Chapter 29 Gabriel
GAbrIEL
The crisp wind bit at my face, making my eyes water and my smile freeze to my face. I hadn’t been sledding in years. Who knew it was even more fun as an adult?
“How were you going so fast?” I huffed, out of breath as I came down from the adrenaline.
“Lots of practice,” Lily said with a grin. “As the youngest of my siblings, I didn’t usually win much, except for when we’d race down the hill.” She’d been laughing the whole way down, the melodic sound one that I never wanted to forget. I’d recognize it anywhere, even after I left Golden Falls.
We’d gone down the hill at least three times now, and each time, she came down faster than me. We only needed to go down once to cross it off Lily’s list, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had this much fun over the holidays, if ever.
“Should we go down one more time?” I nodded toward the sled that was for two people, as two kids came up to us to ask if we were done using the single sleds.
“Yeah, one more time.” Lily’s smile widened…and I saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Race you up the hill!”
Without giving it a second thought, I reached for the sled and ran after her.
I caught up to Lily eventually, but it came at a cost. I was panting once we reached the top.
Once I set down the sled, Lily held it in place so I could get in first. Then, I held it steady for her to sit between my legs, her back facing me. As Lily settled and got comfortable, I could smell her fruity shampoo and her floral perfume—her sweetness and proximity overwhelming my senses.
“Ready?” She looked over her shoulder at me, berry-colored lips spread into a smile. She looked both angelic and mischievous.
“Ready,” I confirmed, wrapping an arm around her to keep her close.
We pushed off the ground, and within moments, we were flying down the hill, my heart pumping wildly inside my chest. Our speed picked up, causing the wooden sled to sway side to side.
We went down a different section of the hill than our other runs, and a ridge of packed snow snuck up on us, causing the sled to buck sideways.
“Oh, shit!” Lily called out, followed by a shriek.
In trying to prevent the sled from turning, we overcorrected—and flipped over. I landed on the fluffy, powdery snow with an oomph. I wrapped my arms tightly around Lily, hoping that landing on me would break her fall.
Luckily, we were already toward the bottom of the hill, so our tumble wasn’t much, but it was still enough to knock the wind out of us.
“You okay?” I asked, out of breath.
“Yeah,” Lily exhaled. “Are you?”
I was distracted by the way her eyes moved from my gaze to my mouth, reminding me how close we were. She was lying on top of me, strands of blonde hair framing her face.
Somehow, even through all of our winter layers, I could feel her heart beating rapidly. Or was that mine?
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “What were you saying earlier about lots of practice?”
She smiled and rolled her eyes at my teasing. As Lily parted her lips to respond, a man’s voice interrupted us. “You two know this is a kids event, right?”
I looked up, recognizing the man as Wesley, Lily’s older brother.
Lily didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. She let out an annoyed huff. “We’re fine. Thanks for asking. And was it still a kids event when you were making out with Jules earlier?”
“In our defense, there was a mistletoe!” A brunette woman with rosy cheeks walked up next to Wesley. Jules, who I’d met earlier today at Purrfect Blend while helping Lily with the holiday orders, was holding two hot chocolates.
Wes extended his hand, first helping Lily up and then extending his hand to me, too. Once Lily and I were both standing, I tried to push how close we’d been out of my mind. “Nice to see you both,” I said to Wes and Jules.
“Good to see you, too, Gabe!” Jules grinned. “Hopefully you’ve been enjoying your time in town and at the festival. Hard not to when you have the best tour guide.” She nodded to Lily.
“I couldn’t agree more. Lily has made my time in Golden Falls really welcoming…and eventful,” I said with a chuckle. “There’s never a dull moment with her.”
The corner of Wes’s mouth twitched. “That’s one way of putting it.” Wes took one of the hot chocolates from Jules and then used his other hand to pull her into his side.
“Where are you two heading next?” Jules asked.
“We’re going to enter the gingerbread house competition,” Lily said with a grin. “What about you two?”
“We’re getting ready to wrap up for the night. The hot chocolate was our last stop. It’s my prize for beating Wes in a snowball fight,” Jules said proudly. “Okay, I know he let me win, but still.”
I hadn’t been around much genuine love in my life, but even I could tell that the connection between Wes and Jules was as real as it got.
“We’ll see you two tomorrow for Christmas, right?” I asked.
Jules nodded eagerly. “Yes! It’s my first Christmas in Golden Falls, and I suppose it’s your first one here, too. It’s going to be a great time. We’ll see you both then. Enjoy the rest of your night, and good luck with the competition!”
Wes gave us each a nod before the two of them turned and walked away from the festival.
“Sounds like we have a competition to enter,” I said, amused.
Lily beamed. “Not just enter—win.”