Page 30 of Once Upon a Winter
“No, it’s not. It’s not adorable. Laura, you’re a bright and fascinating woman. I admire the way you took charge of your life and redefined it on your terms.”
That sounded so nice, but she knew there was more.
“But you’re letting this snow globe rule your thoughts and affect your judgment.”
Laura felt like a deflated lawn decoration, a helpless eyesore on the holiday horizon. She couldn’t draw in a breath, let alone speak. The best she could offer was a feeble nod.So, is this it? Is this the part where he breaks up with me?
As the weight of uncertainty hung between them, something shifted within her, and she lashed out. “I’ll bet your ex didn’t have a snow globe.” The sharp look Cooper gave her in response made her wish she hadn’t said it. “I’m sorry. That was petty.”
“Sandra’s in town for the holidays.”
“That’s nice.” Laura tried to smile, but it was too late. She knew better than to voice her knee-jerk response, but ex-girlfriends didn’t show up on doorsteps late at night just to say hello.
Laura’s defenses were down, and she’d let her true feelings out. Maybe that was the snow globe’s idea of a joke: getting Cooper’s true feelings at the expense of sharing her own.
After kindly overlooking Laura’s catty remark about Sandra, Cooper went on. “There’s nothing between us anymore—at least not on my side. She knows that now.”
Laura listened intently, a mix of emotions swirling inside her.
“That’s not a problem for us.”
Us who? You and me? You and Sandra?
“It’s the kiss,” he continued.
Confusion clouded her mind. “She kissed you?”How did I miss that?
“No!” He searched her eyes. “Our kiss—yours and mine.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This is not going well.” He paused then spoke cautiously. “At the party… and after. At first, I was afraid I’d offended you.”
“Offended me? No!” Laura felt a blush coming on. “It was nice. Not the kiss. That was better than nice. What I mean is they were trying to embarrass me, and you called their bluff. Anyone who can shut them up is a hero in my book.” She grinned.
Relief washed over Cooper’s face. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Laura’s eyes softened. “I blame my sister’s friends for making you feel you had to do it out of pity.”
Cooper’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Pity? Is that what you think?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Laura, I like you!” A smile teased the corner of his mouth. “I’d like to think we might have gotten to a first kiss eventually. This just moved things up a bit.”
Laura’s heart skipped a beat. Unless she’d misheard, he’d just said that he liked her. “For the record, I like you too. So we like each other. Problem solved.” She realized she was babbling nervously.
Cooper looked troubled. “It was never a problem. For me, anyway. I wanted to kiss you the moment I saw you in that red dress, looking so pretty. I mean, you look pretty in jeans and T-shirts, whatever you’re wearing, because you’re you.”
As much as she loved hearing those words, Laura felt embarrassed by the whole situation. Yes, her sister’s friends were horrible humans, but she suspected an even worse culprit. “This is my fault.”
A soft smile lit his eyes. “You can’t help being you.”
Her heart raced with apprehension, but the truth spilled out. “Cooper,” she confessed, her voice filled with vulnerability, “none of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for the snow globe. It’s making us feel things we wouldn’t otherwise feel.”
He lifted his palms. “Okay, hold on. This snow globe is a harmless Christmas decoration. Whatever we feel is between us.”
“I know, but things have been happening. They didn’t used to happen like this.”
“And bythings, you mean coincidences. We’ve talked about that.”
He clearly did not understand, so she had to drive home her point. “Okay. I don’t like admitting this, but when you dropped me off, I was a little jealous.”
“It’s understandable, and I’m sorry. I’ve explained how things are.”
Laura nodded. “Exactly. Because I wished you’d come back and tell me the truth. And here you are.”
