“Uh-huh. And where is your brother?”
“Maddox? Oh, around here somewhere. Probably helping with the technical stuff. You know how he is with equipment.”
The sun had almost completely set now, and the first strings of lights were beginning to flicker on across the slope. But instead of the random twinkling pattern I’d expected from videos of previous years’ events, the lights seemed to be forming shapes.
Letters.
My heart stopped.
“Maya,” I whispered, “what the hell is happening right now?”
She followed my gaze to the mountain, where more and more lights were coming online. The message was becoming clearer with each passing second, spelled out in massive letters across the entire ski slope:
#TeamMaddrian
#RealLifeRomance
And a final row of lights, almost blinding in their all-caps glory.
ADRIAN STAY
“Oh,” Maya said with obviously fake surprise. “Would you look at that.”
For a split second, I thought this was a poorly timed prank Maya and some of the townspeople had perpetrated. Some new level of matchmaking, maybe.
But then the shadowy figure of a man walked out on the slope. I immediately knew it was Maddox, just from the way he carried himself. But even if I hadn’t, I’d have recognized that he was wearing my charcoal wool peacoat, indigo-blue scarf, and the Nordique Chasseur hat with “ultra-luxe earflap” detailing that Maddox had proclaimed “ultra-ridiculous.”
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
Then Maddox made a slight motion with his hand, and a string of tiny white fairy lights lit up on the front of the coat, spelling out another message.
I love you.
I sucked in a breath.Holy shit.
He held out his arms to the side so the message was clear to see. And then he shouted.
“Adrian Hayes, I don’t need you to stay in Legacy. I need you to stay with me.” He brought a hand to his chest and banged a fist over the letterI. “I need you here. With me. In my heart. Always. No matter where you go or what you do. This heart is your home now. Do you understand?”
His voice broke before he could say more, but I’d already launched myself toward the slope, barely aware of Maya’s delighted, relieved laughter behind me.
Unfortunately, I spent most of my time at sea level, which meant I was heaving from lack of oxygen after running only halfway up the mountain. Thankfully, Maddox had run down to meet me, somehow not falling and turning into a human snowball on the way.
When he finally got to me, I lunged into his arms, knocking him over and shooting fresh powder everywhere.
“I love you, too,” I gasped before kissing him. His lips and tongue were warm and sweet. Familiar and exciting at the same time.
Maddox’s hands moved up and down my back. When he’d gotten his fill of kisses, he pulled back. “Do you get what I’m trying to tell you, baby? I don’t want you to give up your dream for me. I want to be part of it.”
“You’re the whole dream,” I confessed breathlessly. “The entire thing. I’m not giving it up. I finally found it, and I’m not letting it go.”
Maddox bit off one of his gloves and pushed damp hair back from my eyes, shoving it under the cap and then caressing the side of my face. The way he looked at me, with raw affection and the banked embers of need, made me even more breathless.
“We can figure it out. Travel together. You know, I happen to know how to work a video camera. I can help with your job. Iwantto.”
My heart was hammering in my chest as I grinned down at him. “Yeah? And where would you stay? Solenne would only provide one hotel room…”
His eyes danced in the shifting light from the fairy lights mashed between us. “I guess I’d have to bunk with you, wouldn’t I?”
