Page 53 of Snowed Under

“Aw, April looks so cute, all snuggled up,” I say, giving her cheeks a little tickle and she smiles up at me with a little gurgle.

“I think she likes the festivities already,” Presley laughs. “She’s all chirpy and happy.”

“That might be for other reasons,” Ali chimes in, giving us all a knowing wink. “But Pres will fill you in later.”

“Sounds ominous.” Emma wiggles her eyebrows in Presley’s direction. The kids run after Chris as he excuses himself to go over and help the guys. I quickly glance over to see if I can see Cole amongst the crowd, but there’s no sign of him yet.

“Everything will be revealed soon,” Presley assures us. “Do you guys wanna grab a hot chocolate in the meantime? The coffee van has just pulled up.”

“Sounds great,” I chime in with a few nods from the girls.

We walk towards Tim’s Coffee Perk as Rory sidles up on the other side of me.

“So, Ains. Word is you’ve tamed the wild beast of Silver Pines? If the other night at the dance was anything to go by.”

I laugh nervously. Wow, good news travels fast, but I guess she was there right after the altercation with Drake. “Which wild beast would that be?” I feign a very non-believable nonchalance.

“Cole Garrison,” Parker chimes. “Don’t get all coy with us now, Ainsley Parsons. You’ve been keeping him a secret, haven’t you!”

“Oh, now, I wouldn’t say that.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, trying to think fast. “But we’ve been getting to know each other since I moved next door to him.”

“How handy,” Ali giggles. “Way to go, Ainsley.”

“He’s apparently very sweet,” Emma adds her two cents’ worth, with an air of sarcasm to her voice.

“I bet he’s also good with his hands,” Rory chimes, giving me a nudge with her elbow.

I’m too embarrassed for words, and even if they’re egging me on, I know they mean well. They’re a wonderful group of women and I’ve known them forever.

“I’m not at liberty to answer that,” I joke. I mean, what am I supposed to say?

It comes to mind again that I should have clarified things with Cole, but I was a little busy jumping him when we got back to his truck last night and then going at it until the wee hours at his place. Stupidly, I wasn’t prepared to answer questions about us to our actual friends. Silly me.

“Well, someone who could answer it is walking right this way.” Pres nods toward Frosty, who’s causing a few headaches from the looks of all the guys gathered around it, scratching their heads.

My heart skips a beat when I glance over to see Cole walking with Jake and Charlene toward Frosty. Looks like they must’ve just arrived. Charlene spots us and waves, walking right over, leaving Jake with the guys but tugging on Cole’s arm. When he looks over and sees me, I notice a big, bright smile spread across his face. Is he ever in a bad mood?

“And he’s got a big old smile for you,” Parker chimes in, giving me a wink.

I can’t deny that fact; his eyes are directly on me and I don’t know where to look.

There’s something cheeky behind those deep pupils of liquid silk, and I know exactly what it is.

Charlene gives me a good old eyebrow wiggle as she approaches. Clearly she’s privy, as is the rest of the town, that Cole and I are apparently not as conspicuous as we thought.

I really need to talk to him.

Luckily, I don’t have to wait too long. After everyone says hi and the formalities are out of the way, Cole tugs at my hand while the others wait in line to order hot chocolate.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear. His smile stretches wide.

“Hey yourself,” I murmur shyly. We obviously haven’t seen each other since I left his bed this morning, and now we’re looking at one another, I feel a little jittery.

He glances down at my giant bauble Christmas sweater briefly and tugs at the hem. “Nice touch.”

I laugh. He’s in his usual jeans and plaid shirt with a jacket over the top. His hair is tousled, and he exudes a sexy mix of earthy sandalwood and the ocean. “Where’s your knitted sweater?” I joke.

“Oh, don’t worry, my mom is probably knitting one for me and my dad as we speak.”

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