Everything was falling into place now: a chain reaction set off by one small creative spark.
He could see the whole story, the scenes, the drama…
It unspooled in his head all during the drive back to the inn, every last detail he’d been trying to force to life coming easily now. The way it was supposed to be.
He yanked open the Jeep door as soon as Ellie pulled up at the inn, practically leaping down in his haste to get back to his laptop before the idea was lost.
“Are you going to be OK in the cabin?” Ellie asked, hesitating by the door of the main lodge. “It’s going to be another cold one tonight with this snow…”
“I’ll be fine!” Dash insisted, impatient to get back to work. “I’ve got the stove and my whiskey. What more does a man need?”
“Well, OK…” A shadow flit across Ellie’s face. She turned back towards the door, her voice becoming more curt. “Let me know if you need anything.”
He was being rude, Dash knew, just brushing her off after their great evening together, but he didn’t mean to be. She didn’t realize, she’d already given him the most valuable thing of all.
Inspiration.
Adrenalin flooded through his body, ready to get to work, to write like crazy before he lost this spark. But first…
Before he could stop himself, Dash closed the distance between them and spun her back towards him. Ellie’s eyes flashed with surprise, her cheeks flushed from the cold… And then her gaze slipped to his mouth, and her lips parted, inviting.
She swayed closer, and so Dash did the only sensible thing he could think of.
He kissed her.
Ellie yielded immediately, soft and warm in the cold night air. Her lips parted, sweet as hot cocoa, and he hungrily drank her in.
It was intoxicating. Wilder than whiskey, sweeter than sunshine. Dash couldn’t get enough.
He pulled her closer, crushing her tight against his torso.
Their mouths teased, tongues caressing in a slow, hot embrace.
There were layers of bulky clothing between them, but Dash could still feel her heat, the imprint of her curves and the rush from her touch.
He kissed deeper, sliding his hands around her waist, right where they belonged—
She suddenly yanked away. “What are you—?” Ellie stammered, breathing heavily. Her eyes were still bright with desire, her lips even redder from the imprint of his kiss. “I don’t…” She backed away. “I mean, I can’t…”
She stared at him, wide-eyed for a moment, and Dash could have sworn he saw her gaze go to his mouth again. Her breathing slowed, her eyelashes fluttered… He was about to reach for her when she shook her head abruptly.
“Goodnight.” She hurried back inside. The door slammed shut behind her with a bang, leaving Dash alone in the snow.
Damnit.
He cursed himself for screwing this up, for making the wrong move when she clearly wanted him to stay away. But if that were true, why did she kiss him back? Why were her hands up around his neck, pulling him closer, her lips eagerly exploring Dash’s mouth?
He exhaled, trying to snap out of it. He didn’t know what had just happened, only that he needed it to happen again—and soon. But with the door locked tight behind her, it didn’t look like Ellie agreed.
Dash turned and started the careful trek back around the lake in the snow. But with every step, the memory of Ellie’s kiss came flashing through his mind. Her lips. Her touch. Her body…
Between that and the script waiting, something told him that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.