“For what it’s worth, he knew even then that he’d put you in an awkward position—asking you not to tell people about the breakup. I guess he hoped a big romantic gesture might make you change your mind.”
It had been romantic. Half the reason the town had been so outraged at her rejection was because Luke was a local hero and females from tweens to grandmas all thought he was a terrific guy. And he was. He just wasn’t right for Rachel. “We were too different. I always knew I wanted to leave Yuletide and even then he was talking about when he would come home to settle here for good.”
“All his family is here. I always envied him that,” Gavin said, a wistful note in his voice.
“At least now Luke is getting married to someone who will appreciate those big romantic gestures and wants to live in Yuletide too.” She knew Kiersten and Luke would have a beautiful marriage. “I’m glad they’re happy.”
In the quiet aftermath of her words, she realized how close they stood. How nice it felt to have his hand wrapped around hers, an anchoring warmth in the chilly evening while a few snowflakes took their time falling to the ground. They dotted her cheek and nose, skimmed her parka with a gentle swish-ing sound.
“How about you?” Gavin asked, his voice low and for her ears only, even though the playground was empty except for them. “Are you happy, Rachel?”
She stared into his eyes as he lifted his free hand to swipe a dark lock of hair from her cheek. Shivers of awareness radiated out from that small place he touched her.
“I guess so. Or, at least, I will be happy when I settle things here so I can go home with a clear conscience. Knowing I tried to smooth over old wrongs and make peace with Yuletide.”
“It means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think I realized that my grudge against the town was as big as their grudge against me until I got back here.” She wondered when was the last time she’d had a conversation so intimate—so personal and focused on things that mattered to her—with anyone. “I don’t want to be the kind of woman who uses old hurts to justify being bitter or resentful.”
“In snowboarding, we call it being able to put the last run behind you.” Gavin stepped closer still. “If you can’t do that, it’s hard to find success in the next run.”
She nodded vague agreement, watching him as his head canted nearer. His lips.
And then, he was kissing her. His mouth covered hers gently, his fingers spearing up into her hair to draw her against him.
Chapter Seven
Kissing Gavin was every bit as amazing as she remembered.
More.
Rachel wound her arms around his neck, hungry to be closer. To make sure the kiss never ended. Light-headed with awareness of him—his scent, his touch, his every breath—she needed to hold on tight for fear her knees would fail her and she would collapse into the snow at their feet.
The world around them receded. Christmas music faded along with the warped strains of the merry-go-round soundtrack. The laughter of visitors and carols of the strolling singers all felt distant, a hazy background to the most important connection of her life. Or, so it felt at this moment. Gavin had a way of holding her and touching her like she was the only woman in the world. The only woman who mattered.
It was addictively delicious. Rachel feared if she continued the contact she’d never let go.
Still, she couldn’t seem to pull away. The blood in her veins hummed pleasantly. There was a buzzing in her head that…
No. The buzzing was from her phone in her pocket.
Gavin seemed to come to his senses faster than her. He edged back, watching her. “Do you need to answer that?”
She didn’t want to, in fact. But maybe the cosmos had conspired to give her this mental time out to think about what she was doing before things turned even more heated.
“Um.” Digging in her coat pocket, she withdrew the device. “Maybe I’d better.”
Kiersten’s face filled the screen. What on earth could the bride want during the middle of her bachelorette party?
“Hello?” Rachel answered, her lips still tingly from kissing Gavin. She blinked twice, trying to ward off the haze of attraction.
“We just arrived at Frosty’s Igloo!” Kiersten shouted over a loud country holiday tune in the background, along with the high-pitched scrabble of feminine voices. “You have to come out and play now since we’re practically in your backyard.”
Swallowing back thwarted desire and a little awkwardness around Gavin, Rachel weighed her options. “I thought you were in Lake Placid for the party?”
“We wanted to end the night closer to home. Besides, the girls wanted to dance. If I don’t see you in ten minutes, I’m sending Emma over in the limo to bring you here personally.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Rachel’s chest constricted at the idea of facing the ladies of the bridal party tonight, but at least a few of them had seemed okay after the dress fittings. Besides, she probably needed to peel herself away from Gavin before she did something she’d regret. Like fall for a star athlete who was as attached to Yuletide as she was allergic to it. “I’m not at home anyway. I can be there in a few minutes.”
With a squeal and a cheer, Kiersten disconnected the call. Slowly, Rachel lowered her phone as Gavin watched her.
“The bride needs you?” The corner of his lips hitched in a half smile. His voice wrapped around her with an intimacy that made her shiver.
What had she been thinking to repeat old history with him? As if the first time hadn’t ended on a disastrous enough note.
Pocketing her phone, Rachel took a deep breath. “I guess I’m going to end up at the bachelorette party after all.”
“Can I walk you over there?” he asked.
“They’re at Frosty’s Igloo.” She pointed the way. “It’s in the opposite direction of home, so I’ll be fine on my own.”
No more repeat kisses that way.
“What kind of gentleman would I be to let you walk up icy hills in the dark?” He held out his arm—perfectly chivalrous and entirely too tempting. “I’ll just stay with you long enough to make sure you arrive without spraining an ankle.”
Grateful in spite of her misgivings about her ability to resist him, Rachel slid a hand into the crook of his elbow. He felt warm and strong, and with the taste of him still on her lips she felt her cheeks heat. She didn’t dare to meet his eyes, knowing he might read the hunger there.
And she couldn’t afford to fall back into another kiss. Not until she gathered her scattered thoughts. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Is this your first bachelorette party?” he asked while they walked through the light mist of snowflakes. “Or are you a pro at these things? I don’t know anything about your life in the big city.”
“I’ve been to a couple of them, but only for acquaintances, not for super close friends.”