Chapter 7
Eli
The cold bit through my jacket as I walked down Sugar Street, my breath clouding in front of me.
Strings of white lights twinkled in the trees lining the road, casting a soft glow on the people wandering through the shops and restaurants.
I’d spent too long choosing what to wear—settling on my best jeans and the forest green sweater Maggie and Edie gave me last Christmas, the one that Henry said brought out the color of my eyes.
I hadn’t been on a date in ages, so maybe that was why I was nervous. As I approached the gazebo, I scanned the small crowd gathered around Walt’s sleighs. And then I saw him—not Mioko with her bright smile and colorful clothes, but Luke, standing tall and elegant in a camel coat.
For a moment, I considered turning around and leaving, but he’d already spotted me, his expression shifting from anticipation to confusion that probably mirrored mine.
We stared at each other across the snow-dusted cobblestones, neither of us moving until Walt’s booming voice cut through the night air.
“Corwin? You’re late!”
I approached reluctantly, the crunch of snow under my boots matching the thundering of my heart. Luke looked incredible.
“Where’s Mioko—” I started, as I reached him.
“Mioko invited me,” Luke said at the same time.
“Did she set us up?” Luke asked, eyes darting around. Mioko was nowhere in sight.
“Seems that way.” I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets, unsure what to do with them. “Did she say anything to you about...?”
“About you being here? No.” Luke shook his head. “But she always seems to be around when we’re thrown together.”
I frowned. “Like the candy demonstration?”
“And she was the one who gave me the delivery list that included an inn.”
Realization dawned. “For the Hendersons? We didn’t even have a guest by that name. Did she make them up?”
“Fuck. Maybe. We haven’t gotten any angry calls about missed deliveries.”
I frowned. “Did she send the email about the coffee shop meeting?”
Luke tilted his head, looking confused. “What email?”
Fuck. That’s why he hadn’t seen me. He hadn’t been looking for me at all. Hadn’t even known I would be there. A weight lifted from my chest as I stared at my best friend, anger evaporating, replaced by relief.
“I think Mioko has been fucking with us.”
Luke laughed, the sound warming something cold and hard inside me. “She’s surprisingly crafty for someone who grew up in a cult. Or, you know, maybe that explains it.”
“Are you two gonna stand there jawin’ all night or get in the damn sleigh?” Walt bellowed from his perch. He looked exactly as I remembered—weathered face set in a scowl beneath a worn woolen hat, thick gray mustache twitching with impatience. “Some of us have schedules to keep!”
Luke’s eyes met mine, a shared memory passing between us. When we were twelve, Walt made us muck out stalls for an entire weekend after we’d drawn mustaches on his horses as a prank.
“We should probably...” Luke gestured toward the sleigh.
“Yeah. I’m still afraid of Walt, too,” I whispered, following him to the ornate wooden sleigh, where Walt’s massive Clydesdales stamped impatiently, their breath steaming in the cold.
There wasn’t enough snow yet for a true sleigh ride, so it had big tires that looked out of place on the cute sleigh.
Luke climbed in first, settling on one side of the bench seat.
I slid in beside him, leaving as much space as possible between us, which wasn’t much.
The seat was smaller than I remembered, or maybe I was bigger.
Either way, I could feel the heat of his thigh next to mine, and our shoulders bumped every time one of us shifted.
I didn’t mind it at all.
Walt tossed a thick wool blanket at us. “Don’t want anyone freezing to death on my watch,” he grumbled, then snapped the reins. The sleigh lurched forward, bells jingling as we glided down Sugar Street towards the lake path.
Neither of us moved to spread the blanket. It sat in a heap between us.
“So,” Luke said finally, his voice low, “this is awkward.”
“Yep.” I stared ahead, watching the horses.
“I’m sorry,” he said after another moment of silence. “About yesterday. And... everything before that.”
I turned to look at him, surprised by the raw honesty in his voice.
“I’ve missed you,” he continued, meeting my gaze. “More than I’ve let myself admit. Coming back here, seeing you... It made me realize how empty things have been without you. How much better things are with you by my side. Not in like, a romantic way.”
My throat tightened. “You left me behind,” I said, the words softer than I’d intended, more wounded than accusatory.
He sighed, his breath visible in the cold air. “I had to go, Eli. I had to find out who I was outside of Maple Crossing, outside of this.” He gestured between us. “My family was still recovering financially, and I had a scholarship I couldn’t turn down.”
“I know. But it felt like you were running away from more than just a small town.”
“I was.” Luke’s honesty surprised me. “When I told you how I felt, I was sure you felt the same way. And when you turned me down, it hit hard.”
“Luke…”
“No, you don’t have to say anything. I know you’re not built like me, not bi. And it doesn’t matter now, because I miss you. I miss what we were too much to care about what I wanted us to be.” His gaze dropped to his gloved hands. “When we fought that last night...”
“We said things we didn’t mean,” I finished for him.
“Speak for yourself,” he said with a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I meant every word about your stubborn ass being too rooted for your own good.”
Despite myself, I laughed. “And I meant every word about you being an ambitious bastard who’d sell his soul for a corporate job and a corner office.”
His smile softened, became more real. “I don’t want to feel that separation again, Eli.
Being back here with you, even when you’re pissed at me, makes me realize that nothing has ever filled that void you left behind.
No one knows me like you do. I don’t belong anywhere but where you need me to be. ”
I swallowed hard, an ache expanding in my chest. “What if I’m still angry with you?”
Luke shrugged, his shoulder bumping mine. “Then yell at me, I don’t care. But keep talking to me. Six years is too damn long.”
I was about to respond when Luke suddenly stiffened beside me, his gaze fixed on something beyond the sleigh. I followed his line of sight to see Mioko peering out from Crossroads Coffee’s front window, her dark hair unmistakable in the dim evening light.
“Our matchmaker is keeping tabs,” Luke said, a hint of mischief creeping into his voice. “Should we give her a show? Maybe cuddle a little?”
The question hung in the frosty air between us. I looked at him—really looked—and saw the boy who’d been my closest ally and strongest supporter for years.
His eyes held that familiar challenge, the one I’d never been able to resist, not when we were building tree forts, stealing apples from Old Man Granger’s orchard, or staying up all night to watch meteor showers from the roof of the inn.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
Luke leaned in slowly, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face against my throat, his breath peppering across the sensitive pulse point there.
I turned and looked towards Mioko, still watching, and shifted, pushing him back against the cushioned corner of the bench seat, cupping my hand around his throat.
“You don’t have to,” he whispered.
“Yes, I do.”
Six years of anger and longing crystallized into a single moment as our lips met, soft and tentative at first, then deeper, more searching. Something inside me snapped.
He was mine. He was supposed to be mine, not just a friend, but fully and completely mine. It was insane that I’d never seen it before. Or maybe I had, and I’d been too scared of him leaving to admit it.
A growl rose from my throat as I took control, my hand sliding around the back of his neck as I climbed halfway into his lap, pushing him back against the wooden sleigh frame, pinning him down as I devoured his mouth.
He yielded beneath me with a soft moan that sent fire racing through my veins, arms wrapping around my neck as he arched up into my touch.
“Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick, get back in your goddamn seats!” Walt’s voice cut through the haze of desire. “This ain’t a bedroom, it’s a family establishment!”
With effort, I settled back onto my side of the bench, my body thrumming with need. My face felt flushed despite the cold, and I couldn’t catch my breath.
Luke leaned against me, his expression cheeky as he nuzzled my shoulder. “That was hot. I didn’t know you had that in you.”
“Yes, you did.”
“You might be right. There’s a part of me no one has had, and I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s yours.” He leaned in closer, nipping at my earlobe. “I’m talking about my hole.”
I snorted. “I realized that.”
“Just making sure you’re completely aware that no one has been inside me, Eli. Ever.”
The words hit me like a physical blow, sending a wave of feral possession surging through my body.
After six years, he’d kept that part of himself for me alone.
I fought the urge to mark him, claim him in Walt’s sleigh with the whole town watching.
Instead, I just looped an arm around his waist and held him close.
“I hope Mioko’s satisfied with her scheme,” I said, adjusting my jeans.
Luke grinned, the mischievous expression so familiar it made my chest ache. “You like her. Do you want her for us?”
“For us?”
“Like we used to talk about.”
“Sweetheart, we were kids. That plan was about how we’d get married and still be best friends, not about fucking.”
“Marriage includes fucking,” he shrugged. “You know, maybe we should show her what happens to people who meddle in our business.”
I’d never been able to resist that look in his eyes, and apparently, I still couldn’t.