Page 51 of Fake It Till We Fall
She inhaled slowly, and when she blew out her breath, the smile was back on her face. “Of course. And you’re right. Grandma will love hearing about every detail. We can send her a photo.”
She held up her phone,framing the two of us in the shot. “Smile. Let’s give Grandma proof we’re making the most of it.”
I leaned in close enough to catch the faint scent of her shampoo and grinned. There was nothing fake about the smile on my face. Every minute with Harper was fun and easy.
She clicked the button and flipped the phone around to look at the shot. “We’re so cute.”
“We always were,” I said before I could stop myself.
Her smile faltered, but only for a second.
I was doing a terrible job hiding my growing feelings for Harper, and I wasn’t sure I cared anymore.
She sent the picture to Willa and tucked her phone back in her pocket.
“If we’re done with the photo shoot, let’s go.” I pulled my toque down low over my ears. “Before we lose the light.”
I’d forgotten how hard it could be to maneuver on snowshoes, but it didn’t take long to remember when my heart was beating fast, and I’d unzipped my coat in an effort to cool off.
“Slow down!” Harper called out behind me. “It’s not a race.”
Maybe it wasn’t. But part of me hoped that by getting my heart rate up, I could run away from the conflicting feelings crashing through me.
It wasn’t working.
“Grayson!”
I turned around just in time to get a snowball square in the chest.
I stopped in my tracks and brushed the snow off my chest. “Did you just do that?”
She grinned. “Sure did.” Harper bent over laughing, another snowball already packed in her mittened hands. “If you’re not going to slow down, I’ll slow you down.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nodded. “Yup.”
“Maybe I should just speed you up.” I took off, running in her direction as awkwardly as I could in my snowshoes.
Harper squealed and tried to backpedal, but snowshoes aren’t built for speed.
Snow crunched under my snowshoes as I quickly closed the gap. It didn’t take long before I had her cornered between two trees, her cheeks flushed and her breath coming fast; she looked adorable.
“You surrender?”
She straightened her shoulders. “Never.”
For a moment, we stood there, only inches apart, both of us smiling too wide. Her eyes met mine, and something flickered between us.
I almost leaned in. God help me, I wanted to kiss her more than anything else.
But Harper blinked, stepping past me with a playful shove. “Come on, tough guy. I’m ready for a hot drink.”
I laughed, even as the ache in my chest twisted tight, and I followed her down the path back to the lodge.
There was no way she hadn’t felt whatever that was between us.
But even if she had felt it, that still didn’t mean anything.
