“I think…” Her voice trembles. “I think I’m starting to feel something for you. Something real. And it terrifies me.”
I freeze.
She feels something.
For me.
For me.
Euphoria detonates in my chest—warm, bright, obliterating the cold.
And then my ego—that smug bastard—wakes up.
A slow, arrogant, deeply punchable smile spreads across my face.
“Oh yeah?” I say. “Well, Angel… tell me something I don’t know.”
She blinks. “What?”
I shrug, puffing out my chest.
“I mean, look at me. I’m irresistible. I cook like shit, I’ve got a terrible attitude, I’m a god in bed, and I just comforted you in the snow like the lead in a movie. Statistically speaking, you never stood a chance.”
She stares at me, stunned.
Then—
“You’re an idiot!”
She punches me. Hard. In the arm.
“Ow!” I laugh, rubbing my bicep.
“Arrogant, insufferable—” She hits my chest again, laughing now. The tears are gone. My Sloane is back. “I open my heart and you start peacocking?”
I catch her hands mid-air, closing my grip around her wrists, and pull her into me until there’s no space left between our bodies.
My smile fades, replaced by something sharper—something that makes her stop laughing instantly.
“I was joking,” I murmur, a breath from her lips. “Or maybe not. Iamirresistible. But that’s not the point.”
I hold her gaze, completely serious now, every defense stripped away.
“The point is—you’re late, Sloane.”
“Late?”
“Yeah. Because I’ve been feeling this for a long time.” I release her wrists, cradling her face instead. “So if you think you’ve got a problem… congratulations. We’ve got the same one. Because I’m screwed. Completely gone.”
She just looks at me. Her lips part slightly, like she’s forgotten how to breathe, and I see the exact moment fear drains from her eyes—replaced by something warm. Something bright.
She doesn’t say a word.
She rises onto her toes, her hands shaking as they slide up my chest, then my neck, fingers threading into my hair at the nape.
And then she kisses me.
It’s soft—cold with snow, hot with promise. Awe’re in trouble, but we’re choosing this anywaykind of kiss.
