Prologue #2
“You were defeated by snow at eight years old.”
“I was making a statement.”
“You were losing a fight with flurries.”
I rolled my eyes, but smiling became impossible to stop.
That was the thing about Ty. Being around him felt dangerously easy. Like stepping too far onto a frozen lake and only realizing afterward how thin the ice beneath you might actually be.
The lake house sat farther outside town surrounded by snow-covered pines and trucks lined haphazardly along the driveway. Music drifted faintly through the cold. Bonfire smoke curled into the dark sky.
Ty climbed out first, jogging around the truck before I could open my own door.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said as he helped me down onto the icy ground.
“My mother would kill me if I didn’t.”
“Your mother likes me?”
“She loves you.”
I blinked.
Ty shrugged casually like he hadn’t just completely destabilized my nervous system. “She says you make me less annoying.”
“That seems impossible.”
“Oh, it is. But she appreciates the effort.”
Voices echoed somewhere near the lake. A hockey stick flew through the air unexpectedly. Someone shouted, “Buzz brought the librarian!”
“Oh my God,” I muttered.
Ty grinned beside me. “Too late to run now.”
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
The bonfire sat near the shoreline surrounded by folding chairs, hockey bags, coolers, and half the Northbend varsity roster wearing winter jackets over hoodies.
Music blasted from portable speakers somewhere buried in the snow.
A few people skated farther out across the frozen lake beneath strings of temporary lights someone had rigged between poles near the dock.
The whole scene glowed gold and blue beneath falling snow. It looked like something out of a movie.
Simon Keller spotted us first. “Holy shit,” he announced dramatically, throwing both arms into the air. “Buzz finally got a girl to willingly spend time with him.”
“She’s here voluntarily?” Mason, Simon’s younger brother, added suspiciously.
“Blink twice if you need help,” another of Ty’s teammates called from beside the fire.
Ty sighed. “You people are embarrassing.”
“Librarian!” Mason pointed at me. “Did he kidnap you?”
“I’m considering pressing charges,” I shot back with a smirk.
“That’s fair.” Simon immediately shoved a cup of hot chocolate into my hands like we were already friends. “Welcome to hockey nonsense.”
I liked him instantly.
The night unfolded slowly after that. Someone nearly fell through a folding chair. Simon accidentally launched a marshmallow directly into the fire and screamed like he’d lost a child. Ty spent ten straight minutes arguing with Mason about whether Bruce Springsteen qualified as road-trip music.
I laughed harder than I had in weeks. Maybe months.
And through all of it, Ty kept finding his way back beside me. He handed me gloves when my fingers got cold. Stole marshmallows off my plate. Leaned close so I could hear him over the music.
Every tiny thing felt bigger than it probably was. Which was terrifying.
At some point Mason narrowed his eyes at us from across the fire.
“Oh,” he said slowly.
Ty pointed at him immediately. “Don’t.”
“You like her.”
“Mase.”
“You have library feelings.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
I nearly choked on hot chocolate trying not to laugh.
Simon looked delighted. “You’re blushing!” he accused.
Ty actually flipped him off.
The entire group lost their minds.
And somehow, impossibly, I realized something awful. I was having fun. Not polite-smiling-through-social-events fun. The kind that made your stomach ache from laughing too hard.
The kind that made time disappear.
Snow continued falling softly around us. Music drifted over the ice. The fire crackled warm against my frozen cheeks while Ty sat beside me close enough that his knee bumped mine every few minutes without either of us moving away.
Finally, Ty leaned closer. “You trust me?”
I looked over at him. “Depends.”
“Come skate with me.”
“I told you I don’t skate.”
“You can stand there while I look impressive.”
“That seems narcissistic.”
“It’s one of my best qualities.”
I laughed softly.
Ty held his hand out anyway. The lake stretched endlessly behind him beneath strings of glowing lights and falling snow. Beautiful. Terrifying. And somehow impossible to say no to.
So, I took his hand. The ice groaned faintly beneath my borrowed skates as Ty guided me farther away from shore.
“I’m going to die,” I informed him. “I can literally hear the lake cracking.”
“We’re fine. It’s thick.”
“That is not comforting.”
Ty laughed, steadying both hands on my waist before I could slip again. The contact hit me like an electric shock. Warm palms. Cold air. Snowflakes caught in his hair. Everything inside me went strangely quiet.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
No. Absolutely not, I thought.
“Fine,” I lied. I tried to focus on staying upright. Unfortunately, that became difficult when Ty kept looking at me like he’d forgotten there were other people on the lake entirely.
My heartbeat stumbled painfully against my ribs.
“You know,” he said after a minute, “I thought you hated me.”
“I do hate you.”
“Liar.”
“I find you deeply irritating.”
“And yet here you are.” His hands stayed warm against my waist.
The music from shore sounded distant now. Muted beneath the wind and snow and the strange roaring pulse in my ears.
Ty glanced down briefly at my mouth.
My entire body noticed.
Oh.
Oh no.
I suddenly understood every stupid love song ever written.
“You’re cold,” he murmured.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re shivering.”
“That’s because I’m standing on a frozen death lake.”
He laughed softly again. Then quieter, “You’re really pretty, Lucy.” Ty sounded almost confused by it himself. Like the words had escaped accidentally.
The cold air pressed sharp against my lungs. Snow drifted slowly between us. Somewhere back near the fire, Simon screamed about somebody cheating at cards. But out here, it felt strangely still.
Ty moved closer carefully. His gloves brushed softly against my jaw first. All sweet, clumsy sixteen-year-old nervousness wrapped in hormones and awkwardness.
Then he kissed me. It was not smooth. Not cinematic perfection. His nose bumped mine clumsily the first time. I laughed against his mouth before I could stop myself.
Ty groaned immediately. “Oh my God.”
“Sorry.”
“No, that was horrible. I’m restarting.”
I was still smiling when he kissed me again.
Slower this time. Careful. Warm despite the freezing air.
And suddenly the entire world tilted sideways beneath my ribs.
Because Ty Burns kissed exactly like he existed in every other part of life—recklessly, earnestly, like he meant it with his whole being.
His hands tightened slightly at my waist. Mine curled instinctively into the front of his jacket. And somewhere between one breath and the next, I realized this was it. The beginning of something. The exact kind of moment people spent years missing afterward.
Ty pulled back slowly, forehead resting against mine while both of us breathed hard into the cold. “You know,” he whispered quietly, “I had this whole speech planned.”
I laughed softly. “You planned a speech?”
“Shut up.”
“That’s adorable.”
“I’m trying to be emotionally vulnerable here.”
“Very brave of you.”
He smiled then. Small. Real. Beautiful enough to hurt a little.
Snowflakes melted slowly against his pale lashes while the lake lights shimmered behind him. Then he swallowed once and asked softly, “Will you be my girlfriend?”