Page 36 of Fire and Ice
He chuckled. “Appointment, huh?”
She giggled. It was so damned cute when she giggled. “Of course.”
“The two weeks I’ve known you seem more like two months.” He shook his head. “In the past, I’ve gone out a night or two a week. We’ve covered a lot of ground in this short time.”
“It has been different, but it’s been terrific.” She smiled. “I was worried we’d get tired of each other, but that never happened.”
He reached over the console and took her hand in his. “We’ve slid right into a great relationship.”
She turned her palm up and linked their fingers. “I’ll have withdrawals next week.”
He spoke quietly. “It’ll be hard to do my job at the firehouse, because I’m going to be thinking about you.”
“Same here.” She squeezed his hand, then their fingers slid apart as he took the steering wheel in both hands again.
They drove into Prescott as it neared, and Chelsea’s eyes widened at the countless decorations. “It’s all so beautiful.”
“Very nice.” Grady nodded. “It gets prettier the farther we get into Downtown Prescott.”
Grady found a place to park, and once they were out of the SUV, he helped Chelsea into her jacket and slipped on his own. It was much colder in Prescott, located in Northern Arizona, and Chelsea wrapped a scarf around her neck and tucked it into the opening of her jacket. She had a pair of knit gloves in her pockets.
He smiled as he looked at her. She looked so cute in the knit hat that she pulled on. He couldn’t resist kissing her before they left the Nissan behind.
They made their way to find a spot to watch the Christmas parade on Cortez Street, which was lined with countless people. They didn’t have to wait long.
Santa led the parade to countless cheers. It was still light enough to see him in his sleigh, on a float, with his elves in the background. A high school marching band followed, playing, Here Comes Santa Claus,
Chelsea looked adorable as she bounced on her toes and joined the crowd that oohed and aahed while close to forty floats passed by. As it grew darker, the floats’ countless Christmas lights glowed and glittered.
Lights up and down the street grew bright in the dark, adding to the magical feel of the night.
Grady cheered with her, and they applauded so much that his cold hands grew numb. He noticed Chelsea slipping on her gloves as the last float went by.
He felt the need to have her closer to him and slid his arm around her waist. “That was terrific.”
“This is all simply beautiful.” She tilted her face to look up at him. “I’m so glad you discovered this festival.
Grady studied her. “I’m looking at the most beautiful sight right now.”
Even though it was difficult to see her features clearly, he thought he saw a flush to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He smiled and slid his mouth over hers. She kissed him with such sensuality that an arrow of need shot straight through him from head to toe. His body responded, and he wanted to press her close, let her feel what she did to him. But he didn’t want to scare her. They’d known each other for two amazing weeks, and he didn’t want to push things.
Grady turned her toward the courthouse, and Chelsea said, “Oh, my gosh.”
Oh, my gosh, was right. The view was stunning, the trunk of every tree wrapped with dense Christmas lights. Not white—each tree was a different color. One trunk in all purple, another in red, and yet another in blue. Others were in green, red, or orange. It was an incredible sight.
“It’s like being in a fairyland.” Chelsea took his hand and led him toward the massive building at the head of the plaza.
The courthouse was lit with a brilliant array of Christmas lights from top to bottom, spotlights in all the different holiday colors. Fir trees lined the base of the courthouse, each lit up in brilliant white lights. White lights outlining Santa in a sleigh with three reindeer looked like they were flying across the front of the courthouse. Wreaths lined the walls beneath the building, and in the front, colorful lights were wrapped around the handrails leading down the steps to the plaza.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Chelsea turned to take in everything, and Grady moved with her. “I could never describe this beauty.”
Grady nodded. Beyond the plaza, the lightshow continued along the surrounding streets.
She grasped his hand. “Let’s go for a walk. I’d like to see Whiskey Row.”
