I darted out from behind the tree, gathering a quick handful of snow as I ran, but before I could throw it, he closed the distance between us in a few long strides.
“Ashton, no!” I shrieked, trying to back away, but it was too late.
He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me close as hedumped a handful of snow right on top of my head. The cold, wet snow slid down the back of my coat, and I let out a dramatic groan, my body writhing as I tried to shake it off.
“You’re such a jerk!” I laughed, shoving at his chest, but he didn’t let me go. His arms stayed around my waist, holding me close, and suddenly, the playful moment shifted.
His breath was warm against my cheek, his eyes darker now, more intense as they locked onto mine. The snowflakes continued to fall around us, catching in his hair, melting against his skin. My heart pounded, not from the cold, but from the way he was looking at me—like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
“You’re shivering,” he said quietly, his voice low and rough.
“I wonder why,” I teased, trying to keep the moment light, but my voice came out softer than I intended
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached up, brushing a stray snowflake from my hair, his fingers lingering against my temple. I could barely breathe, my chest tightening as I waited for… I didn’t even know what.
But then, just as quickly as the moment had shifted, he stepped back, letting his arms fall to his sides.
“We should head back,” he said, his voice gruff, his expression unreadable once again.
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Yeah,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
As we started walking back through the snow-covered woods, I couldn’t help but glance over at him. He was quiet again, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed straight ahead. But for a brief moment, when he caught me looking at him, his lips curved into the faintest of smiles, and my heart fluttered.
Maybe he wasn’t the romantic type. But in his own way, Ashton Riley was everything I never knew I wanted.
As we walkedthrough the snow-covered woods, the silence between us felt both comfortable and heavy, like something unspoken lingered just beneath the surface. The snow crunched softly under our boots, and the distant sound of a wind brushing through the trees filled the air. Ashton walked beside me, his hands shoved into his coat pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly against the cold.
I couldn’t stop stealing glances at him. There was something about the way he moved—like the world weighed heavily on him, but he refused to let it drag him down. The sharp lines of his jaw, the way his dark hair fell messily across his forehead, the flicker of something soft and vulnerable in his eyes when he wasn’t guarding himself—it all tugged at me in a way I couldn’t explain.
“You’re staring,” he said without looking at me, his deep voice breaking the quiet.
“I’m not,” I shot back quickly, turning my gaze forward. But my cheeks burned, and I knew my denial wasn’t convincing.
He let out a low chuckle, the sound warm and rich against the cold air. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I was just making sure you didn’t trip over a tree root or something,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “You know, keeping an eye on you.”
“Sure you were.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the small smile that crept onto my face. For all his brooding and intensity, Ashtonhad a way of pulling me out of my head, of making me feel lighter, even when I didn’t want to.
The path through the woods began to open up, the trees thinning to reveal the edge of the estate. The sprawling mansion loomed in the distance, its dark, Gothic architecture a stark contrast to the pure white snow that blanketed the ground. The sight of it always took my breath away, though I hated to admit it. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the place, something that made it feel like a world apart from everything else.
As we approached the back entrance, Ashton stopped suddenly, his gaze fixed on the horizon. I paused too, turning to look at him. His face was unreadable, but there was a tension in his jaw, a shadow in his eyes that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly.
He didn’t answer right away. His gaze remained distant, his thoughts clearly somewhere else. Finally, he shook his head slightly, as if trying to clear it, and looked down at me. “I’m fine,” he said, but the gruffness in his voice betrayed him.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, you know,” I said, stepping closer. “If something’s bothering you, you can just… say it.”
His lips twitched, like he was fighting a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I’m an excellent listener.”
For a moment, he just looked at me, his dark eyes searching mine, like he was trying to decide whether to believe me. Then, with a small shake of his head, he turned and started walking again.
“Come on,” he said over his shoulder. “You’re going to freeze out here.”
