Page 26

“Where are you going?” I grab a coat and hurry after her.

“First snow of the year! We need to embrace the snow!”

“What?” Chuckling, I shake my head as we fly down the stairs, her hair whipping behind her.

“We can use the elevators, you know. State-of-the-art technology, Lexy!” I holler after her.

“Too slow!”

She was like this last year—insistent on running outside during the first snowfall in the new year.

I thought that was a one-time thing, but apparently, it isn’t.

She stops abruptly before we reach the stairwell door to the lobby.

I nearly plow into her.

“I forgot to give you this!” She takes a small box from the pocket of her robe.

“I’m an idiot. I was supposed to give this to you on New Year’s Day and completely spaced out. See? It’s meant to be—me grabbing this robe, this box banging against my leg, reminding me what I forgot—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lifting the small blue box, I give it a shake.

“What is it?”

“Open it and you’ll see.” She rubs her hands together in obvious excitement as she nods toward the box.

I flip open the lid and find a pair of black circular cuff links.

Amusement flitters inside me as I trace the delicate floral pattern on the medallion.

It’s beautiful and simple, something I like, but then I’m not surprised she has my tastes down .

But I still don’t know why she’s bouncing on her feet, looking like a cat who just ate the canary.

“I love this, Lexy. Thank you.” I’m about to snap the lid shut when she stops me.

“There’s a surprise! Ugh, you’re so slow. Let me show you.” She grabs a cuff link from the box and shows me a small latch on the side.

Then, she pushes it and the medallion swivels out to reveal a lifelike painting of a hummingbird underneath.

“See?” Alexis looks at me expectantly.

“Doesn’t it look like the earrings you gave me?”

“Wow. Yeah. It does.” I marvel at the bird—the delicate strokes for the feathers, the brilliant ruby chest, reminding me of the stained glass window in Ravenswood, the way the wings appear mid-flight and full of life, just like the woman who gave this to me.

Warmth rushes through me, chasing the earlier unease away.

It’s perfect.

“I saw this at a vintage store. Not a brand name or anything fancy, but this is so special, don’t you think? Simple and elegant on the outside, hiding a beautiful heart inside. Just like you.”

I graze the wings on the hummingbird one last time before sliding the medallion face back into place and carefully put it back into the box.

Glancing up at my beautiful hummingbird, I murmur, “It’s absolutely perfect. ”

Because my heart only pounds for her.

She beams, grabs my hand, and rushes through the lobby—past a bewildered doorman—into the sea of white.

The frigid air burns my lungs as snow batters my face.

Holy shit, it’s cold.

But my Nova isn’t fazed.

She spins around in circles, her arms outstretched.

Then she grins.

“You’re my north star, Ethan.”

Without a warning, she flies into my arms and an oomph tumbles out of my chest when I catch her.

She presses the sweetest kiss on my lips and for a moment, I forget about the brisk air, the fact we’re wearing two flimsy layers of clothing in the middle of a snowstorm, or how I can barely feel my fingers.

The fire burning inside me keeps me warm.

“And you’re ridiculous. Who on earth voluntarily goes outside in the middle of a blizzard?” I smile at her impish face.

There’s no way anyone can stay mad at this woman, even if she’s bound to catch herself a cold if no one takes care of her.

I slowly tug her loosened robe tighter around her body.

“Someone needs to take care of you.”

She beams. “That’s why I have you.”

Letting out a joyful shriek, she pulls away and sticks her tongue out to catch the snow.

“It’s the first snow of the new year! The sign of new beginnings and fresh starts. Don’t be such a grump, you old man! And need I remind you if I didn’t go out in a snowstorm, we wouldn’t have met?”

I think back to how she barreled into me in front of Ravenswood, and how it seems like a lifetime ago.

I remember I couldn’t look away.

My breath caught in my lungs when I glimpsed her sweet smile and fiery locks.

Deep down, I knew my life would change from that moment on.

Now, I don’t remember life before Alexis Vaughn.

It’s like a faded black-and-white photo painstakingly restored, then enhanced in technicolor, the before and after effects mesmerizing.

A snowball fight and a snow angel later, hail hurls from the skies.

As I hover over her prone body lying on top of the blanket of white—because someone has to protect and take care of my Nova—I marvel at how much my life has changed since her.

“I don’t know how you do it. You inspire me to be so much more. I…I—”

I want to write poems about this moment as we lay suspended in the middle of the busiest city in the country.

If I were to create a snow globe to represent our relationship, this would be the scene I’d capture.

The magic. The thrill.

The perfect snapshot.

Alexis kisses my fingers and murmurs, “Be here and be bold. Don’t wait to live because…”

“The clock keeps ticking,” I rasp.

Her whimsical mottos.

The way she lives, like the grains of sand in her hourglass are running out.

The desperation I felt in my apartment moments ago comes rushing back.

It’s unsettling; the feeling I always get when the winds are calm and an eerie silence settles before a violent storm wreaks havoc and devastation.

Swallowing the lump suddenly forming in my throat, I clutch her hands in mine.

“Are you going to give me the answer?”

Her gaze roves over my face before a devious smile graces her lips.

“Do you have a ring on you?”

Urgency burgeons inside me.

She teases me some more, then winks.

“No ring, no answer. You’ll just have to wait until our curry date next week.”

An ache appears inside my chest and I fight the urge to rub it.

It’s just nerves. After all, I never thought I’d propose to anyone.

I’m going to make this woman mine soon.

I’ll have a lifetime with her.

But the soreness intensifies.

I have the strangest urge to whisk her out of the country under the cloak of the night.

I shove the ridiculous thoughts away and watch her dance around in the snow, her nose tipped in red.

My snowy ballerina.

Before long, we find ourselves huddled in front of the fireplace again, this time bundled up in a pile of blankets.

Her teeth chatter as she takes a sip of the hot lavender honey tea I made for her—I’ve stocked my cupboard with fresh sprigs of lavender and packets of local honey ever since we got together.

She sighs happily and stares at the journal in front of us .

We’ve finalized the first seven items of her Twenty by Forty list, and naturally, we’ve scribbled our thoughts next to each item as well.

Alexis and Ethan’s Twenty by Forty list (Well, Ethan will be 44, but that’s beside the point):

Item 1: Eat ghost pepper curry.

Dreamer: If we can eat one of the spiciest peppers out there, we can survive anything.

Keeper: We can survive anything without burning our mouths off.

Dreamer: Don’t tell me you’re chickening out.

Keeper: Never.

Item 2: Find a red heart-shaped piece of sea glass in Mermaid’s Tears Beach in Hawaii.

Dreamer: Do you know red is one of the rarest colors of sea glass?

Same with the heart for the shape?

But it’s out there waiting for me to find it.

Keeper: It’s only a piece of glass.

Dreamer: Pssh. Polished by the ocean for ages.

In the shape of a heart , Ethan.

Imagine this—you, me, walking on the beach, finding a rare heart-shaped glass.

Doesn’t get more kismet than that.

Keeper: I’d rather be doing something else on the beach with you.

Item 3: Skydiving over the Namib Desert in Namibia.

Dreamer: It’s the oldest desert in the world and I hear the views are spectacular where the sand meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Enough said.

Keeper: No arguments from me.

This actually sounds pretty cool .

Item 4: Write a love letter in a Paris bookshop.

Dreamer: This may be the easiest goal, but it’s so damn romantic.

A love letter in the city of love in a place hosting love stories from the ages?

It has my name written all over it.

I think I even know which bookstore I want to visit.

Keeper: Let me guess, Shakespeare and Company?

You’ve been to Paris before.

Why didn’t you do this then?

Dreamer: There are some days when I think you’re the most romantic man on earth, and then there are days when I wonder if you hired a ghostwriter to pen those poems for me.

Hello? I haven’t been to Paris with you , Mr. North Star.

And it’ll be so meaningful to write a love letter with the love of my life.

Keeper: Because I’m the reader of your book.

And you’re the reader of mine.

Dreamer: You’re forgiven because you remember my motto.

Item 5: Get a piece of treasure from a sunken ship.

Dreamer: You’re laughing at me, Ethan, but this stuff is out there, waiting for us to find it.

Do I need to remind you of my motto again?

Keeper: Good luck going against professional treasure hunters, Nova.

Need I say it again?

Professional. As in, they’ve spent years looking for sunken treasure, and you want to somehow come across it?

Dreamer: Looks like you need a reminder: If I believe it, who’s to say it isn’t true?

Item 6: Release a wish at a lantern festival in China.

Dreamer: I may even sing a song from a certain cartoon featuring a long-lost princess and the ruffian who saves her from a tower to take her to see floating lanterns in the sky while I’m at it.

And you’re making a wish too, Ethan Anderson .

Keeper: I don’t need any more wishes.

All of them came true when I met you.

Item 7: Tie a prayer cloth in Jokhang Temple in Tibet.

Keeper: I think I’m starting to see a trend—going to far flung locales to make wishes.

Why do you need so many wishes, anyway?

Dreamer: Serendipity.

Fate. Magic. The next great discovery waiting for us just around the corner.

The anticipation. Need I say more?

Bonus Item Not Part of the Official List: Teach me how to swim, dammit!

Dreamer: You promised.

Or was this a lure to get me to meet you in person?

Keeper: Don’t pin this on me.

Every time you ask me to teach you, it’s during my month-end close and I’m working overtime.

It’s like you’re using me as an excuse not to learn.

Dreamer: Stop knowing me so well.

But I don’t care. This year is it.

Swimming and curry. I can tackle two goals.

Keeper: You forgot to add getting married by thirty.

That was another one of your goals, right?

Dreamer: It is, and stop trying to weasel an answer out of me.

Be patient. *winks*

Pulling her to my side, I smile at the list—the positivity in her response, the humor, the banter.

It’s quintessentially us.

I’ll make every one of those wishes come true for her.

“What about the rest? There’s thirteen more to go.” The crackle from the fireplace joins the soothing rhythm of her breathing as I kiss her hair and inhale the familiar scent of lavender .

She yawns. “We can decide after our curry date next week.” Her eyes flutter shut and her lips curve in a smile.

“Our first item. Then take me to your pool. No more excuses. I can’t wait.”

She snuggles closer, and I chuckle as I lift her and carry her to my bed.

We have some time before Liam comes back, and I intend to spend every minute loving the woman in my arms.

A soft snore soon fills the air and I pull the covers over her shoulders, watching my hummingbird sleep.

Safe and sound.

“We have a lifetime to decide,” I murmur.

“All your wishes, I’ll make them come true.”

I drift my finger over her slender nose, and she moans before curling into my side.

Smiling, I close my eyes.

“I promise you, Nova. They’ll all come true.”