Page 103 of Estranged Heart
His eyes sparkle and I get lost in the happiness glowing in those dark blues, wanting to keep it there forever. To keep him right where he is forever, his hands getting lost in my hair and his body pressing to mine.
“I love you too.”
My heart warms. I’ll never get tired of hearing him say those words. I went from a decade of them not being reciprocated, to spending the last year having them whispered in my ear every single day. I didn’t think it was important to hear them, that just feeling someone’s love was enough, but Silas makes those three little words sound like the whole damn world.
He tugs a piece of unraveling yarn from one of my sleeves. “It could definitely use some more work.” He laughs and I tuck in the strand. “We all could sometimes. Doesn’t make it any less wonderful.”
The door rings and a group of people rush in, shivering from the cold. The weather has been stranger than usual, with a major cold front coming in today out of nowhere. Laughing and chatting away to one another, the new customers browse the romance section and Silas keeps pointing out everything he needs to fix on my new sweater.
When the store is empty again, I allow him to tug off the snug garment to toss it back in the bag.
“Did you close up shop already?” I ask, pulling him closer to me, and he brushes his lips over mine.
“I did an hour ago. Claudia is shutting everything down. She told me to go ahead and bother my fiancé early.”
“I always did like Claudia more than your other employees.” I tease the bulge in his jeans with my fingers.
Blushing, he swats at my hand. “Hey, now. You’re still open, you know.”
I glance down at my watch and look at the door. “Only for thirty more minutes. I sent everyone home a little early since I felt I could handle the last hour alone.”
“You’re not alone, though.” He waggles his brows and fuck, I want him so bad right now. That’s nothing new, though. My hunger only grows the longer I’m around him, and that’s why there was no hesitation when I stumbled upon the perfect ring for him in a jewelry store a month ago. I popped the question at the Christmas tree lighting, knowing how much he loves Christmas and big declarations of love in movies. Luckily he said yes and didn’t leave me waiting for an answer for too long, his whole face lighting up brighter than the displays around us.
“You’re right, I’m not. I have my sunshine, even late at night and while it’s snowing outside.” I glance at the white specks falling from the sky and his eyes shine with wonder.
“What? It’s snowing? Here in Austin?” His voice squeaks as he does a quick head spin, jumping in place. “It is. It really is.” His eyes flit back toward me. “Will you dance with me?”
I tilt my head, warmth scattering up my arm when he grabs my hand. “Right now? In the snow?”
“Yeah.” He bats his long lashes, tugging at my fingers.
“But it’s freezing.”
“I know, and we’re able to be in it long enough to hate it.”
“That we are.” A smile plays on my lips. Though he might occasionally have rough days, when fighting off small colds and dealing with med side effects, he’s had more good days than bad. He goes for weekly swims and long walks on the trail whenever he gets restless on days he’s off work alone. Driving has been going well for him and so has handling busy days at the flower shop.
“Let’s go see if we can.” He bounces on his feet, wrapping his hand-crocheted scarf tighter around his neck.
Once I have my coat on, he drags me out the front door, not taking me too far past the sidewalk. Twirling around me while holding my hand, he catches snow on the tip of his tongue, and I tug on his hair, crashing our lips together. Taking turns spinning each other around, we dance as flurries fly around us. White dust covers the ground and our shoes skid against the snow.
Cold air nips at my cheeks and my legs are numb. I shiver and icicles coat my beard, making me look forward to each time Silas pulls me into him. The next time he does, I hold him still, warmth sparking between our tightly pressed bodies, and when he tries to dance away from me again I say, “Come here,” yanking him back. “I want some more good to go with my bad.”
His warm breath ghosts over my lips and I devour his mouth with mine, seeking more hot kisses. He makes freezing my ass off worth it. I appreciate each explosion of him in my mouth and the feel of his hand sliding inside my shirt, waking up my skin. I couldn’t hate being out here if I tried, not with him standing in front of me, making delicious promises with his needy body. Nothing is bad about being out here anymore. Not a single damn thing.
“Should we go home?” His voice is husky.
“Yeah, but only because I want to see if candy canes taste good on you everywhere.”
“You hate candy canes,” he says, wearing a smug smile.
“Yeah, but apparently not when I have you mixed with them. My good with my bad.”
“The bad is supposed to make you appreciate the good more,” he says pointedly. “The good isn’t supposed to make you like the bad more.”
“What if there is no bad when it comes to you?” I hold him tighter, rubbing my thumb over his cheek.
“That’s impossible.”
