Page 16 of Christmas Escape
Melody’s small hand on my cheek drew my eyes back to her. “Good. I feel that way, too. And as first kisses go, I think it was pretty off the charts. I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like when we…when there’s more.”
I grinned. “Oh, I can. I can imagine it very well.” My brow lifted at her. “Trust me; I have been.”
She blushed even as she grinned back. “If we don’t head out there, they’re going to send a search party, aren’t they?”
“Probably. That’s my family. Pushy, nosey, pretty great.”
“I like them. All of them. I’m glad your sister and her family were able to make it through all the snow.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t have missed it, even if they had to come by sleigh—which, yes, they have. They have several horses, in fact. We’ll go riding sometime if you want.”
She nodded. “I’d like that. Sometime.”
“And Melody?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m pretty sure they consider you their family now, too. Get ready.”
Nine
Melody
“Your family is amazing,” I told Caleb as we rode back to his house after leaving his parents’ on Christmas night. “They just welcomed me in as if I were one of their own.”
“Maybe, they recognized that you are,” he said.
Reaching over, he placed his hand on my thigh and gently squeezed. I squirmed, pressing my thighs together as fire leapt through me—fire and the anticipation of what would happen when we got back to his home. At least, what I thought would happen, anyway.
This was crazy. We were moving so fast, and I couldn’t believe I’d promised him that I would stay in Majestic Falls. That I’d stay with him. And I couldn’t believe I’d meant it with all my heart. Granted, there was nothing to go back to at home. Somehow, I just knew that my future was here. With Caleb.
“Are we going too fast?” I asked him, shifting in my seat so I could look at him directly.
“No,” he said, frowning slightly. “I’m only doing fifty-five, and the roads are clear.”
“Seriously?” I laughed as I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Oh, you meanus?” he teased.
“Obviously.”
“No. Not at all,” he argued. “Personally, I’ve waited twenty-seven years for you.”
Okay, if he kept saying perfectly sweet and wonderful things like that to me, how could I not fall in love with him?
“Aren’t you even a little scared?” I asked, unable to hold back the question. I knew I was because of my parents, but his mom and dad were amazing and so obviously in love.
“Of what?” He glanced over at me.
“Of this.” I gestured between us. “Of how fast this is happening.”
“No,” he admitted. “I think when it’s right, it’s just right. This feels right to me. But we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. Even if you want to go home for a while and think about things, I’ll wait as long as you need me to wait.”
“You’re that sure about us? Already?” I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and turned to face forward again.
I couldn’t help being nervous. I had no idea how to be in a relationship and didn’t have much in the way of role models to help me. What Ididknow was, I wanted Caleb in my life. I wanted to move here and wake up next to him every single morning for the rest of my life…even though I’d never fallen asleep beside him. But I wanted that, too.
It was all so new and scary and exciting. Feelings I’d never experienced were welling inside me. Love? I wanted to tell him I loved him, but was it real? I should wait; that was for sure.Because I also wanted to curl up in a ball and hide from my feelings. I was so conflicted about all of it.
