Page 66 of A Heart to Find
He raised his eyebrows before winking. “I’m okay for now, but I will definitely take you up on the offer after we eat.”
He leaned over and dragged the basket onto the quilt, lifting the side and then closing it quickly when she tried to sneak a peek. He did that a few times before moving it closer to her. The delightful scent of chocolate wafted to her nose before he snapped the cover closed again.
“I know you’re drooling for dessert first, but I have a little something else for you.”
He lifted the other side of the basket and pulled out a small fondue pot and a container that held bread and chopped vegetables. He lit a small burner under the ceramic pot, and then reached back into the basket and emerged with two fondue forks. Placing one of the forks on his bent leg, he opened the food container and invited her to dig in.
Stomach growling, she dove in without hesitation.
“A fondue winter picnic.” She chewed the soft, crusty bread and the warm, salty cheese around a moan of satisfaction. “You could be quite the event planner.”
“Maybe that’ll be my next profession.” He stabbed another hunk of bread with his fork and swirled it around in the creamy cheese.
“The water is beautiful. Serene, but I like how the waves break on the shore a little harder each time.”
“Storm is coming.”
“Oh, stop. I don’t think it’s ever going to snow.”
He gloated half an hour later over chocolate fondue dessert as snow flakes drifted over their carefully laid picnic. She hurried to eat as much chocolate-dipped fruit as she could as snow settled all around.
“I feel like I may have said something about a storm coming and you saying something about me being wrong…Hmmm, if only I could recall how that conversation went…”
“A few snowflakes does not a storm make.”
“Maybe,” he acquiesced. “But I think we need to pack up and get back to the lodge before the storm you don’t believe in turns into a giant monster that traps us on the shore.”
“Okay, but first—are you going to eat that last powdered doughnut bite?”
“This one?” He held it up and waved it in front of her face, then brought it close to his mouth and opened wide. Then he swooped the treat back over to her and fed it to her, his fingers lingering on her lips as she closed them around the doughnut piece.
She averted her gaze after locking eyes with him long enough to spark a fire. Had she been cold? She couldn’t remember ever needing a blanket.
And yet her hands shook as she helped him repack the baskets and fold up the quilt. And when the snow increased in swirls around them, she ran alongside him all the way to the trolley stop, where they stood waiting for a few silent minutes before he turned to her and placed a hand on her cheek.
“Keira,” his voice broke on her name as he searched her face.
Unable to withstand the temptation any longer, she stood on tiptoes and met him partway, where their lips touched and recreated the magic they had once known all those years ago.
The world fell away as they held each other close inside a snow globe storm. Never had she felt more connected to another human. Never before had she known beyond a reasonable doubt that she had been brought to this moment for this reason. Never in her life had she imagined she’d get everything she dreamed of if she only waited long enough.
He slowed the kiss and pulled away for a moment, staring at her as if she were the most precious jewel and he the explorer who discovered her after a long, grueling search.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
“Then kiss me again.”
“I will. I want to. But first I have something really important—really wonderful—to share with you. I’ve held off on telling you because I didn’t want it to influence your decision, but I want you to know?—”
“Whatever it is, I don’t care. I want you, Jared. That’s the decision I’ve made.” She pulled him down for another kiss, and though he hesitated slightly, he surrendered to her urgency and once again met her full on.
He was her home. Wherever he wanted to go, she’d go with him. As he increased the intensity of the kiss, she knew that nothing would dissuade her from following him down whatever rocky path he wanted to lead her on.
He understood her. He respected her.
She hoped he loved her.
Lost in the feel of his cold nose bumping against her heated cheek and pulling his neck closer for a deeper kiss, she didn’t hear the car approach until someone was clapping her hands to break them up.
