"I wanted to show you something beautiful," he continues. "Because you deserve to see beautiful things. To have experiences that match how extraordinary you are."
My throat goes tight. "Nick—"
"And because I wanted to spend time with you. Just you. Away from everyone else."
I turn to look at him. In the moonlight, his eyes are dark and intent on mine.
"I don't understand," I whisper.
"What don't you understand?"
"Why would you want that? I'm just... I'm nobody special. I'm large and awkward and—"
His eyes narrow, and a determined look crosses over his face. "You're the realest person I've met in years." His voice is rough. "You're funny and brave and you don't hide who you are. You fall forty times and laugh about it. You look at a moonlit mountain as if it's a miracle. You're soft and warm and—" He stops himself.
"And what?"
"And I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since orientation."
The confession hangs between us.
"I've been invisible my whole life," I hear myself say. The words tumble out before I can stop them. "In school, guys looked right through me. My family always focused on my siblings. Even my friends sometimes forget I'm there. I came here thinking it would be the same—that I'd watch other women enjoy this experience and get noticed while I stayed on the sidelines. But then you looked at me. Really looked at me. And I felt... seen."
"Daria." My name sounds like a prayer the way he says it.
"I don't want to be invisible anymore," I whisper. "Especially not with you."
He cups my face with one gloved hand, thumb brushing my cheek. "You're not invisible. You're the only person I see."
I lean into his touch, heart hammering. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know." His honesty cracks something open in my chest. "I just know I can't stay away from you."
We sit like that, faces close, breaths mingling in the frozen air. Every nerve in my body screams, kiss me, but Nick doesn't close the distance.
"Not yet," he murmurs, reading my mind. "Not until you're ready."
"I’m ready."
"You think you are. But trust me—when it happens, you'll know." He pulls back, hand dropping from my face. "Come on. We should get you back before you freeze."
We ski down together, and this time I let myself lean into him, let our arms brush, let myself believe this is real.
At my suite door, Nick pauses. "Get some rest, okay?"
"Okay."
He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead, soft and lingering. "Goodnight, Daria."
I slip inside, touching the spot where his lips were, and know I'm not sleeping tonight.
Because Nick Callahan sees me.
And I'm seeing myself differently too.
Chapter 4
Nick
