26. Happy

26

Happy

Ivy

I don’t do casual or flings or whatever. Now that the sun is up, and I’m half-lying on Zane’s couch, everything hits me. Hard . I glance to my side, careful not to wake him. He looks so peaceful in his sleep, even in this awkward half-lying position. Last night was amazing, the best I’ve had in years. And that kiss . . . That kiss and all the others that followed were incredible, but they also change everything, because I now find myself wanting more. Just like I knew I would. Zane’s not the type of guy you casually date. He’s kind and funny and has so many layers to his personality, a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to get to know him. Whenever I see him, all I want to do is call one of my colleagues to pack up my apartment and ship my things here so I can be with him. My heart twists, holding me hostage. Because I know that’s not happening. That’s not how it works. I’m leaving in two days and will probably never see him again.

Zane stirs next to me and opens his eyes. “Hey beautiful.”

Dang it. Why did he have to say that?

He sits up, takes my hand in his, and runs his fingers over my knuckles. His touch sends shivers down my spine. I’m about to reply when he leans forward, capturing my mouth in a sweet kiss. It’s a tender kiss, his lips brushing mine softly, as if he’s savoring every second.

“I’ve been wanting to do that again since last night,” he says against my lips.

A smile breaks onto my face. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

He stretches his arms. “Very. Do you want some breakfast? I can make eggs and bacon. Even toast, assuming Daisy hasn’t eaten all the bread.”

“Sounds good,” I chirp, even though his casual demeanor is making me freak out even more. Who needs breakfast right now? The two of us have to talk this out. Stat .

He whips us up some omelets and bacon, and I just watch, unable to stop ruminating like a complete worry wart.

“Breakfast is served,” he says, sliding a plate in front of me on the kitchen table.

I force a smile. “Thanks.”

We dig into our food and begin eating in silence, but I just can’t take it any longer. I drop my fork on the table. “Listen, I don’t kiss random people. Maybe you’re looking for a vacation fling, but I’m not. It’s not me, and now I’m rambling, and please just say something.”

“Neither am I,” he responds with a small smile.

A loud breath eases out of my lungs, but I’m still tense. “Really? But I thought—the other day you said you didn’t want to date after what happened with your ex.”

He cocks his head to the side, and I notice a glint of vulnerability in his gray eyes. “You said the same.”

I bite my lip. “I know. I guess things can change. But still, I live thousands of miles away, Zane, and I leave in two days. Any kind of relationship would be doomed from the start. ”

“Can we just be happy for a minute?” he asks with a lopsided smile. “Cause, you know, I haven’t had that in a while.”

I want to argue, push for us to figure this out, but I haven't been happy in a while either. And honestly, that sounds like heaven right now. I guess we can be happy now and freak out later. Procrastination at its finest.

I nod in agreement, and he leans over the table to place another sweet kiss on my lips. Happy it is.

After we both take a shower, Zane grabs a change of clothes for me from Daisy’s room. I feel a little weird about borrowing her stuff, but Zane assures me she won’t mind. I’ve been wearing the same clothes since yesterday afternoon, so he doesn’t have much convincing to do.

“So, what should we do today? Snowshoeing?” he asks.

A surge of excitement courses through me. “I’d love to. If the weather permits?”

He walks to the window and looks outside. “The sky is clear, and it’s always fun to hike after a storm. Lots of fresh powder on the ground. It’s more physical, though, so it’s up to you.”

I slap a hand on the table, ready to tackle the day. “Let’s do it.”

“Great. I just have to check on the dogs first and make sure either Seth or Daisy is here before we go. ”

I pull my brown hair into a ponytail. “Of course. Let’s go.”

The dogs jump for joy as soon as we push the barn doors open. After a few cuddles—Bobby getting a little extra—Zane opens their back door, and they rush outside to play in the snow. I’m really going to miss these pups when I go. I can almost name them all now. I shake the thought away, chiding myself. Today, we’re enjoying ourselves. Happy .

We proceed to feed them, and we’re just finishing cleaning their pen when Seth enters the barn.

“Good morning.” Seth's eyes fall on me, and from the way his eyebrows twitch, he’s obviously surprised. But he doesn’t say anything.

“Hey, how are you?” Zane asks, shoveling another scoop of dog poop into a bucket. “Did the storm do any damage?”

Seth shakes his head. “Everything seems okay. I saw a tree down, but that's it. Even Mathilda is still up.”

“Who’s Mathilda?” I ask.

“The town statue,” Zane says, dusting off his hands. “She always topples over during big storms. We keep patching her up and propping her back on her feet. That gal is tough. Still hanging in there after all these storms. ”

“Exactly. So it couldn’t have been that big of a storm,” Seth says before turning to Zane. “Are you here today? Will you lead the rides?”

“Nope. Today, I’m enjoying myself.” Zane winks at him before walking over to me. “You're on. Ivy and I are going hiking.” He takes my hand to bring me closer, then kisses me. It’s a chaste kiss at first, but then, his finger grazes my cheek, and we’re both hungry for more. I feel bad for poor Seth, just standing there, but I can’t pass up one of Zane’s kisses. Ever.

A loud whistle cracks the silence, followed by a dog barking. “Well, well. About time.”

“Daisy,” Zane says, breaking away. “Was everything all right at Belinda’s last night?”

“Of course. Just like here, apparently.” She waggles her eyebrows. “I love your outfit, Ivy.”

My cheeks catch fire. “I—Not what you’re thinking. I just had the same clothes on since yesterday. I’m sorry. Zane said it would be okay.”

She laughs, and the pretty sound fills the barn. “It’s fine. You can borrow clothes from me anytime if you put such a big smile on my brother’s face.”

Zane rakes a hand through his light-brown hair. “So, Ivy and I are going on a hike. ”

“Are you taking a dog or two?” Seth asks. “I could prep them.”

Zane glances at me, raising his eyebrows in question.

“Oh yes, please,” I squeal, jumping in place. “I didn’t know they could come.”

Zane scoffs. “Are you kidding? They’d love to tag along.”

“Can we take Bella and Burger?”

He arches an eyebrow. “Already have your favorites, huh?”

“Of course not,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. “I love them all.”

Everyone breaks into laughter.

“I'll prep them,” Seth says with a grin.

Zane places his arm around my shoulders. “Let's go make some sandwiches to take with us, and then we can go.”

Zane

This is how I love the mountain best. Mounds of fresh powder, clear sky, the cool, crisp air, my dogs and my girl by my side. Some people dream of winning the lottery or traveling the world. This is my dream.

The hike gets a little tricky sometimes, even for Bella and Burger, because of the amount of snow that fell last night. But they're loving it. They’re covered from paws to neck in snow and seem happier than ever.

Ivy’s stunning smile doesn’t leave her face, and at this point, the two of us are probably competing for the biggest grin. I’m glad this moment is ours to enjoy. I don't know how we're going to sort this all out, but at least we'll have today to look back on. One happy memory.

As we’re passing the edge of the woods, I shake a large pine tree, bringing cascades of snow tumbling onto Ivy like a mini avalanche.

Gasping, she breaks into a laugh, and the dogs start scampering underneath, ecstatic to see some snow falling—as if the entire ground wasn’t covered in it already.

Then, out of the blue, Ivy ducks down and pops back up, lobbing a snowball at my chest from the layer of sticky snow that the sun has slightly melted.

“Hey!” I scream, offended by the assault.

With a giggle, she hurries to take cover behind a tree, Bella scampering after her.

“Oh, I see how it is,” I call out. “Girls against boys, huh?” Burger stays put next to me.

“Looks like it,” Ivy says through a chuckle. Then, she hits me in the chest again. This woman means business .

I retaliate, but she ducks behind a tree, and I miss. Balling some snow, I carefully approach the line of trees, only to get hit again. This time, straight in the face.

“Oh, you are not getting away this time,” I yell, and Burger barks next to me. I glimpse her pink beanie poking out, so I take a few steps sideways, and once she’s in my line of sight, I throw my ammunition.

The blow lands right on her shoulder, and she lets out a small scream, falling to her knees. “Ouch.”

Crap. I hurry to her side, Burger scurrying after me. “Sorry,” I say, unable to hide the worry in my voice. “I didn’t realize I tossed it that hard. I’m—”

A cold snowball lands straight on my face. I wipe the wet snow off to see Ivy’s eyes gleaming with mischief. She stands up, probably about to make a run for it.

“You!” I say, tackling her from behind. “You play dirty.”

We roll in the snow, and her giggles mingle with Burger’s and Bella’s barking. We roll to a stop under a tree.

“What are you going to do now?” she asks, that gorgeous gleam still lighting up her green eyes.

I settle both hands on the snow on each side of her head, then kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck, and despite being entirely covered in snow, it’s suddenly feeling extremely warm out here.

All that walking and fighting worked up our appetite. We feed Bella and Burger first, then sit down to eat our sandwiches while they rest.

“So, Seth seems nice,” Ivy says, lying back in the snow.

I do the same, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face. “He’s a good kid. Focused, passionate. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age, actually. Bruce took me under his wing, and thanks to him, I actually became someone.”

“That's what you want to do with Seth? Mentor him?”

I squeeze some snow in my fist, then release it. “Yeah. His family doesn’t have a lot of resources. So, I help him out as much as I can.”

She turns her face toward me, her eyes a lighter shade than usual with all the snow reflecting the sunlight. “You're a good man, Zane Harden.”

I chuckle lightly. “Have you ever doubted that?”

She taps a finger on her lips in thought.

Taking my sunglasses off, I arch an eyebrow.

She laughs. “I'm kidding. Well, maybe at the very beginning, I thought you were just a grumpy mountain man—”

I arch my eyebrow higher. “Grumpy mountain man?”

“Yeah,” she says, giggling. “A little rough around the edges and lacking patience. But, as soon as I saw you at your farm, I knew how amazing you were. The way you care for your dogs . . . Only a good man is capable of that. Bruce raised you well.”

I recline back in the snow, scratching my beard. “He really did. But who knew having dogs was so appealing to women?”

“You really should watch more movies.” She laughs.

“Why would I want to watch fiction when reality looks like this?” I spread my arms out to gesture widely. “I’m literally in my backyard.”

“Yeah.” She lets out a satisfied sigh. “It's pretty darn great.”

“So are you,” I say, looking at her. “Being here with you, on this mountain, is all I’ll ever need.”

She rolls into my arms. Lifting her chin, I place a soft kiss on her velvety lips.

Perfect. This is perfection.

I don’t know how long we stay there lying in the snow, enjoying each other’s company and the pure mountain air.

After a while, we continue our walk before turning around to meander back home. It’s as pleasant as the walk over, and the dogs even get to run since we already cleared out the path.

When we’re back, we let them join the others, but as we’re stepping out of the barn, there’s someone standing in the yard. The sight makes my skin prickle.

My jaw drops as I finally find my voice. “Sofia? What are you doing here?”