He leans in, kissing my temple deeply, and Ilethim. It’s a bittersweet feeling to have him so close yet so far. I could easily fall back into those memories and dreams we once shared, but I’ve been burned by him before.
I don’t think I would survive it a second time.
“Get some sleep,” Kaden says softly. “Don’t think about him and let me handle everything.”
My glossy eyes flicker to him. “Handle what?”
He gives me a crooked smirk. “You’ll see. Off to bed with you before I carry you up there.”
I chuckle, rising. “Thank you for talking to me.”
He takes my hand, pressing a kiss to my knuckle. “Anything for you, Sunny.”
As I pad back towards my room, my skin burns where he touched. My heart gives a painful thump as I barricade myself behind my door. I press my back to it, resting my head against the wood as I let my tears fall.
Chapter forty-eight
Melody
Afteratear-fillednightwith several unanswered text messages to Dylan, I rise with a new vigor. I refuse to wallow during my vacation. I’ve become a pro at learning to let things go, and my fiancé‘s back and forth isn’t going to bring me down.
I hope he’s having a fucking blast in California.
I tug on my fleece-lined pants and a thick long-sleeve shirt before grabbing my snow jacket and gloves. I’m chipper as I take the steps, strapping the velcro over my wrist before I stop at the sight in front of me.
Kaden is waiting, his gloved hands tucked into his jeans and his thick black jacket making him look bigger and more imposing. “Ready?”
I blink. “What?”
He motions to the terrace doors. “Snowmen. We’re going to build them.”
I stare at him like he just suggested we break into song and summon woodland creatures. “Snowmen,” I repeat, my lips twitching.
“Plural,” he confirms, nodding once. “I don’t half-ass seasonal whimsy.”
A laugh slips out of me before I can stop it. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly,” he pulls the terrace doors open, letting the cold wind whip inside. “After you. The weather waits for no woman.”
I bounce forward, the cold hitting my cheeks with a sharp sting. It doesn’t dampen my smile as mountains of fresh white stretch as far as the eye can see. It sparkles against the sun, making excitement rush through me.
Kaden claps his gloved hands together loudly. “Ground rules—”
“Oh, my god,” I groan, resting my head back against my shoulders.
“We’re building aggressively happy snowmen,” he continues pointedly.
I turn to him with a frown. “Aggressivelyhappy?”
“Yup,” he rocks back on his heels. “These snowmen have ambitions and goals.”
I snort. “Oh, yeah? All I know is that mine is going to be far better than anything you can come up with.”
He gasps playfully, sliding a hand over his heart. “Competition? You’re on. The winner picks the movie while the loser makes hot chocolate.”
I smile despite everything that happened last night. It’s a distant memory now as this new path is laid out before me. “It’s a deal.”
There’s a pause between us before we both break out in a mad dash for the yard. Kaden jumps over the terrace’s railing, flinging himself to the ground like a superhero on steroids.
