Page 11 of Broken on the Mountain
As we move to the door and hit the chilly morning air, Piper shivers despite the huge city-girl coat wrapped around her.
I shrug my own jacket off but Piper stops me.
"Don't," she protests. "You'll freeze."
"Nah," I say, wrapping it around her. "Hero things, remember?"
"Thanks." She smiles up at me and my damn heart skips a beat.
I clear my throat. "Now wait here… I'll grab hot chocolates for the road."
Betty's already at the door with to-go cups. "Saw you coming, Romeo!"
She hands me the cups and when I turn back, Piper's staring at the empty gummy packet in her palm. She slips it into her pocket like some kind of treasure.
Hope, that traitorous bastard, flickers in my chest.
Chapter Three
Piper
I'm clutching a to-go cup of hot chocolate that's basically a religious awakening in cardboard form, wondering what the hell I just agreed to.
Friends with benefits? Did I really just suggest that?!
Just wait until Mom finds out about this. I'm so dead.
I take a giant gulp, dodging the whipped-cream tower that's so obscenely tall Betty couldn’t even get a lid on it, while, in the back of my mind, I’m waving bye-bye to my trust fund.
Now that the terrifying reality of what I agreed to back in the café has set in, the whole thing wobbles with my every shaky step, teetering like my self-control around Chase Morrison.
Speaking of whom… he's strolling beside me with his own cup, all easy confidence and infuriating grace, like he's never met a beverage he couldn't handle.
Or a girl he couldn't fluster, apparently.
"Careful there, Chicago," he says, steadying my elbow as I nearly trip over absolutely nothing while staring at him. "That's premium Bear Paw engineering you're holding."
He continues to stroll like his cup contains classified levels of chill. I envy his confidence almost as much as his biceps.
"Sorry, just… taking it all in."
I take a sip and follow next to Chase as we move down the cute little sidewalk towards the small town ahead. The warmth spreads through my chest, and suddenly, everything hits me all at once.
This is nothing like the overpriced lattes I grab between busy shifts in Chicago. This tastes like someone's grandmother made it with actual love. And possibly some kind of voodoo magic.
And this town…
I look around at the peaks that surround Stone River's quaint little town center. They rise so majestically, their snow-capped summits almostkissingthe brilliant blue sky.
Everywhere I look, pine trees blanket the mountains like a luxurious emerald carpet, each needle glistening in the sunlight. The air is crisp and pure, carrying the addictive smell of forest and pure…earth.
Chase walks beside me with that loose-limbed stride that makes my pulse do inappropriate things in broad daylight.
"It's all so easy here," I whisper. Chase just smiles and nods.
The town itself feels like a postcard come to life. Colorful wooden storefronts lining the street, each of them adorned with hanging flower baskets that sway gently in the breeze. Fairy lights twinkle above the sidewalks, even in daylight. What kind of place does that?
It’s so serene and picturesque that my heart aches with an unfamiliar sense of belonging.
