“Don’t you dare,” I said, laughing. “Then you’ll be cold.”
“I run warm.”
“Luke. Keep your gloves. It’s not much further.”
We turned onto my street, our breath forming matching clouds that mingled in the space between us before dissipating into the night. The cold made my nose tingle and my cheekssting, but I didn’t mind. There was something about winter nights like this—quiet and clear and still—that made everything feel a little bit magic.
Or maybe that was just the company.
“So,” Luke said. “You should probably know it’s been years since I’ve been on a date that wasn’t a setup. Outside of dinner, what’s the current go-to?”
I smiled at his earnestness, my breath puffing as I spoke. “I don’t actually know. I was engaged to a man who thought me tagging along to his trivia nights qualified as a night out. A movie, maybe?”
“Full disclosure: I haven’t been to a movie theater in about three years.”
“Seriously?”
“I don’t like crowds,” he admitted. “Too many people, too much noise. I usually just wait to stream something.”
“That’s fair.” I could see my house now, just three doors down, and I found myself walking even slower. “What about Christmas movies? Have you seen any of the classics?”
He scratched his temple. “Um, define classics.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life. Miracle on 34th Street. White Christmas.”
“No, no, and no.”
I stopped walking and turned to stare at him. “Luke. That’s criminal.”
“It’s not like I don’t know about them,” he defended himself, stopping too. We stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, facing each other, our breath mingling between us in white clouds. “I’ve just never gotten around to watching them.”
“We’re fixing this!” The words came out forcefully, my voice carrying in the quiet night. “For our date, we’re having a Christmas movie marathon. I’m talking curling up in ourpajamas with a big bucket of popcorn. Ooh, Chinese takeout, too! And for dessert, a glass of spiked eggnog!”
Luke’s smile was slow and genuine, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “That actually sounds really fucking lovely.”
We started walking again, the last few steps to my front door. I could feel the cold seeping through my coat now, making me shiver, but I wasn’t ready for this to end yet.
“Thanks for tonight,” I said, turning to face him. “For everything. You didn’t have to do any of that.”
“I wanted to,” Luke said simply. “I like being around you.”
“Luke.”
I’d spent the entire year feeling disposable. Replaceable. Like I was the backup plan no one actually wanted. And here was Luke Byron, looking at me like I was the main event.
I didn’t actually finish what I’d started to say. I didn’t know how.
Instead, I closed the distance between us and kissed him.
It was supposed to be a quick peck. A thank-you kiss. A goodnight kiss. Something brief and sweet and uncomplicated.
But it wasn’t any of those things.
The second our lips touched, Luke made a soft sound of surprise that melted into something deeper, and his hands came up to frame my face like I was something precious—something he’d wanted for a long time.
I’d been kissed before. Plenty of times. But this?—
This was different.
