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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jordy

It’s exactly five o’clock and I’m jumping out of my truck to greet Lola, who has pulled up next to me in the empty parking lot in her little white SUV.

Waving excitedly, she smiles, exposing the dimples that make her look even more beautiful and youthful.

Pulling her hat on, the one with the pom-poms she always wears, she opens her car door and I’m holding out my hand like a chauffeur to help her step down onto the snow-covered parking lot. “Be careful. It’s a bit slippery underfoot.”

“Hi.” Gingerly, she plants one foot then the other into the fresh snow that fell about an hour ago.

“Hey, Teacup.” I steal a kiss.

“Someone might see us.” She scans the well-lit area.

I hold my arms out to the side. “There is no one around.” Aside from a couple of people who are out walking their dogs, it’s almost deserted.

Lola opens the rear door of her car to grab her jacket from the back seat.

“So we are the foolish ones being out here in the cold,” she says, putting her jacket on, she zips herself up, pulling the collar up around her ears to protect them.

“Yes we are. Freezing your ass off will be worth it once you see what I have planned though.”

Lola’s car beeps twice when she locks it then stuffs her key fob into her pocket and pulls out a pair of cream cable knit mittens then puts them on.

“Come.” I hold out my glove-covered hand for her to take and we walk across the parking lot and into the park.

“It’s beautiful here at Christmas time.” Looking up, she admires the trees covered in fairy lights.

“It is,” I agree, but I’m not looking at the trees. I’m referring to her. The way the lights make her eyes twinkle, and her face light up, she looks like she’s glowing.

“This way.” I tug her hand, steering her off the path and onto the grass that’s covered in thick snow.

Pulling her around the back of a row of bushes, she gasps when she sees what I started before she arrived.

“Are we building a snowman?” she asks, pointing at the first ball I made to form part of the body, and I nod a yes.

Dropping my hand, she steps toward the half-built snowman. In awe, she takes in the forty sets of battery-operated fairy lights I draped around the smaller trees and bushes to help light the area. It took me two hours to do it but it was worth it to see the look of surprise and delight on Lola’s face.

“This is beautiful, Jordy.” Arms outstretched, she spins around, looking carefree and happy, which is all I wanted.

“You said that you loved building a snowman with your dad every year.” I lift my hand, gesturing to the figure. “I thought it might help cheer you up.” My voice is shaky, not feeling as confident about this idea as I was before. “Because you’ve had such a shitty time of it lately, I wanted to do something nice for you.”

She stops spinning, her gaze locking onto me, and her eyes become watery.

Shit, I think I might have fucked up. Maybe this is upsetting for her rather than being something happy to reminisce about.

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Jordy.”

“Yeah?”

“You are so kind and thoughtful.” She walks to me and looks up. Cupping my cheek with her mitten-covered hand she asks, “Do we have a scarf, a carrot for his nose, coal for his eyes, and buttons for his coat?”

“We do. As well as a hat and sticks for his arms.”

“Thank you.” She rises on her tiptoes to give me a kiss, which is as soft as a snowflake touching my skin, the tip of her nose cold against mine. “Then let’s build the best snowman that’s ever been built in Gold Bar Park.”