Page 27 of The Holiday Disaster

“So you never hated me?” I asked in a daze, half wondering if this was all some sort of crazily realistic dream.

He scoffed at my question. “Does that even need to be asked? If I hated you, would I have kept trying to hang out with you despite your numerous refusals?”

“I thought you were just trying to be cordial with your best friend’s younger brother,” I muttered.

“Elliott couldn’t give a rat’s ass if we were friends or not. He’s more concerned about his exercise regime and shooting hoops.”

I nodded in agreement. Elliott had been obsessed with basketball since we were kids. Kingsley continued to focus his blue eyes on me, his gaze unwavering.

It was now or never. I took a deep breath, gathering all the courage that I’d saved up to voice the real question that I wanted an answer to. “Then how do you feel about me?”

He broke out into the most blinding smile that had my heart stopping, only to be restarted by his next words. “I really like—”

I didn’t let him finish as I jumped into his lap and crashed my mouth with his. My hands threaded into his hair as his arms tightened around me, holding me close.

I pulled away from his kiss and rested my forehead on his, our noses pressed together. “Me too,” I breathed against his lips.

His smiling lips gave me another soft kiss that was quickly pulled back by the sudden noise surrounding us. The entire shop exploded in applause and congratulations. Strangers I’d never seen before had expressions of joy as they cheered for us. Some even chanted for us to kiss again.

I laughed, too happy to care that we were the center of everyone’s attention. So I gave the crowd what they wanted. I grabbed the back of his hair and pulled him in and landed a huge smooch on his cheek. Just because I wasn’t dying from embarrassment from their stares didn’t mean I was suddenly okay with making out in public. I still had my shame.

Pulling back again, I let out a giggle of happiness and nerves. Kingsley gave me a helpless smile and guided my head into the nook of his neck to shield me from the majority of the stares. He thanked the crowd and waved them off again so that we could have our peace.

I let him handle all that and placed myself in his care. I breathed in his spicy scent, each inhale calming me as I melted in his arms. If Kingsley wasn’t holding me so tightly, I might have floated away in happiness.

He had confirmed that my one-sided crush on him wasn’t so one-sided after all. And after all these years of trying to deny and reject my feelings for him, I was finally able to reveal them out in the open. And was there anything better than that?

EIGHTEEN

ETHAN

The smile didn’t leave my face even after leaving the coffee shop. I tightly held Kingsley’s hand as we walked back out into the cold. The crowd still hadn’t dispersed from the main square, so I suggested we take the carriage to where Jim worked as Austin recommended.

We strolled back the way we came, our pace slow as we took our time and enjoyed being in the moment. Kingsley looked at me with a grin, his arm wrapping around my shoulder. I returned with my own wide smile and snuggled into his side as we lined up for the horse carriages.

The line moved quickly, and the couples shuffled close to one another as they left in their own horse carriages. I was still stuck to Kingsley’s side and smiled up at him. He also happened to be looking at me and leaned down to rub his head against mine.

The action was so coupley that my stomach felt like there were a thousand butterflies fluttering inside of it. I wondered how we looked to others. Did we look the same as the other loving couples in front us? But that posed the question of if we were even in a relationship?

We soon stepped to the front of the line, paid, and were seated in a white and gold decorated horse carriage. The driver gave us a thick blanket to cover our legs and explained the ride to the farm would take about twenty minutes before facing the front again to guide the horse to walk.

The setting sun gave us tiny bits of warmth even in this weather. And fortunately, the storm had passed, the last of the snowfall raining down on us last night. After a full day of sun, the ice on the ground had melted, but the trees that grew on both sides of the path we rode on were still white with thick snow.

It was a beautiful sight. We were the only people on this road, and the only sounds that could be heard were the wheels of the carriage and clop of the horse’s hooves. The soft light from the sun made everything sparkle and glow. It was a scene taken from a fairy tale, and I could see why the founder of Wintertown had trekked into the forest in the middle of winter.

Kingsley had his eyes closed, his face tilted upward as he soaked up the last of the day’s warmth. The sun shifted through his hair, turning his natural brown hair into a myriad of shades. Some strands of hair shined a blond that brought up memories of when we first met.

Before he hit puberty and his hair darkened, it used to be a light blond color. And adding in his glittering blue eyes, he had looked like an angel that had come down from the sky. Or perhaps even prince charming from the fairy tales.

If he said he thought I was his princess, did that mean that he was my prince?

He had his hands on his lap, and I reached out to hold it. “What are you thinking about?” I asked.

He peeled an eyelid open, his face still turned toward the setting sun as he gave his reply. “Just thinking how nice it is today. It’s a beautiful day with great weather, and I can’t imagine being stuck in a town full of holiday festivities and cheesy romantic legends with anyone else but you.” He raised the back of my hand to his lips.

The action warmed me even more than the sun could, and I shot him a huge smile. “Do you really mean that?”

“With all my heart.” His words held an earnestness to them that had me blushing. “In fact, you could say that it was fate that led us here,” he said, his smile turning into the grin he used whenever he was teasing me.

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