Page 47 of Racing Hearts

“It does look very warm.” Sierra looked around as if she was checking to see if they were truly alone, then closed the space between them and rested her hand against Ellie’s stomach. “But then again, I don’t need the sweater to keep me warm if I have you.”

There was something so sexy about confident Sierra, especially since that side of her didn’t come out as often. Ellie leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Sierra’s ear before whispering into it. “We really need to get out of here.”

Once they were in the car, Ellie reached out her hand and was happy when Sierra accepted it. She brought their hands up to her lips and kissed Sierra’s knuckles. “If it’s okay, I thought I could show you around town before we go to the store.”

“I would love that.”

Ellie showed Sierra each of her schools, starting with her elementary school. She took her to the track, which they couldn’t see much of since it was covered by snow. To finish off the tour, she took Sierra to the barn where her parents got married. Even though Ellie obviously wasn’t there that day, her parents had taken her to see the venue multiple times growing up.

“This is where my parents got married,” she said while parking the car in the snow-covered parking lot. “I figured it was an important part of the town tour since this barn is the whole reason we ended up in this town.”

Sierra’s eyes were wide as she looked around. “It’s gorgeous.”

Ellie shut off the car and turned to face her. “Want to get out and take a look around?”

“Are we allowed?”

Ellie shrugged. “It doesn’t look like the owners are around, but even if they were, they know me by now, so I doubt they’d care.”

Ellie didn’t wait for Sierra’s answer. Instead, she got out of the car and ran to the other side to open Sierra’s door for her. Ellie reached her hand down toward her, but Sierra just stared at her.

“What’s wrong?” Ellie asked.

Sierra gawked at Ellie’s hand for a moment before gazing up at her. “No one’s ever opened my car door for me.”

“Then it looks like you’ve been kissing the wrong people.” Ellie grabbed Sierra’s hand and pulled her up to her feet, then wrapped her arm around Sierra’s back to bring their bodies flush up against each other. “Speaking of which…” Ellie placed a tender kiss on Sierra’s lips before pulling away.

For a few seconds, Sierra remained frozen in place with her eyes closed and lips still puckered. When she opened her eyes, the sunlight hit them, causing them to sparkle in the most magnificent way. The sight made Ellie weak in the knees, but she somehow found the strength to get herself to walk.

“What kind of wedding do you want?” she asked Sierra as they walked. It seemed like a strange question for the girl she had kissed for the first time last night, but she had just asked aboutSierra’swedding. It’s not like she was making plans for the two of them.

“I haven’t really thought about it, have you?”

“Nah. I kind of always figured I’d end up doing whatever my future fiancée wanted. I’m not picky.”

“What about kids? Do you want them?” Sierra asked.

“Yes. I want a bunch of kids.”

“Birth or adopt?”

Ellie had to think about that one. With how young they were, it wasn’t something she had really thought about. “Maybe both? I think I’d like to know what it feels like to carry a child inside of me, but there’s also so many kids who need homes.”

Sierra blew out a long breath. “I know. I was definitely one of the lucky ones. I don’t know who I’d be or where I’d be if it wasn’t for my moms.”

Ellie stopped walking so she could turn to look at Sierra. “I guess I’ll have to thank them, because I like who you are, and I’m also very happy about where you are right now.”

“I’m very happy about where I am too. I think this might end up being the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Ellie had no doubt it would be, because she was going to make sure it was.

Chapter 22

Sierra

Sierra felt like she was floating as she walked back into Ellie’s house after their tour of the town and trip to the grocery store. She knew they needed to talk about what they were doing, but for now, ignorance truly was bliss.

They bought supplies to bake cookies, so as soon as they recruited their moms and Sienna to help, they began to bake. By the time the last batch of cookies went into the oven, the kitchen was a complete mess, but for the first time in a long time, Sierra’s heart was not. When everyone else left to get cleaned up, Sierra and Ellie stuck around.

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