Merry Kisses (Riverbend Romance 5) by Valerie Comer Page A

His touch lingered a few seconds, warm on her neck. “Ready?”
    Sonya turned and found herself in his arms. She took a half step back. Not quite ready, no, but getting closer by the minute.

CHAPTER 7

    Heath captured Sonya’s hand as they stepped out of the Water Wheel restaurant some time later. The wonderland of Riverside Park, decorated for the Christmas season, spread out in front of them. If he were in a fairy tale, he’d like if it lasted a bit longer. “Want to walk for a bit?”
    She nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
    “The wind’s died down.” Now the fresh snow drifted by more like a whisper, caught in the glow of millions of tiny white lights winding around trees and lining the path. A path that — thankfully — was somebody else’s responsibility to keep cleared, though at least a centimeter had fallen since it had last seen a shovel.
    They paused at an intersection. Sonya lifted her face to the night sky and closed her eyes. Her long lashes brushed her cheeks as she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. A falling snowflake caught on her lashes and another kissed her nose.
    Heath stood, mesmerized, still clasping her gloved hand in his. She was so beautiful, and she didn’t even seem to notice it. This wasn’t a pose begging for a kiss. She was lost in her own moment, and he a mere observer. One that was being tugged in, though. Closer.
    Did they really have a chance of a future together? The question wafted Caribbean breezes across him, alternating with Arctic blasts. Was he ready for a forever relationship? There had been plenty of first dates over the years. Even a few seconds and thirds. But no girl — woman — had rocked him to the core of his being.
    Kiss? Too soon? He tightened his grip on her hand more from reflex than thought.
    Sonya’s eyelashes blinked open, the tiny snowflake melting away. “I love winter,” she said simply. “I love all the seasons, but winter the most.” She took a step toward the river, pulling him into step beside her.
    Heath barely trusted himself to speak. “What do you like best about it?”
    She swooped her free arm around the park. “Snow. It makes everything fresh and clean. It clears the air and energizes me. I feel so alive.”
    He tried to agree, but could barely get out more than a murmur. At the moment, it was Sonya herself who made him feel alive. Aware of every red blood cell racing through his veins. Aware of this moment in time with perfect focus and clarity.
    She swung their clasped hands and picked up the pace when all he wanted to do was linger. “How about you? What’s your favorite season?”
    The fingers of her white glove twined around the gray of his. They came into his line of vision then swept backward. And again. “Whichever one it is, I think,” he said at last.
    “Pardon?” She glanced at him.
    He stilled the hands that joined them. “Every season has its own beauty.” And I want to see your beauty in every one. But no, that was way too forward for their first date. First of many. First of a lifetime?
    “So... you like snow?”
    Heath gazed into those eyes, gleaming with the reflection from nearby lights. The whole park glowed with sparkling lights, soft shadows, and lazy flakes wandering earthward. “I love snow.”
    Too late he realized her intent as she bent, scooped a handful from beside the path, and threw it in his face.
    “Hey!”
    She giggled, a sound that fit the park’s magic, then took off at a run. He ran after her, slipping a bit on the path before abandoning it to take a shortcut across the knee-deep drifts. When he closed in, she flung another handful at him then ducked, still giggling.
    Heath wiped the snow off his face and grabbed her around the waist, dragging her against him as he tumbled backward into the snow bank. Mistake. She sat on his belly and rubbed more into his face.
    Three times was definitely not an accident. None of them had been. He twisted and dumped her into the snow beside him.