2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Cole

My heart stops before stuttering back to life at my first sight of Noelle. For just a millisecond, there's a spark of light that crosses her eyes. The way they take me in has my heart leaping at the hope that she's happy to see me. The scowl that follows almost immediately puts that hope in check pretty quick.

It was difficult to contain my amusement at seeing her look under the rock by the side of the house, especially since I knew exactly what she was doing. I also knew that letting her see that amusement wasn't the smartest idea, but I couldn't control it.

I'm like a child on Christmas Eve who's been waiting a lifetime for this day. And it's finally arrived. I don't care if that excitement is rolling off me in waves. I don't care who knows it. Especially her.

It's been six excruciating years since I made a mess of everything when I last saw her at Mel and Mike's wedding. It's my fault she married her ex, and I've been waiting for an opportunity to make things right.

She may not be happy to see me…yet. But I intend to do everything to change that while we're here.

"Are you looking for the hidey key?" I ask, watching her scowl deepen.

She crosses her arms as if shielding herself from me, and I feel my heart clenching at the action.

"You know that's exactly what I'm doing," she snaps, blowing out a big breath to move a long strand of hair from her face.

I feel my lips dip slightly at the hardness in her eyes and voice. My gaze shifts toward Belle, and I feel a smile spread as memories of us in that car flood me.

"I see Belle is still doing well." I bob my head in the direction of her Volkswagen. "And she's carrying the perfect Balsam Fir."

Her eyes fill with a myriad of emotions and soften for the quickest moment before hardening again. I get lost looking in her hazel eyes and can't help but remember the last Christmas we spent together—the one where I asked her grandmother for permission to marry her.

Has she thought about us as much as I have over the last decade?

The weight straining my arms reminds me that I haven't set the logs down yet. I've been chopping wood since I got here to make sure we have enough for the duration of our stay, but more importantly, enough to keep us warm if the power should go out during the expected snowstorm.

Mike and I put in a generator a few years ago, so if the power does go out, barring an unexpected deep freeze, we should be fine. But sometimes, the generator gets a little finicky, so a bit of extra wood is a wise thing to have.

"Mel didn't tell me you were going to be here."

"Would you have come if she did?" I respond with a raised brow.

Noelle huffs and sharply turns back to her car, opens the back door and pulls out her bags. I'm still standing watching like a lovesick puppy while holding a stack of logs. She turns back to me, luggage in hand, and I take her in as she moves toward me, avoiding direct eye contact .

Her cheeks are pink from the cold air, and her long blonde hair sticks out from under her winter beanie in long, loose curls.

My stomach tightens, and my heart races. This version of Noelle is even more spectacular than the one I remembered, which says a lot.

She walks past me just as the wind picks up, though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that bitter cold was because of her if the tightness of her lips indicates how she's feeling about my presence here.

I stack the logs on the pile I've been building here on the porch. I was able to make a considerable dent before Noelle arrived.

I hear the front door close and look over to see Noelle walking down the steps, heading back toward Belle. I can't keep my eyes off of her, but when she goes to grab the tree, I stop her.

"I'll get that!" I rush over and put my hand on the rope. It grazes hers, and I feel electricity zing through my body. She pulls her hand away as if she's been burned and rubs it with her other hand. "I'll put it on the porch for now, and then we can decide what to do with it later."

I catch her nod from the corner of my eye as I walk around the car to cut the ropes holding the tree in place. Knowing how much Noelle loves this car, I carefully lift it from the roof.

A wry smile crosses my face as I remember when she first drove up in it.

"You got a Volkswagen bug?" Incredulousness drips from my voice.

"Technically , it's a Beetle, and yes." Her hands rest on my chest with a smile that would make the sun jealous. "I'm going to call her Belle."

The laughter that flies out of my mouth from the depths of my body just made her smile bigger.

"Wait!" I chuckled, hand in the air, unable to stop the protest falling from my lips. "So not only are you going to be driving a bug…"

"A beetle," she corrects, punctuating it with a finger to my chest.

"I'm sorry. A beetle." I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against me, kissing her nose. "But you're going to call her Belle?"

She nods excitedly and smiles up at me, making my heart melt. "Yes. Isn't she beautiful?"

"Okay, Ladybug," I beam at her, thinking that she is indeed the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

"Ladybug?" She narrows her eyes at me and smirks.

I push a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes. Ladybug. The lady who drives a red bug named Belle."

She slaps my chest and tries to pull away, but I wrap my arms tighter around her and lean down to kiss her. Before my lips touch hers, I whisper for the first time,"I love you."

"You do?" Her eyes widen in surprise.

"I do." I say right as my lips capture hers.

"Cole?" Noelle's voice breaks through the memories flooding me, and I have to remember where I am. "Are you going to get that tree down, or do you need my help?"

"Sorry. I got lost in thought there for a second. But I'm good, Ladybug." I wink at her and watch her brow furrow and lips tighten. "Thank you, though."

"I'm going to kill Mel," she mumbles.

"Don't be mad at her or Mike." I meet her gaze. "I asked them not to tell you I was coming. I wanted to spend a little time with you before they arrived. To clear the air. They're my best friends, too, and with you back home, we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

A hurricane of emotions flicker through her eyes as she processes what I just said, before finally settling on anger.

"Is that the real reason they aren't here?" She pulls her eyes together and her lips purse.

"No. NO! Brian's wife really did go into labor, and with Mike being chief, he's the first one they call." I shrug. "It just worked out that way."

"I'm still gonna kill her…and Mike." I head to the porch, tree on my shoulder, before she sees the smirk trying to climb its way across my face.

I start quietly humming Oh Christmas Tree as I reach the porch, and place the tree down. For the first time in a long time, I'm feeling the Christmas cheer.

I feel a burning sensation on the back of my neck as she walks up to the house.

I step back to take a look at the Balsam as it leans against the house. It reminds me of the tree we picked out when we spent Christmas with her grandmother in Utah. A knot forms in my stomach as I think about the life I believed I would be living versus the one I'm living today.

I turn toward Noelle, a grin on my face.

"This tree reminds me of the one we got years ago. Your gran was very insistent on what a perfect tree needed to have."

Before she looks away, I catch a small glimpse of sadness in her eyes.

"Yes she did," she whispers.

"She'd be very proud of your choice with this one." I want to put my hand on her face and rub the crease marring her brow. Instead I clench my fist to keep it from reaching out.

"Thank you." She meets my gaze, and I can't help but notice that her eyes are a bit glassy. Is she thinking about our time there? How happy we were? How vibrant her grandmother was?

I suck in my breath, afraid to breathe. Afraid that I'll ruin whatever this moment is, but before I can even blink, her expression has gone hard again.

I let out a shaky breath and turn back to the tree, admiring the shape of it. It really is perfect.

Behind me I hear the door close. The tension in my shoulders has them almost up to my ears. I massage them a bit before rolling my neck back and forth.

I bring my hand to my chest and rub. I was prepared for Noelle to be cold and angry, but I wasn't ready for the onslaught of feelings I felt for her to come rushing back so completely.

I was in a bad place when I saw her at Mike and Mel's wedding. Watching her with Dean pushed me over the edge and broke something in me. I've had to live with the way I acted, and the outcome was my fault .

Letting her go was the biggest mistake I've ever made. Although I've longed to see her again, knowing that she still hates me is almost as painful as the day I let her walk away. There's a possibility that this will fail and I will lose her forever, but that's not something I'm willing to contemplate.

I walk back to chop a bit more wood, hoping the physical activity will relieve some of the anxiety that is running through my body before I head into the house.

This has to work.