Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Before I could process what was happening, James had vaulted over the side of the sleigh. He moved to the horses' heads, speaking in low, soothing tones as he got hold of their bridles.
"Easy there," he murmured, stroking their necks. "Nothing to worry about, girls."
The horses settled almost immediately under his touch.
The driver was able to take that moment to join James, thanking him and speaking quietly to the horses as they calmed.
I watched it all with a still-pounding heart.
“Do you moonlight as a horse whisperer?” I asked. I had to admit the way he swooped in to save the day again was admittedly a little hot. Was there anything this man couldn’t do?
James gave the horse a pat and a quick nod to the driver before vaulting back into the chariot. “I grew up around horses. He settled the blanket back over us again, somehow even closer than before. "My grandfather had a farm in Kansas. I used to spend summers there helping him out. Most horses just want to know you’re in control. If they see somebody is calm, they’ll be calm. It’s just about confidence.”
Once the driver was sure the horses were good, he got back in and urged them into a trot again.
Lily spent most of the ride peppering us with questions about our dating life and past, which James was able to answer so convincingly that I almost found myself believing it all, too.
We occasionally stopped for photos, which meant having to trudge through ankle deep snow with the Wellington’s, but I saw too many perfect spots to miss it. I was pretty sure I had about a hundred I was going to want to keep and touch up later for the wedding album.
Between the stops for photos, I tried to focus on the scenery instead of how good James smelled, or how he kept finding my hand beneath the blanket and holding it.
"Look!" Lily pointed to where a family of deer watched us from between the trees. "Are all Colorado deer that big?”
“Those are pretty typical,” the driver said. “Beautiful buck, though.”
I smiled and snapped a few pictures, both of the deer and my sister’s wide-eyed marvel as snow blown by the wind drifted down around her.
The whole thing felt like a fairy tale, which just made it more dangerous. I was doing my best to think of this as my sister’s fairy tale. This was her big wedding. These were her moments.
So what if a distractingly hot guy was sitting next to me, too? Or if every time I lost concentration, I was also drifting into this winter wonderland fantasy where all the stories he told about our meeting and past were true—where we were just a normal, ordinary, perfect couple.
But I couldn't afford to get caught up in the romance of it all. Not with James.
Then he turned to brush snow from my hair, his touch lingering longer than necessary, and I forgot all my reasons why not.
"Your ears are turning pink," he whispered.
"It's the cold."
"Liar." His breath was warm against my skin.
The sleigh crested a hill, revealing a breathtaking view of the mountains. Everyone oohed and aahed appropriately, but I was too aware of James to properly appreciate it.
"We should do this again," he said softly. "Just us."
For a moment, I let myself imagine it. A nighttime ride, stars overhead, no one around but us...
"Emma?" Lily's voice snapped me back to reality. "Didn't you say there was a bonfire at the end?"
Right. Work. Wedding. Reality.
"Yes, the resort has a fire pit set up with hot chocolate and s'mores."
"Perfect end to a perfect day," Marcus said, but he was looking at his phone and his voice was slightly distracted.
I noticed James watching him with that same sharp focus he'd had during the food tasting. I wasn’t about to ask him about it in front of Marcus and my sister, so I kept my attention on the scenery until we finally came into view of orange flames flickering through the trees. An employee from the resort snuck away just as we were coming close, probably hoping to give the silly illusion that the fires and supplies had just magically appeared here.
"Last one to the fire has to share their s'mores," Lily declared as we pulled to a stop.
James helped me down from the sleigh, his hands lingering on my waist. "Want to share anyway?"
"In your dreams."
"Oh, sweetheart." His voice dropped lower. "In my dreams, we share a lot more than s'mores. And I’ve had a preview of your dreams. They might be even dirtier than mine…"
I grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down the back of his jacket.
His yelp of surprise was deeply satisfying. Right up until he tackled me into a snowbank.
"James!"
"You started this," he said, hands planted on either side of me. He grinned as snow fell from his hair onto my face.