Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
Then Maddox made a slight motion with his hand, and a string of tiny white fairy lights lit up on the front of the coat, spelling out another message.
I love you.
I sucked in a breath. Holy shit.
He held out his arms to the side so the message was clear to see. And then he shouted.
“Adrian Hayes, I don’t need you to stay in Legacy. I need you to stay with me.” He brought a hand to his chest and banged a fist over the letter I. “I need you here. With me. In my heart. Always. No matter where you go or what you do. This heart is your home now. Do you understand?”
His voice broke before he could say more, but I’d already launched myself toward the slope, barely aware of Maya’s delighted, relieved laughter behind me.
Unfortunately, I spent most of my time at sea level, which meant I was heaving from lack of oxygen after running only halfway up the mountain. Thankfully, Maddox had run down to meet me, somehow not falling and turning into a human snowball on the way.
When he finally got to me, I lunged into his arms, knocking him over and shooting fresh powder everywhere.
“I love you, too,” I gasped before kissing him. His lips and tongue were warm and sweet. Familiar and exciting at the same time.
Maddox’s hands moved up and down my back. When he’d gotten his fill of kisses, he pulled back. “Do you get what I’m trying to tell you, baby? I don’t want you to give up your dream for me. I want to be part of it.”
“You’re the whole dream,” I confessed breathlessly. “The entire thing. I’m not giving it up. I finally found it, and I’m not letting it go.”
Maddox bit off one of his gloves and pushed damp hair back from my eyes, shoving it under the cap and then caressing the side of my face. The way he looked at me, with raw affection and the banked embers of need, made me even more breathless.
“We can figure it out. Travel together. You know, I happen to know how to work a video camera. I can help with your job. I want to.”
My heart was hammering in my chest as I grinned down at him. “Yeah? And where would you stay? Solenne would only provide one hotel room…”
His eyes danced in the shifting light from the fairy lights mashed between us. “I guess I’d have to bunk with you, wouldn’t I?”
“And what if I didn’t want to travel anymore?” I asked softly. “What if I wanted to stay here and work on building out Sullivan Hardware’s online presence so that you can have more time for your photography, and I could come home to your mom’s lasagna more often?”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” He tugged on a lock of my hair. “I don’t care what our happy ever after looks like, as long as it has you in it.”
I leaned down and kissed him again, but it only took half a second before I realized there were catcalls and shouting all around us.
“Fuck,” I cried, shoving off him. “I was about to make out with you in front of the entire town.”
I reached down to help him to his feet, then began dusting the snow off his chest.
He shot me a teasing grin. “Copping a cheap feel instead?” he teased.
“I’m not stupid,” I said with a wink. “Gotta take my moments any way I can.”
Maddox looked around us before pulling his glove back on and reaching for my hand. “I think our moment was captured by more than the town,” he murmured.
Sure enough, cell phones were raised over people’s heads, filming every moment as Maddox and I made our way down the slope. But Maddox didn’t seem unhappy about it. If anything, he seemed… satisfied.
“You realize you’re going to be immortalized wearing earflaps, right?” I tugged at the edge of the hat. “And I can’t believe this coat even fits you.” I pushed the scarf aside and spotted a vintage cable-knit Nordique sweater beneath. “Wait, is that…?” My words trailed off as I realized the effort he’d gone to… and why.
“My dad’s old sweater.” Maddox nodded, his expression relaxed and happy. “I figured there was no better time to pull it out. If I was going to create a viral moment, why not make your sponsor happy?”
“But… this was our moment,” I protested. “It was about us.”
“It was. It is. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other,” he said softly. He pulled me to a stop beside him, wrapping his arms around my waist. “That’s what I was trying to tell you with this.” He waved a hand to indicate the mountain, the crowds of smiling tourists and townsfolk, and the two of us. “I know I said a lot of shit about your work when you first came to Legacy—”