Never.
He wanted to pull her in closer, to kiss her deeper, and there was no logical explanation for it. They were friends, for heaven’s sake!
The kiss had been mere seconds, and yet it had been more than enough to make him crave more.
He pulled back with surprise, expecting to see Wynter’s eyes mirroring his own, full of surprise and want.
But she tore away from him with a strangled laugh, blinking. “See Grams? For all your silly matchmaking, you weren’t right about this one. Marcus is just a friend.” She glanced at him then, her expression unreadable. “Right, Marcus?”
He cleared his throat and yet his voice still cracked. “Right.”
She nodded sharply and gave him a weak smile. “Night.”
“Night.”
2
END OF NOVEMBER; PRESENT DAY
WYNTER DELANEY
Nostalgia.
It was poisonous.
The desire to repeat the past had to be an addiction of sorts. At least that was what it felt like. Six years of avoiding town from Thanksgiving to New Year’s had been for nothing. Yes, Wynter had come home to Copper Creek to visit her grandparents over the years, but she’d begged them to keep each trip a secret. She didn’t need anyone in town knowing that she set foot in the state.
Gossip in Copper Creek was as bad as an infestation of bedbugs.
The lighting ceremony had been like a beacon to her. She’d become the moth and the soft glow in town was the flame. When had she lost all her self-control? Then again, who could resist seeing the Christmas lights lining the storefronts, the wreathson each shop door, the garland on the lampposts, and the big Christmas tree lit up with a star on top.
Five minutes ago, she’d been lost in all the good memories this night had to offer her. She’d drank in all the lights on the tree, and it was like she could breathe again. She’d been taken back to her first Christmas in Copper Creek. Up until that year, Wynter hadn’t liked the holidays. Moving town to town did that to a kid.
What was there to look forward to when you didn’t know if you’d be in the same place the following year? She hadn’t allowed herself to revisit those memories in six years. Back in high school, she’d told Marcus that she didn’t want to attend the lighting ceremony because there was no guarantee she’d get to go again, so she didn’t want to like it too much.
It was a flimsy excuse even back then.
He’d taken her hand and insisted she was acting crazy.
Then he’d offered her something she hadn’t known she needed.
A community. Living in the moment. Loving every second she could spend with a boy who hadn’t been touched by tribulation. Marcus practically glowed with optimism and joy. Everyone around him couldn’t help but be drawn into his happy orbit.
And Marcus had picked her to share it with. Thank God for that.
Just when a tear of melancholy escaped, she caught sight of the one person she wasn’t ready to see. Not yet. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been fast enough to turn away from him.
Marcus stood about ten feet away from her. People wandered back and forth between them like a slow-flowing river, but his eyes never left her face. She begged her feet to move; to run so she could make it back to her car before Marcus closed the distance between them and demanded answers.
He deserved them.
Heavenknewhe deserved them.
This was her penance.
For running after he’d kissed her.
For avoiding Copper Creek all these years.
