Page 42 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

“Wait!” I squeeze him tighter. “I’m not done hugging you yet.”

He puts his arms back around me—tighter this time. “You just hug me as long as you need to.”

We stand there for about a minute. I finally take a deep breath and release him.

“Thank you. I needed a hug,” I say, looking up at him. “And in case you didn’t know, your chest is very warm and huggable.”

“Well, it’s here any time you need to hug it.” He smiles and takes my hand. “Let’s get you a real coat.”

He pulls me toward the store. I walk slightly behind him. His wavy hair just reaches the bottom of his neck. The ends keep disappearing under his collar and then popping back up. It’s just begging me to touch it. I want to run my fingers all the way through it.

He opens the store door. “You okay?”

“Yep,” I say, pulling my eyes away from his curls.

“Hey, Nash.” I hear as we walk into the store. I look over to see a bald man. His head and face are deeply sunburned except for a distinct outline of ski goggles.

“Hey, Jim,” Nash says, shaking his hand. “You just get back from Big Bear?”

“Yeah, I’ve got to remember to use sunscreen next time. Who’s this?” Jim says, smiling at me.

“This is my friend Elle. She needs some winter clothes.”

“She definitely does. How do you come up in the mountains in the winter without warmer clothes than that?”

“Coming up here was a last-minute decision,” I say, smiling up at Nash.

“Yes, very last-minute,” he says, laughing. He still hasn’t let go of my hand. He gives it a little squeeze.

Jim grabs a puffy coat with a furry hood off a rack. “Let’s start with a coat. This is our warmest and it’s completely waterproof. I’ll find you some boots. What size?”

“Eight, please.”

Nash helps me slip into the coat and then pulls the hood over my head. I spin around a few times to model it.

“It’s perfect.” He grins at me. “I’ll find you a hat and gloves.”

Jim returns with a pair of fur-lined boots. “I put some pants and shirts in the dressing room. Let me know if you need different sizes.”

“Thanks, Jim!” I say as I half skip back to the room.

I try on a pair of fleece-lined pants and a white, fitted thermal T-shirt. When I walk out of the dressing room, Nash is settled into a big leather chair by the mirror.

“What do you think?” I look in the mirror and spin around a few more times.

“You look like you’re ready to hit the slopes.”

He walks behind me and pulls a hat over my head. It’s robin’s-egg blue.

“Wait, this is the exact color of Kit’s hair!”

“Yeah, I thought it might make you feel more at home,” he says, tapping the pom-pom on top of the hat.

I take a sharp breath and hug him again. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because you’re one of my favorite people on earth.”

“What?” I say, laughing. “But we haven’t even known each other for a full day.”

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