Page 45 of First Echo

"You're kidding," she said, but she followed me anyway, her steps quickening to match mine.

"You wanted to skip the run," I pointed out, releasing her hand to brush snow off one of the sleds. "This is better."

"Better than warm blankets and a bed?" she challenged, one eyebrow raised, a teasing note in her voice that sent heat racing through me.

I grinned, looking up at her as I positioned the toboggan at the top of the slope. "You already had the bed. Time to round out the vacation package."

"And what exactly does this package include?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, but the smile playing at the corners of her lips betrayed her amusement.

"Speed, bruises, adrenaline, and a dangerous amount of charm," I replied without missing a beat, dropping into the front seat of the sled. "It's a full experience."

"You're unbelievable," she said, shaking her head, but she was laughing now, the sound free and unrestrained in a way I'd rarely heard from her.

"Yet here you are," I pointed out, patting the space behind me. "Get on, Maddie. Don't make me beg."

Something flickered in her eyes at the nickname—surprise, pleasure, a hint of heat. "Tempting," she said, but she was already moving toward me, settling onto the sled behind me, her thighs bracketing mine, her chest pressed against my back.

Her arms wrapped around my waist, holding tight, her chin resting on my shoulder. The fit of our bodies was so perfect it made my breath catch. Even through layers of winter clothing, her warmth seeped into me, her breath warm against my ear as she whispered, "If we fall, I'm suing you."

I smirked, unable to resist turning my head slightly so my lips nearly brushed her cheek.

"Well, you better hold on tight then, Maddie—wouldn't want you to fall for me twice in 24 hours."

She let out a breathy laugh that I felt more than heard, her arms tightening around me. "You are so cheesy."

"You didn't think that last night," I murmured, lowering my voice to a register that made her shiver against me. "Now did you ?"

Her sharp intake of breath was all the confirmation I needed. I could almost feel the heat rising to her cheeks, could picture the flush spreading across her skin.

"I hate you," she said, but there was no conviction in it, only a breathless kind of want.

"You really don't," I countered, confidence surging through me at the way her fingers flexed against my stomach.

"Shut up and go."

"Gladly."

I pushed off with my hands, sending us hurtling down the slope with a jolt of speed that had Madeline squealing in a mixture of terror and delight.

The wind whipped past us, stinging our cheeks, sending snow spraying up on either side as the toboggan picked up speed.

Madeline's grip on me was almost painfully tight, her face buried against my shoulder, but I could feel her laughing, could feel the rush of joy that matched my own.

The slope was steeper than it had looked from the top, the toboggan flying over small bumps that sent us temporarily airborne before crashing back down with teeth-rattling impact.

I steered as best I could, leaning into turns, using my weight to keep us on course, but there was an element of reckless abandon to it, a surrender to gravity and momentum that couldn't be fully controlled.

We hit a particularly big bump near the bottom, launching us into the air.

For a suspended moment, we were weightless, flying, and then we crashed back down at an angle that sent the toboggan careening sideways.

It flipped, sending both of us tumbling into a drift of soft powder, a tangle of limbs and breathless laughter as we rolled to a stop.

I ended up on my back, Madeline sprawled on top of me, her hair dusted with snow, her eyes bright with exhilaration. She was laughing so hard she could barely speak, her whole body shaking with it, and the sight was so beautiful it made my chest ache.

"You're a menace," she gasped when she finally caught her breath, making no move to disentangle herself from me.

“Oh you loved it," I countered, reaching up to brush snow from her cheek, letting my fingers linger against her skin.

"I literally thought we were going to die."

I grinned, unrepentant. "If we had, at least you died clinging to me. Not a bad way to go."

She raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a smile that was equal parts exasperation and affection.

"You're really proud of that one, huh?"

"A little," I admitted, reveling in the way she rolled her eyes, in the easy banter between us that felt both familiar and new.

"You should be," she said, shifting slightly so she was more comfortably positioned on top of me, her elbows resting on either side of my head. "That was almost smooth."

"Almost?" I challenged, letting my hands settle on her hips, anchoring her against me.

Her smile turned playful, teasing. "You're lucky I like a little chaos," she said, her eyes dropping to my lips in a way that made my heart skip.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face, couldn't contain the surge of happiness that welled up inside me. "Very lucky," I agreed, my voice softer now, more sincere.

And then I kissed her.

Not like last night—desperate, hungry, driven by months of denial and pent-up tension. This was different. Deliberate. Chosen. A kiss in full daylight, with the sun warm on our faces and the snow cold beneath us and the whole world spread out around us.

I kissed her slowly, savoring the softness of her lips, the small sound she made in the back of her throat as she melted against me.

My hands came up to frame her face, fingers tangling in her hair, holding her close as if she might disappear if I let go.

Her weight on top of me was grounding, perfect, like she belonged there.

She smiled into the kiss, a curve of lips against mine that filled me with a happiness so intense it was almost painful. I couldn't stop, couldn't get enough of her—the taste of her, the feel of her, the reality of Madeline Hayes in my arms in broad daylight, choosing this, choosing me.

We stayed like that, trading unhurried kisses as the snow melted beneath us, soaking into our clothes, until the chill finally became impossible to ignore. Madeline pulled back, her lips reddened from our kisses, her eyes soft with something I was afraid to name.

"We should get up," she murmured, though she made no move to do so. "Before we freeze to death."

"In a minute," I said, stealing one more kiss, then another, unable to let her go just yet.

She laughed against my mouth, a sound of pure joy that I felt in every cell of my body. " So bossy ," she teased, but she didn't pull away, didn't resist as I rolled us over so she was beneath me, snow flying up around us.

"You like it when I’m bossy don’t you?,” I countered, hovering over her, drinking in the sight of her—cheeks flushed, hair fanned out against the snow, looking up at me with eyes so bright they put the winter sky to shame.

"Maybe," she admitted, hooking a leg around mine, pulling me closer. “Just a little."

This time when we kissed, there was more heat to it, more urgency.

Her hands slipped beneath my jacket, cold against my skin, making me gasp.

I retaliated by nipping at her lower lip, soothing the slight sting with my tongue.

She arched against me, a soft sound escaping her that made my whole body tighten with want.

"We should get back to the toboggan," I managed to say when we finally broke apart, both of us breathing hard. "One more run before we have to head back."

She nodded, looking as dazed as I felt, as reluctant to move. "One more," she agreed, her voice husky in a way that made it hard to remember why we should stop kissing at all.

We helped each other up, brushing snow from our clothes, stealing kisses between attempts to make ourselves presentable.

It was futile—we were both soaked, disheveled, flushed in a way that had little to do with the cold and everything to do with each other.

But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except this moment, this perfect bubble of happiness we'd carved out for ourselves.

We trudged back up the hill, hand in hand, the toboggan dragging behind us. The climb was harder than it had looked from the bottom, our legs burning with the effort, but we kept going, spurring each other on with playful taunts and promises of what would happen when we reached the top.

And then we did it all over again—the rush down the hill, the tumble at the bottom, the tangle of limbs and laughter and kisses that seemed to stretch time into eternity.

For most of my life, I'd kept people at a distance, built walls to protect myself from the pain of loss, from the vulnerability of caring too much.

But here, with Madeline, those walls felt unnecessary, even unwanted.

I wanted her to see me—all of me, not just the guarded, sarcastic exterior I showed the world.

And more incredibly, I wanted to see her—the real Madeline beneath the perfect facade, the girl who laughed until she snorted, who clung to me on a toboggan ride, who kissed me like I was something precious she'd been searching for all along.

Whatever came next—whatever complications awaited us back in the real world—this moment was ours. This happiness, this freedom, this connection that felt both brand new and somehow like coming home.

For the first time in longer than I could remember, I wasn't afraid of what might happen. I wasn't bracing for loss, for abandonment, for disappointment. I was simply here, present, alive in my own skin, with Madeline Grace Hayes looking at me like I was everything she wanted.

And it felt incredible.