A Solstice Kiss #2
Now that the moment was here, she couldn’t seem to form the words. “Umm… this is going to sound a little odd and extremely forward of me, and please feel free to say no, but I noticed you leading the tour earlier, and you were very… very…”
He waited patiently, broad chest rising and falling slowly beneath his charcoal-gray sweater, intently focused on her and her alone. Goodness help her, having this man’s undivided attention was intoxicating.
“I was…” he prompted, his voice husky.
“You were perfect,” she finished, to her utter dismay.
His eyebrows rose, and she wanted to smother herself in her own sweatshirt.
“I—wow.” He paused. Leaned infinitesimally closer to her. “Thank you.”
He must think she was unhinged, but it was too late to back out now. She sucked in a deep breath and said, “I was wondering whether you’d be willing to—”
Just then, an announcement in Swedish crackled over the loudspeaker, followed by its English translation.
The museum was closing, a female voice crisply informed them.
All visitors were asked to gather their belongings and leave for the evening, although they were cordially invited to return the following morning.
When the loudspeaker fell silent once more, Felix offered Ellie another encouraging smile. “You were saying?”
Ellie’s sudden courage had failed her, however, and all her rule-follower instincts were urging her to exit the museum posthaste.
“Never mind.” She shifted her weight. “I guess I need to leave. You do, too, I suppose.”
His smile faded. Did he look disappointed? Or was that just her imagination?
“Yes.” He cast a glance over his shoulder, toward the hallway outside the exhibit. “But I’d be happy to answer your question before I go. Delighted, in fact.”
She thought fast. “Will you be here tomorrow?”
Because she could regather her nerve overnight, put on something more flattering than her oldest jeans and her thickest sweatshirt, and walk back over again in the morning.
“Unfortunately, no.” His brow creased. “After today, I’m off until the second week of January.”
She wouldn’t see him again before her flight home.
Why did that make her sinuses prickle with incipient tears for the second time that evening? He was a total stranger.
Although she could change that, couldn’t she? If she was brave enough.
“You don’t know me, of course.” He was still speaking, his tone cautious. Unfortunately, Ellie was too caught up in her inner turmoil to pay attention. “But I’ll be done here in about fifteen minutes. Maybe you’d like to have di—”
“Kiss me,” she heard herself blurt out, as if in a fever dream. “Please.”
This time, his brows rose all the way to his hairline. Before he could say Hell no, you sweatshirt-clad weirdo, though, she kept rambling, because maybe she’d sound slightly less disturbed if she clarified the situation.
“I want to post a picture of us kissing on social media.” She gestured helplessly, the tips of her ears aflame. “My sister told me that my ex is looking through my posts with his horrible buddies and saying rude things about how boring I am, and I thought…”
Heavens, it sounded so juvenile when she said it out loud.
“You thought you could prove him wrong and show him up in front of his bros,” Felix said slowly, finishing her thought for her. “I see.”
That wasn’t the only reason she wanted to kiss him. It wasn’t even the main reason.
Sure, she wanted to prove something to Dean.
More than that, though, she wanted to prove something to herself.
She couldn’t possibly move to Sweden—could she?
—but in her own modest way, she could still climb a ladder to bright joy through gray skies, despite her fear of heights.
On this darkest day of the year, she needed that reminder more than ever.
Also, she simply wanted to kiss Felix. Because he was, in fact, ridiculously perfect.
Saying all that would only make her sound more unhinged, however, so she just nodded and waited for his answer.
He stood in front of her, still and silent and unsmiling. He didn’t turn her down, but he certainly wasn’t agreeing to her cockamamie plan either. And after another lengthy interval of fraught silence, Ellie figured she had the disappointing but predictable answer to her question.
She was embarrassed, of course. But even more than that, she was sad that she wouldn’t get to kiss Felix. Surprisingly so, given how briefly she’d been acquainted with him.
“I get why you don’t want to kiss a random tourist, and I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable.” Clearly, he was too polite to refuse her outright, so she’d make this awkward situation as easy on him as possible. “I hope you have a lovely vacation, Felix. Happy holidays.”
When she turned for the exit, though, his strong fingers lightly wrapped around her forearm.
“Ellie, wait.” His low voice rang with urgency. “I’m not saying no. I just needed to think.”
Even through the thick fleece of her sweatshirt, goose bumps bloomed on her skin where he touched her. Not from chill. From anticipation. She waited and held her breath, worried that even the slightest movement might puncture the fragile bubble of hope growing within her.
“I’ll do it.” He gave a decisive nod. “But not in my workplace. I’ll meet you outside the main entrance in fifteen minutes, if you’re willing to wait for me.”
In that moment, she would have sworn that the sparkling mineral water from her hotel’s minibar was coursing through her veins.
“Of course.” She beamed up at him, giddy with joy and pride in her own daring. “It’s a date, then.”
Under his breath, he muttered something that sounded very much like That’s what I’m hoping, then guided her to the museum’s exit.
Barely ten minutes later, the crunch of Felix’s boots on the gravel pathway announced his arrival at the wooden bench where she sat waiting. Her breaths formed clouds of smoke in the chilly winter air, and darkness had fallen hours ago, even though it was barely dinnertime.
Now clad in the same black puffer coat seemingly every Swede was issued, he looked like any other stranger she might walk past on the Stockholm streets, and she momentarily quailed at the prospect of kissing someone entirely unfamiliar to her.
Then his gaze locked with hers under the buttery light of a nearby streetlamp, and his sweet smile crinkled the corners of his eyes.
Bathed in such bright warmth, the shadows of her doubt simply couldn’t survive. “You haven’t changed your mind, then?”
“Definitely not. I’m honored to be your social media kissee, Ellie from Maryland.” He gave an endearingly dorky little bow. “Shall we set the scene for maximum romance?”
Honestly, she’d never contemplated the optimal aesthetics for announcing a fake European fling. “What were you thinking?”
“I have some ideas, but…” His gaze searched hers. “I’d like to hear yours first. What feels most special to you? A historic building, snow-covered trees in a park, a holiday light display…”
When he trailed off, her brain supplied the answer with surprising ease. “The waterfront.”
“That would’ve been my choice too.” He looked pleased. “Luckily, waterfront views aren’t hard to find here.”
He offered a hand to help her up from the bench. She took it for the effervescent thrill of touching him, even through his gloves and her mittens, and released it slowly, with an embarrassing degree of reluctance.
They now stood only inches away from each other. The breath he blew out billowed like fog between them, and the hand she’d briefly held curled into a loose fist at his side.
“I live close to the Chesapeake Bay,” she found herself explaining. “Looking at the water has always sort of… settled me.”
He thought about that. “Because it reminds you that there’s a world out there larger than whatever problems you might be struggling with?”
“Yeah, actually.” She blinked, startled by the insight. “Is that true for you too?”
He nodded. “If I’m restless or anxious, I walk to the water if I can. It soothes me, just like you said.”
She offered him a wry smile. “Also, it’s just very pretty.”
His face turned soft, and his head tipped as he studied her. “It truly is.”
Something about that expression had her blushing, and she couldn’t even say why. They were talking about scenery, for heaven’s sake.
She cleared her throat. “Is there a particular spot near the water that would work well for a photo?”
“There’s a place not far from here where you can see the amusement park in the background.” His brows drew together as he considered the matter. “Their holiday lights will reflect off the water. Off your dark hair as well.”
His gloved fingertip lightly brushed the end of a curl resting against her shoulder, and she would have sworn—in contradiction to all known science—that the strand contained a million nerve endings, all attuned to his touch.
“That sounds perfect.” Felt perfect too. “Shall we?”
They set off into the solstice night, walking toward the water.
Once they left the protective bulwark of the buildings, the brisk, frigid wind stole her breath, even as the slick cobblestones and gravel-studded, snowy sidewalks tested her balance.
He offered her his arm, wordlessly and with zero self-congratulatory fuss.
She accepted with a shy smile of thanks, moving close enough that their jackets swished against each other with every step.
“How long have you been visiting Sweden?” His hip bumped hers, once and then again.
Neither of them moved farther apart. “Do you plan to stay through the holidays? Because if you’ve never been here on New Year’s Eve, I can tell you that it’s pretty spectacular.
Swedes are very enthusiastic about their amateur fireworks displays.
Like, alarmingly enthusiastic. But it’s a fun experience.
” He paused. “Unless you work in the ER, I imagine.”
She snorted. “I arrived a week ago and leave on January second, so I look forward to dodging wayward rockets and admiring the explosive fruits of all those lost Swedish fingers.”