Snowflake Wishes Read Online Free PDF Page B

her tremble, felt her pulse hammering against his hand on her throat, saw a snowflake settle on her eyelash just before she closed her eyes.
    When their lips touched, it was like time had stood still for them. He went slowly—so slowly—desperate not to spook her, but the sensation of the brisk air and their heated lips made him crazy. He slid his arms around her, pulling her against his body, deepening the kiss when he heard a tiny moan escape from her throat. Her hands slid up his chest, tangled in his hair, pulled him closer, closer as he exercised every fiber of self-control he had in order not to scoop her up and wrap her legs around him.
    â€œGod, Noah.” She finally pulled back, color racing to her cheeks, but he didn’t let go.
    â€œI know.” He closed his eyes, touching his forehead to hers. “I think maybe I missed you a little.”
    Her breaths started coming short and fast, and suddenly, she gave him a tiny push. “We can’t—you can’t—this is insanity.”
    He let go of her. “I’m sorry, Piper.”
    As he said the words, he watched her face change … like she was donning a protective mask.
    â€œYou broke my heart once already, Noah.” She took a deep breath, raising her chin, which he could see was shaking. “You can’t just ride into town seven years later and do it again.”

Chapter 4
    The next morning, Piper swore silently as she stomped her feet, trying to talk some blood into returning to them. It was almost noon, she’d been sitting on a log for two hours, and her plan to avoid Noah at all costs today was feeling more childish with every limb that went numb.
    The strength of his arms around her, the feel of his lips on hers … the sensation of being in his embrace had haunted her all night long as she’d tossed and turned, and in the light of day, it was almost worse. So she’d come here, to the little slice of heaven that had always worked before when she’d needed peace.
    It wasn’t working.
    In the summertime, water cascaded into a crystal pool just down the bank from where she was sitting. In the dead of winter, the cascade had frozen into a quiet gurgle under thin ice, and instead of a cacophony of bird sounds, all she could hear were the chickadees and cardinals who braved the Vermont winter while all of their wimpier relatives went south.
    It was the kind of place that erased the rest of the world and left her cleansed and refreshed.
    Usually.
    Ever since she’d fled the park last night, leaving Noah standing in the snow with pain in his eyes, thoughts had been whirling through her brain until she’d had to come out here this morning to try to quiet them down. However, so far, sitting on a fallen log and listening to the water had done nothing but freeze her butt and make her long for a hot cup of coffee.
    â€œThought I might find you here.”
    Piper practically jumped out of her own skin as she heard Noah’s voice behind her. The pine-needle carpet under the fresh snow had obviously masked his footsteps.
    He held out a to-go cup. “Coffee?”
    Seriously?
    He sat down beside her, and she took the cup. “Um, thank you.”
    To her surprise, he stayed silent, just sitting an arm’s length away, looking out over the water.
    â€œHow did you find me?” she finally asked. She knew she’d brought him years ago, but it’d been seven years since he’d been back to Echo Lake. “I can’t believe you remembered this spot.”
    â€œWill I get less points if I admit I’ve been driving around for an hour trying to find it?”
    She laughed quietly. “No.” She took a grateful sip of the coffee, feeling the still-warm liquid slide deliciously down her throat. “Thank you.”
    *   *   *
    â€œSo believe it or not, I have to do some Christmas shopping while I’m up here. Wondered if maybe