Page 111 of Merry Me
Me: Possibly.
Casey: SHE SAID YES! WE HAVE CONFIRMATION!
Riley: Should we alert TMZ or are you handling that yourself?
Me: I hate you both.
Casey: Wait…what bathroom interlude?
Riley: Spill the deets.
Me: Ok, Jace…
Me: But also.
Me: …
CHAPTER 21
EASTON
Paying off the sleigh driver so I could take over at the last second? A no-brainer. Just like pulling every string I could to make it to this wedding—the only shot I had at winning back the girl who broke my heart. As I stood in the fresh snow, watching Natalie eye the empty driver’s seat of the sleigh with uncertainty, it felt like I was making all the best decisions in my life nowadays.
“Where’s our driver?” Natalie asked, glancing around the snowy yard in confusion, her lavender scarf snug around her neck, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold.
“You’re looking at him,” I said, giving her my best confident smile as I took the reins in hand.
She hesitated, then shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not. You don’t know how to drive a sleigh.”
I raised an eyebrow, feigning offense. “Excuse you—I was in a commercial once where I had to drive one of these. I’m basically an expert.”
“A commercial?” She eyed me skeptically. “Was that the same commercial where you stood around shirtless next to a horse, or is there an entirely separate horse-themed incident I should know about?”
I grinned, pleased she’d been paying attention to my career. “Same one. Look at you, keeping track of my shirtless exploits.”
Natalie rolled her eyes dramatically, but I caught the twitch of her lips fighting a smile. She sighed heavily and stepped toward the sleigh, brushing snowflakes from her coat. “Fine. But if we crash, I’m leaving you for dead and going straight for the eggnog.”
“Harsh,” I said, laughing softly as I offered her a hand up.
Her gloved fingers slipped into mine, sending warmth racing through me despite the cold. She settled into the sleigh, rearranging blankets around her lap, clearly doing her best to appear unaffected by the intimacy of the moment.
I climbed in beside her, took a steadying breath, and flicked the reins gently. Mercifully, the horse moved forward smoothly, guiding us down the moonlit path. I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“See?” I said gently, nudging her softly. “We’re fine.”
“We’re still within fifty feet of the driveway,” she pointed out dryly. “Let’s not celebrate yet.”
I laughed, and it was kind of crazy how light my chest felt this week. Like every second with her shed something off me.
The sleigh glided through the snow-covered woods, the night wrapping around us like a dream stitched in ink and frost. Trees dusted in white stood tall on either side of the path, their branches bowing gently beneath the weight of the snow. The only sounds were the crunch of hooves against the icy ground, the soft jingle of bells from the harness, and the steady beat of my heart—which hadn’t quite settled since the moment I saw her again.
As the trees thinned and the world grew quieter, Natalie shifted beside me, reaching into her coat pocket. Her phone screen lit up in the moonlight, and I caught the way her expression pinched, subtle but sharp.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual even as something in my chest went rigid.
She hesitated for a second too long, then turned the phone toward me. A single text blinked on the screen from an unknown number.
Unknown: Call me back.
