Chapter 15
Juliet
After getting changed—and finally getting warm—we have dinner, then head to the front of the lodge, where the sleigh ride will be. The sleighs are all lined up, each with a single lantern, driver, and horse.
“Oooh,” Blair says, jumping up and down. “Look, we can roast s’mores by the fires.” She points to where there are several fire pits, each surrounded by chairs and people handing out sticks and marshmallows.
“I was really looking forward to a sleigh ride,” I say. “It feels like the perfect Christmas thing to do.”
“Go do it, then,” she exclaims. “I’ll claim a fire for us, but I’m not waiting. I’m going to eat a s’more or two before you two get back.”
Parker holds out an arm. “Shall we?”
I loop my arm through his. “I guess so.”
I catch the smirk that fills Blair’s face. She seems to want this to be real, but I don’t know how it could ever be.
Parker leads us to the line of people waiting for a sleigh.
“You folks having a good time?” a booming, cheerful voice asks. I turn and see that it’s Mr. Mynt.
“We are,” I tell him. “It’s been the best week. Thanks for putting it together.”
He holds out a hand. “Juliet Morgan, right?”
It always surprises me when people recognize me. “Yes.”
We shake gloved hands. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m so glad you could make it out for this. You folks coming to the ball tomorrow? I think half the town will be there. We’ve raised so much money for the kids in Winterbrook. Really means a lot to everyone.”
“We’ll be at the ball,” Parker says. “And this is such a cool event—you think you’ll do it again?”
“We hope so,” Mr. Mynt says cheerfully. “It’s been a great turnout. Can I put you down for next year, if we do host the Mynt to Make a Difference event?”
“Sure,” I say. It’s been fun, truly. Even if I am exhausted, I love things like this that give back to the community, whether or not I’ve participated in everything. But the welcome pamphlet made it clear that athletes didn’t have to be at every activity the resort was hosting.
“Wonderful,” he says, his eyes sparkling. This man seems to be full of holiday magic. “See you folks soon. Enjoy your ride.”
Parker climbs up onto our sleigh first, then holds out his hand to help me up. It’s smaller than I expected, and cozy. Parker pulls the soft, heavy blanket over our legs and wraps an arm around my shoulder. Our driver makes a noise and the horses start moving, pulling the sleigh.
With the setting sun and all of the bright Christmas lights on the lodge, trees, and cabins, it feels like we’re riding straight into a winter wonderland. Like we’re riding into a Hallmark movie instead of real life.
“I can’t believe this is real,” I whisper.
Parker’s arm tightens around me. “It’s real.”
I turn to look at him. “Even you?”
His eyes flicker to my lips. I let out a shaky breath.
“I hope so,” he chuckles. “If this is all a dream, I hope I never wake up.”
I lean forward, letting our noses brush. Will we actually get to kiss this time? Or will we once again be interrupted? “What does this mean for us?”
“Don’t get all practical on me now, skills.” His lips skim against mine between each word. “All I know is that I like you, a lot. And I get the feeling that you feel the same way.”
“Mhm,” I murmur. I don’t think I could say anything else if I tried.
“Then let’s not overanalyze or think about anything but this moment.
” He tilts his head, pressing a kiss against the corner of my mouth, then moving across my cheek.
“Tell me five things you can see.” His voice is low and husky in the hollow of my neck, where he seems content to rest while we play this little game. Again.
“Christmas lights. Horse. Driver. White blanket. You.”
He laughs, his entire body shaking. “Somebody’s impatient.”
I squirm.
“I’ve had to wait seven years for this moment,” he says. “I want to take it nice and slow.”
“And what moment is this exactly?” I ask, only because I want to hear him say the words.
“The first time we kiss. It’s going to be the thing we tell our grandkids about.” The way he’s talking about us and a future together should make me feel uncomfortable, but instead, the ache to kiss him only grows stronger. “Four things you can touch or feel.”
“The blanket. You. Your heartbeat.” I’ve got one hand against his chest, feeling his heart underneath all his layers. He kisses my neck again. “You doing that.”
He pulls his face away from me. “You like that?”
“I do.”
He grins. “Good. Gotta keep my girl happy.”
I smile back at him, wrapping one hand around his neck, trying to pull him closer.
“Patience,” he whispers, licking his lips. Is he trying to drive me insane? He must know exactly what I’m feeling because he smirks. “Three things you can hear.”
“Did you switch those last two? I swear I had to name four things I could hear last time.”
He shrugs, leaning forward again and leaving a trail of kisses under my ear and across my jaw. “Maybe. I’m a tiny bit distracted at the moment to know what the exact order is. Three things.”
I let out a frustrated breath. “The horse hooves.” I pause, trying to listen, but all I can focus on is the trail of fire that he’s leaving across my jaw and neck. I tilt my neck, giving him better access, and he growls. “Did you just growl at me?”
“You’re killing me, skills.”
“Yeah, well. If you would stop playing games and kiss me already, then I think we’d both feel better,” I grumble. He moves a hand from my back, tangling it into my hair at the base of my neck.
“One more thing you can hear.”
“You teasing me.”
“Good girl. Two things you can smell.”
“You. You smell like sandalwood and mint. It’s the best smell in the world. It also smells like snow.”
His eyes shine.
“One thing you can taste.”
I’m about to say nothing, when he tugs me closer, our lips finally meeting.
I slip both of my hands around his neck, scooting closer.
His lips are warm and soft, and anything but gentle.
My lips part, and his tongue skims across the surface.
I moan into him and feel him smile at the sound, deepening the kiss.
He tastes like mint and something that is all Parker. I want to bottle up this feeling and take it home with me forever. As I lose myself to our kiss, the rest of the world falls blissfully quiet.
When the sleigh comes to a stop, Parker pulls away from me ever so slightly, our foreheads still touching, both of us breathing deeply.
“You.” Confusion flits across his face, and I lean in and give him a quick peck. “One thing I can taste. You.”
A huge grin breaks over his entire face, and I can’t help but mirror the expression.
“I think I could get used to this,” he whispers against my lips. “But we should probably get down so that someone else can have a turn on the sleigh.”
“Do we have to?” I ask. I want to stay in this little bubble of ours forever.
He nods. “You do know that I can kiss you like that anywhere, not just in a sleigh.” He nudges me, but I don’t move. He ducks his head, pressing another quick kiss against my lips. “I’m never going to get over the fact that you like kissing me, so I’m never going to stop.”
“Is it really so hard to believe that I like you?” I ask, pushing the warm blanket off my lap. I step down out of the sleigh and turn to face him as he steps out.
“You like me?” Gosh, he’s so cute when he’s like this. Hands already in his coat pockets and looking down at his feet like he’s embarrassed. I step into his space.
“Against my better judgment, since I’m really not good at relationships, I like you.”
“You’re good at relationships, Jules. You just haven’t had one with the right guy yet.
” He sounds so confident, I wish I could believe him.
But there’s still a part of me that knows that once he sees all of me, every part of the day-in and day-out of life, he’ll leave, looking for something better.
“Nope, whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now.
I like you. You like me. Let’s enjoy this.
We can go as slow or fast as we want. This is our relationship, ours. No one else’s. Okay?”
I shake the negative thoughts from my head. He’s right, I know he is. And since I fly back to DC the day after Christmas, I just need to enjoy the time we have together while we have it. “Should we go tell Blair?”
One of his arms wraps around me, pulling me into a hug. “And tell her what? That we’re boyfriend-girlfriend? Is that what we are?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
“We’re together, how’s that?” he suggests. “We don’t have to label it any more than that right now. It’s still new, but we’re together, not dating anyone else. Kissing. Hopefully a lot.”
I stand on my toes so I can press my lips to his again. His arms tighten around me, pressing me against him. If he weren’t holding me up, I’d be weak in the knees. I never knew that kissing could feel like this. It was never like this with my ex. Here, there’s fire.
“Ew!” The sound of a little voice breaks us apart. A little girl is staring up at us. “Mom says that boys have cooties and we shouldn’t kiss them unless you’re married. Are you married?”
A woman appears by her daughter’s side. “I am so sorry. Lottie, you can’t go up to strangers and ask them if they’re married.”
“Why not?” she asks. The little girl can’t be more than four. Her face scrunches in disgust. “They were kissing like you and daddy do, and it’s gross.”
I can’t help it—I burst out laughing. “Sorry, we’ll keep our kissing more private.”
“Thanks.” The little girl smiles. “My daddy owns a lodge too. But we comes to this one for Christmas this year.”
She’s got a little lisp and doesn’t say all of the words correctly. It’s adorable. I want five of her.
“Very fun,” Parker says, letting go of me and squatting down next to her. “Where’s your lodge? We’ll have to come visit next year.”
The little girl claps. “Oh, would you really? Please! Please!”
Guess she likes us as long as we aren’t kissing. A tall man with a scowl on his face appears, wrapping an arm around the woman. “Lottie, what did I say about talking to strangers?”
“To not. But Daddy, they gonna come to the lodge.” The man picks up his daughter.
“Is that so?”
“Lottie just invited them,” the woman says, her eyes twinkling up at him. They look like the perfect little family. The man’s scowl is completely gone as he stares at his wife and daughter. Now, there’s just pure love. “Give them a card.”
“Did you talk to the minty guy?” Lottie asks as her father reaches into his back pocket.
This question makes him scowl again.
“Don’t worry about him,” his wife says. “I know you wanted to bring one of his restaurants to our lodge, but we’ll find something else. Someone else. I’ve heard of this great little place in Estes Park called The Wednesday Café—maybe we can reach out to that owner.”
I feel like we’ve stepped into a conversation that I shouldn’t be a part of. The man hands us a card. On one side it says Starlight Springs Lodge and the other has a website and phone number on it.
Parker tucks the card into his coat pocket. “Thanks for this. We’ll be there sometime in the next year, I’m sure.”
The man nods at us, clearly dismissing us, and his wife tugs on his arm. “Let’s go. I’ll get the contact info for that café.”
“Nice people,” Parker says as the little family walks away.
“But that was so random…like what even just happened?”
He grabs my hand and we start toward the fires. “Well, we learned that boys have cooties unless you’re married and that Mr. Mynt doesn’t want to expand into Starlight Springs. And that we have another lodge to visit sometime soon.”
“I live in DC,” I say. “You live here. How is that going to work?”
Parker stops walking. “I don’t know. We can be long distance. We’ll make it work, take it slow. Deal?”
I’m still not fully convinced we can make it work. I’ve tried long distance and got cheated on. But Parker isn’t Axel. “Deal.” Maybe just saying that will help me feel better.