Page 48 of Snowflakes and Sparks

She smiled. “It was. But I won’t keep you occupied any longer with my nostalgic stories.”

“Oh, come on, I love to hear about the history of the store,” I protested.

“There are lots of stories I can share with you, but on another day. Trust me, when a handsome man is waiting for you, you don’t want to keep talking to an old lady like me.”

“What are you talking about?”

I turned around and spotted Alex leaning near the counter. I smiled at him and he walked toward us. “I see you’ve met Sarah,” he said.

“We were just talking about the book club that used to meet in here. Isn’t that fantastic? I think we should bring that old tradition back to life,” I said. Then I realized I wouldn’t be around for that.

Alex smiled. “I’m sorry to interrupt you two, but I’m going to kidnap Suzie here for the rest of the night.”

“I’ll lock everything up,” said Addy, who was now standing right next to me. “As long as you promise to follow your heart,” she added in a whisper.

Alex and I said goodbye to everyone and stepped outside. The entire neighborhood looked like a magical winter wonderland.

Alex led me to his car and opened the door for me. He held my hand so I wouldn’t slip while getting in before walking around the car and getting into the driver’s seat.

He leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine, one hand holding the back of my head, the other resting softly on my arm. His kiss stirred the butterflies in my stomach.

“I’ve wanted to do that again ever since lunch,” he said.

“I’m glad you did,” I grinned.

He adjusted the rearview mirror and started the engine. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

We rolled up the mountain in silence and I marveled at the thousands of lights flickering in the village below.

Alex parked the car at the ski resort and led me up a small path. It was so small that I would’ve missed it if he hadn’t pointed it out to me.

“I hope this isn’t the part in our story where you turn out to be a serial killer,” I said. The trees stood looming in the dark and a chill went through me, not from the cold this time.

He squeezed my hand. “Do you trust me?” He gave me a sideways glance.

“I trust you.”

Right around the first bend, some lights came into view and the atmosphere quickly turned from creepy to romantic. The entire path was flanked by big glass containers filled with candles, their flames dancing in the moonlight. The path kept winding up until we arrived at a big clearing. Wooden banisters marked the edge of the clearing and in the middle there was a big table, complete with a red tablecloth and matching napkins.

“Is this for us?” I asked, stating the obvious.

“When you said you’d never been swept off your feet by a romantic gesture I felt that I should at least try to give you a night to remember. Whether you stick around Old Pine Cove or not.”

He trailed a finger over my cheek, all the way down to my shoulder and elbow, before entwining his fingers with mine.

I planted a kiss on his warm mouth. “Thank you.” It came out as an almost inaudible whisper, but inside I was screaming with gratitude and joy.

He pulled out one of the chairs and I sat down. I’d never seen so many stars, apart from that time Dean and I spent the night at the Grand Canyon camping site. And when I say night, I mean one hour and twenty minutes. Dean was too freaked out by the possibility of finding a bug in his sleeping bag that he refused to spend an entire night there.

“How did you find this spot?” I asked.

“I used to come here with my friends when I was younger – before the resort bought all the surrounding land, that is. Let’s say I know someone in high places who pulled some strings for us.”

“I should broaden my social circle then, if these are the benefits of that,” I joked.

As if materializing out of thin air, a waiter came out with two steaming plates of spaghetti and a bottle of red wine. He put everything on the table before discreetly disappearing again.

“You remembered,” I said, gesturing at my favorite dish. “And you even let them bring extra cheese.”

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