Page 43 of A Heart to Find
She repaid his kindness by dumping a load of snow down the front of his shirt.
“That’s the oldest trick in the book!” she shrieked, running backwards down the street as he vowed revenge and emptied his shirt of cold snow.
“You may have won the battle, but you’d better stay on high alert, because I intend to win the war.”
Though he talked big, he’d be willing to endure cold snow on his chest over and over again if the reward was the musical trill of her laughter.
The threat of him continuing the war kept her at a distance, so he said what he never thought he’d say. “I call a truce.”
He held his hand out to her, but she smirked and turned away, glancing at him over her shoulder.
“I’m not sure I can trust this truce you offer.”
“I’m a man of my word,” he teased.
“Okay, if you promise to keep your hands off the snow, I will promise to trust you.”
“Promise.”
He maintained eye contact for a long, precious moment, taking in the soulful blue of her bright eyes. Eyes he had spent many moments lost in. If only he had known then what he’d be missing out on over the years.
A group of laughing couples broke the hypnotic intensity of their gaze as the offenders rushed past them in the street. Too dark to know for certain, Jared was convinced that Keira’s cheeks had turned bright red. She turned away, a slight smile haunting her face as if she, too, had been lost in memories of a time when staring into each other’s eyes was the most natural thing in the world.
“It’s getting cold out here.” She shivered as if emphasizing her declaration. Or maybe trying to convince him of the drop in temperature.
“I think the mild temps have passed. There’s a storm coming if the plate in my foot is any indication.”
“I remember when you had to get that. I’ve never seen anything more gory.”
He smiled at the repeat of her exaggerated shiver, for different reasons this time.
“You think it was bad for you? You didn’t have a bone protruding through your skin.”
“Because I wouldn’t do something as insensible as snowboarding without proper equipment.” She smiled to soften the blow. “Okay, let’s be real. I wouldn’t be snowboarding anyway, but you get the point.”
“Sneaking into the ski resort wasn’t my brightest idea, but I wasn’t the only one! Just the only one unlucky enough to fall wrong.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I still can’t figure out why you had your friends bring you to my house rather than straight to the hospital? That was crazy.”
He dug his hands deep into his pockets, suddenly aware of the chill she had spoken of. The ghosts of the past reared their taunting heads, bringing back every feeling he had ever had.
“Wasn’t it obvious? I needed you. I only felt okay when you were with me.”
She looked up into his face as if searching for truth. Her lips moved as if about to say something, but then she pursed them slightly before biting her lower lip and averting her gaze.
Her chest heaved as she inhaled the night air, and when she looked at him again, her eyes squinted at the corners and her lips lifted her cheeks. “I’m ready to head back to the lodge. You in the mood for some tea by the fire?”
He rubbed his hands together. “Don’t have to ask me twice. I’ve been wanting to sit by that fireplace since day one.”
With most of the residents of the hotel still dancing up a storm, they were able to score the best seats by the oversized stone fireplace in the lobby. A waiter delivered hot herbal tea, which Jared choked down without complaint, and offered them a tabletop s’more making experience.
“Um, yes, please!”
Her excitement was palpable and tasted as sweet as the marshmallows they mushed together with the chocolate and the graham crackers. He’d never tire of her unabashed joyfulness at things other women he had known might cast off as too childish or too messy or too high in calories. But Keira dove in with the glorious enthusiasm of a child, licking her fingers to consume every last calorie and smiling as she picked graham cracker crumbs off her sweatpants.
If he had been disappointed to find her unwilling to go to the dance with him, he had moved past it as soon as she helped him understand.
And though he enjoyed every second he spent with her, he couldn’t relax into the experience until she let her guard down and started to trust him.
