Page 88 of How He Got the Girl
Mallory narrows her eyes at me playfully before closing them. Ted’s friend pulls the surprise up behind her. It’s probably already obvious with the sounds of the hooves crunching the snow.
I let go of her arms and say, “Your chariot awaits, beautiful.”
Mallory turns around and opens her eyes, gasping when she sees the horse-drawn carriage. She launches herself at me. I barely catch her in time as she throws her arms around my neck and wraps her legs around my waist. With my hands cupped under her thighs, my heart races, but I try to control it before it makes me do something I might regret. I’m not going to do anything to mess this night up. Even if her lips are in the perfect position to be thoroughly kissed.
I avert my gaze. Nope, we’re not thinking about her perfect mouth. Fish lips. That’s what I’ll think of. Gross, stinky fish lips.
“Thank you.” Mallory’s words draw my eyes back to her beaming face. “I’ve always wanted to go on a carriage ride through the snow.”
“Really?”
She nods. “It may seem like I’m not into all the romantic things, but I think every girl has at least one princess moment they dream of. This is mine.”
“Then let’s make your dream come true, princess.” I carry her over to the carriage and carefully place her in it. I offer her an exaggerated bow that makes her blush before hopping up into the carriage and sitting beside her. There’s a plush cream-colored blanket that I pull up over our laps.
“Do you have everything you need, sir?” Ted’s friend—the owner of the horse and carriage—asks.
“This is great. Thank you. I’ll return it later, where we discussed.”
“Great, you kids have fun.” He walks off in the snow toward the car.
I pull my phone out and prop it up on the railing with a timer set. “We needa picture first.”
I lean my head against Mallory’s as we cozy up under the blanket and smile at the camera. This is a moment I never want to forget. After she approves the photo, I slide my phone back into my pocket and grab the drinks I had prepared for us in to-go cups.
Mallory takes the one I offer her, smiling when she sips the contents. “Snickerdoodle hot chocolate?” I nod. “You’re the best.”
There’s no holding back my smile as I take the reins in one hand while carefully holding my drink in the other. I make a small clicking sound, and the horse pulls us forward.
She raises a brow. “You know how to drive a horse-drawn carriage? Is there anything youcan’tdo?”
I laugh. “I had to learn for my role inA Chance Romance.” Thankfully, Ted’s friend owns one of the carriage ride businesses in town and allowed me to borrow it for the evening.
“Of course, you did.” She takes a sip of her drink, leaning back and looking at the scenery.
We move down the middle of the forest, rows of pine trees on either side, covered in a dusting of snow. It looks ethereal.
“I think we’ve been dropped into the middle of a fictional winter wonderland.” Mallory looks around in awe. “It looks like a scene from Narnia.” She tilts her head back and forth. “Or a horror film before all the murdering happens.”
I laugh. “I didn’t take you to a murder forest.”
“That’s a relief.” She pats her gloved hand on my chest, and my heart immediately picks up pace, a rhythm it only adopts around her.
I look down at her. “It really is beautiful. More than I could’ve ever dreamed of.”
“Are you saying you didn’t orchestrate for there to be snow covering all the trees and fresh snow along the path?” She glances up at me and blushes when she realizes I was already looking at her.
“I’m saying the view from where I am is the most stunning one I’ve ever seen.” I press a kiss to her temple. “Nothing else could ever compare.”
The color on her cheeks deepens, almost matching the pink of her coat. “So, should we go ahead and post the picture?”
“I don’t see every time we hang out as a photo op.” I pull the horse to a stop, set my drink down, and lean closer. A snowflake falls on my cheek, but I don’t bother brushing it away. Nothing could pull me from this moment. I’m completely locked in on Mallory. “Maybe I want pictures of us all to ourselves. Or maybe I just want to see you.”
“Is that so?” She tilts her chin, giving me the perfect access to her lips—an invitation.
“Mm-hmm,” I hum. If she truly was my girlfriend, I’d kiss her without fail, but I don’t want to make a move too quickly and lose all the progress we’ve made.
Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about that because Mallory closes the remaining distance between us, pressing her lips to mine. It’s nothing like the kisses we’ve shared before. Our first kiss was tender and sweet, while the one for the photographer was quick and staged. But this one is filled with all the passion I’ve been holding back since I found her. One that comes from thinking love was forever lost, but it’s finally found again.
