Page 47 of A Thousand Broken Pieces

The knock sounded again, and I climbed out of bed and cracked it open just a little. Cael was on the other side, eyes full of life and just as wide awake as me. “Come on,” he said and held out his hand, a soft but excited expression on his face.

The rule follower within me told me to stay, that our curfew had passed and we would get into trouble if we were caught sneaking out. Mia and Leo had been insistent that we not break the rules. But then the energy that was still coursing through me told me to forget the rules and seize the moment. It had me ducking back into my room to grab my coat, boots, gloves, and hat. Quietly closing my door, I took Cael’s hand and silently followed him down the stairs and out into the street.

A burst of quiet laughter pealed from my chest when he began to run down the street, pulling me behind. I had no idea where we were going, the wind whipping through my hair. The breeze slapped my face—I felt so alive.

Cael’s long legs ate up the distance we were covering, trampling snow under our feet. My breath came quicker the faster we ran, my chest burning with the cold. I grew warmer and warmer, sporadic laughter still sailing freely from my heart.

Then we turned a corner, and I came to a dead stop. I clutched onto Cael’s arm, as I looked out before us. “The beach,” I said, taking in the sight. Snow covered what should have been a grassy verge on the approach, but the sand was untouched, and the water was flowing just as easily as on the beaches back in Georgia.

It was a dream brought to reality.

“Cael,” I said, turning toward him.

“I had to show you,” he said, simply, like it wasn’t the most perfect gift he could have given me. The brightness of the snow made it so everything was visible in the dark, the stars up ahead like earth’s very own string light decoration.

In the space of a few short hours, I’d had my eyes opened to the most glorious scenes I had ever encountered. The clouds were heavy above us and the cold breeze whipped up my hair, causing goose bumps to leave tracks on the back of my neck. But I was here, in this place.

I was lost in paradise.

“Come on,” Cael said and led me over the snowy verge and onto the golden sand. We came to a stop at the water’s edge. Even in the winter it looked crystal clear and inviting.

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” I asked, awestruck once again.

“Just once,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. I turned my head to him to ask what that was. But by the way he was looking at me, eyes focused on my face and adoration in his gaze, I quickly caught on to what he was implying.

I swallowed my nerves, my face heating so much I knew he’d be able to see my blush, even in the dark. Cael stepped closer, then closer still. I was frozen in place, watching his every minuscule movement. My breath came quicker, and those butterflies were back accosting my entire body. Cael didn’t say a word as he stopped before me, so close I could smell his addictive scent and feel his warm breath on my face.

Freeing my hand from his—the one he no doubt felt trembling—he removed his gloves, then, with his bare hands, gently cupped my cheeks. He was so tall and broad, athletic and strong, yet handled me like I was a prized possession he didn’t want to break.

His silver-blue eyes dived into mine, and he pressed his forehead to my forehead. That intimate touch brought instant calm. This was Cael Woods. The boy who had captivated me. The boy whose heart had somehow become inexplicably attached to mine. The boy who was fast becoming my safety.

I didn’t speak, didn’t utter his name. I just let the heat of our bodies passbetween us, sharing this intimate space. Cael moved back, brushing the tip of his nose down my cheek. My breathing came quicker and my eyes fluttered closed. His fingertips ghosted over my cheeks, a soothing motion. Then his nose met mine and he reared back a fraction. I felt the intensity of his heavy stare. I opened my eyes and saw the question hovering in the static-thick air crackling between us.

I smiled, and that was all the invitation Cael needed. Closing in, he pressed a kiss on my lips—tentative, a gossamer touch. The neon lights that we had just watched dance before our eyes seemed to take root within me. Each flare moving in time with my every heartbeat as Cael’s lips pressed to mine again, harder this time. I gripped on to his arms, holding tightly to this boy, giving me my first kiss.

His lips were soft and warm and filled with so much trust and affection. The northern lights and stars had rendered me speechless—this sensation was like soaring through a sunrise. It was life and death and all that rested in between. It transcended any feeling I’d ever had before and wrapped me up in beauty so tightly it was euphoric.

I kissed Cael back, shyly at first. But as he framed my face and licked along the seam of my lips, I fell into the dreamlike state his minty taste and careful touch brought to this moment. I parted my lips, giving his tongue permission to join mine in an intricate dance. One of his hands broke from my face to pass over my neck and thread into my hair. Our kiss deepened, my heart beat faster, and feelings I’d been so terrified of releasing exploded inside of me, bringing a beaming light to my nerves, showing them that there was nothing to fear.

There wasnothingto fear …

Cael kissed me. He kissed and kissed me and joined us so close it was as if we were two stars colliding. When he pulled back, I didn’t think anything else could make me feel so adored, until he whispered, “I’m falling for you, Peaches.”

I drew in a stuttered, shocked breath. But as his husky voice and that softly spoken admission fell over me, there was only a sense ofrightnessinside of me. Cael wanting me and me wanting him so fiercely it occupied every one of my thoughts.

Cael’s eyes betrayed his frayed nerves at his vulnerable confession. He had no reason to be scared. “I’m falling for you too,” I whispered back, not wanting to disturb the peace that we had created in this magical place—standing united on this snowy beach.

The smile that lit up Cael’s face was blinding.

Both of his hands wrapped into my hair, and I kissed him. Kissing him came as naturally as breathing. My chest pressed to his and I smiled against his lips as his heart drummed in sync with my own. My lips tingled under his touch, and I felt like I could have stayed here forever, kissing this boy with everything I had, giving him all of my heart and soul. Then—

I gasped against Cael’s lips and drew back my head, tipping my head up to the sky. A laugh tore from my throat as a snowflake landed on the tip of my eyelash. “It’s snowing.”

Cael peered up at the sky too, the snowflakes turning from tiny morsels of white to thick drops in mere seconds. Snowflakes kissed our faces as thoroughly as our lips had just kissed.

Cael held me in his arms as I felt the snow on my face, and as I gazed out over the water, the snowflakes disappeared as they met the water’s surface. I closed my eyes and let the snow fall all over me. Embraced the biting cold that scattered within me. “Whatisthis place?” I murmured in disbelief and looked back at Cael.

He was already watching me with a gentle smile on his face. His gloveless finger traced my cupid’s bow and ran over my bottom lip. He was so beautiful. The most perfect boy I had ever seen. I laughed harder when a cluster of snowflakes began to stick to his messy hair that was escaping the protection of his beanie.

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