He made a soft noise — something like a hum, something like a sigh — and pressed his mouth to my shoulder. Not a kiss, exactly. Just contact. A reminder that I was real.
“Tomorrow’s Christmas,” I whispered, more to the darkness than to him.
He huffed a quiet laugh against my skin. “Guess it is.”
I swallowed. “You think Santa’ll find us out here?”
“Doubt it,” he said. “No chimney. No cell service.” A pause. “Until today.”
“Right,” I breathed, the word small, fragile. “Until today.”
The reminder hurt in a way I wasn’t ready for. The bubble we’d built — our strange little world of snow and firelight — was starting to melt. The real world was close enough to taste.
Silas must’ve felt it too, because his hand slid up my arm, finding my fingers where they rested against the blanket. He laced them together, his thumb tracing the back of my knuckles.
“Stop thinking so loud,” he said quietly.
“I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are.”
I laughed softly, but it cracked in the middle. “I don’t want this to end.”
He didn’t answer at first. His silence wasn’t cold — it wasthoughtful, weighted. Then, after a long beat, “It doesn’t have to. Not all the way.”
My throat tightened. “Don’t — don’t say that unless you mean it.”
He shifted behind me, the mattress dipping as he moved closer. His breath brushed my ear when he whispered, “You think I say anything I don’t mean?”
I wanted to believe him. God, Idid.But the part of me that always braced for goodbye whispered otherwise.
“You’ll go back to your life,” I said softly. “Your books. Your deadlines. And I’ll?—”
“Colette.” My name, low and rough, cut me off. He tugged me back until I was flat against his chest. “You don’t have to finish that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know what comes next either.” His words were a quiet confession. “But I know this—” He kissed the side of my head. “—we’ve got time to figure it out.”
It should’ve sounded like a promise, but it felt like a prayer.
For a long time, neither of us said anything. The fire sighed, the snow outside settled, and our breaths fell into rhythm. My eyes burned with sleep, but I kept them open, watching the last flickers of light on the ceiling.
“Silas?”
“Mm?”
“Merry Christmas,” I whispered.
He tightened his hold just a little, pressing one final kiss against my temple. “Merry Christmas, Colette.”
And even though I knew morning would come too soon, I let myself fall asleep believing him.
CHAPTER 33
Silas
I hadn’t slept.
