Snowflake Wishes Read Online Free PDF

farther into his pockets. Yeah. His contract had him heading to Belize the day after Christmas. After that, it was a zip-lining tour in Alaska, and then a climbing expedition in the Himalayas. For every tour he put together, the company wanted three more waiting in the wings. The thirst for adventure by the rich and/or famous was unquenchable, and he was the tour company’s go-to guy for creating unique, memorable, custom-designed trips that scared the pants off from most of his clients.
    They loved it.
    But three weeks ago, he’d woken up in a makeshift hospital somewhere in Costa Rica, his hands ripped all to hell and a big chunk of the previous week missing from his memory bank. Over the next twenty-four hours, snippets had returned—water that raged higher than it should have, a fraying rope, his helmet bouncing against unyielding rock as he lay caught in the river.
    As he’d struggled to stay afloat, one face had flooded his head, and though he couldn’t believe he was still crazy for her seven years after he’d last watched her leave his hospital room, he’d had this impossible urge to come back to Echo Lake to see her … to know she was all right. And in his more delusional, painkiller-induced moments, he’d wondered if maybe, possibly, she still thought of him half as much as he dreamed about her.
    And then Luke had called, and if Noah’d believed in destiny or fate or whatever the hell people believed in these days, he’d have had a hard time arguing the intersection of events.
    So he’d come. Fighting himself the entire way, he’d come. He’d known damn well he could walk into a town where Piper’s six kids might be playing kickball on her front lawn. He’d known she might have a husband who was a doctor, lawyer, firefighter, or the frigging mayor. He’d known how much it would hurt to see that she’d moved on, but he’d had to know. And Luke’s request had given him the perfect cover.
    But she wasn’t married, there were no kids … and as far as he could tell, there wasn’t a mayor or firefighter or doctor, either. He might, just possibly, have the second chance here that he’d been dreaming of for seven years.
    But answering her question honestly might just put him out of the running before he even started.
    â€œI’m supposed to head to Belize after Christmas.”
    â€œWell, there you go.” She sighed, and he felt her disappointment in his gut.
    â€œWant to come with me?”
    She laughed nervously, then rolled her eyes. “No more than I ever did, Noah. Even if you were asking seriously.”
    â€œMaybe I am.”
    She looked up at him, and he knew his expression was dead serious. What he didn’t know was where the damn question had come from. What was he thinking? Even if he could have brought her along, there was no way she’d ever say yes. They both knew that. For Christ’s sake, she hadn’t said yes back when they were dating. Why was he torturing both of them by asking right now, fifteen minutes after he’d walked back into her life?
    Did she really still have that much power over him, that he’d check logic and history at the igloo door and pretend they could start fresh, moments after they’d met again?
    â€œYou’re not serious. You’re under the delusional power of the Snowflake Ball or something.” She shook her head. “Did you drink the punch? Did Mama B spike it?”
    He closed his eyes, smiling sadly. “No punch. No delusional power.” Then he sighed, lifting his hand to touch her face. “Has anybody ever told you you’re a hard woman to get over, Piper Bellini? Turns out, I kind of suck at it.”
    She looked up, eyes serious. “You’re not so easy yourself.”
    He tipped up her chin, and before he could talk himself out of it, he lowered his lips so they were a hair’s breadth from hers. He felt