A Kiss in the Snow - Rosie Green Page 0,66
dare turn around. With a shiver, I quicken my step, digging my hands deeper in my pockets.
So much for a romantic walk through the snow to clear my head and make a decision about Adam! I just want to be back in cosy Snowdrop Cottage, drinking tea curled on the sofa, breathing in the scent of our Christmas tree and warming up in the glow of those beautiful fairy lights.
And then a car appears in the distance, crawling towards me.
My heart rate picks up speed, although I try not to panic. I tell myself it’s sure to just drive straight past me.
Then I see it slowing down.
What the hell was I thinking walking home alone at this time on a winter’s afternoon? And now I’m all alone on this road and there’s a car slowing to a stop just a few yards away…
I peer into the gloom.
‘Carrie?’
My heart lurches at the sound of my name in the still night air. Walking nearer, I realise to my utter relief that it’s Ronan. He pulls in to the side of the road and I hurry over, so pleased to slip into the safety of the car that I groan out loud. ‘I really misjudged that. I should have realised it gets dark really early.’
The engine is still running, warmth blasting out. He smiles. ‘Just as well I’m here, then.’
‘Are you on your way somewhere?’
‘Nope. I’m here for you.’
I gaze at my rescuer, his words tumbling around inside my head, making me feel suddenly giddy with happiness.
He’s here for me.
‘Thank you,’ I whisper. ‘I’ve never felt so pleased to see someone in my life.’
He smiles, his teeth a flash of white in the semi-darkness. ‘You said that last time. When I rescued you from the barn.’
‘I did, didn’t I?’
‘You hugged me that time.’
‘I did. Maybe I should do it again – for luck!’
Our eyes lock and my heart starts beating like a mad thing. I suddenly want to kiss him more than I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone in my life before. And since it was Ronan who mentioned the hug, I’m feeling confident he won’t repel me this time. So I move towards him, my heart beating wildly. And then I’m in his arms and my lips meets his, and we’re kissing hard and so passionately. I’m winding my hands into his hair, tugging him closer, and his hands are on my back, crushing me against the hard muscles of his chest. The feel of his mouth on mine, his need of me, is spinning my head away to the stars.
The rumble of a lorry driving past breaks the spell, and we pull apart and watch its tail lights disappearing around the bend.
Ronan’s arm is still around me and I’m leaning into his chest.
‘Adam seems keen,’ he murmurs. ‘I expect you’ll be going back to be with him?’
Basking in the after-glow of that kiss, his question takes me by surprise. ‘No. I mean, I don’t know. It was all so…surreal. Adam turning up at the door like that.’
He moves his arm and settles back in his seat, staring ahead into the darkness. ‘He thinks you’re going to get together.’
I glance across at him. ‘He might be disappointed,’ I whisper, still feeling shaky after our passionate encounter.
Ronan turns and looks at me, and I move towards him, wanting to kiss him again. But something in his expression stops me. He runs his fingers gently over my cheek and smooths a strand of hair back from my face, all the time looking into my eyes. There’s sadness in his smile.
‘You need to work out what you want, Carrie.’
He puts the car in gear and turns the car slowly on the icy road until we’re facing towards home.
You need to work out what you want.
His words are going around and around on a loop in my mind, and they’re all mixed up with Adam declaring his feelings for me in the pub. We drive back in silence and I stare out into the darkness, trying to make sense of it all…
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I wake next morning, still feeling confused.
But Nora phones me as I emerge from the shower, letting me know she’s back home from the hospital, and asking if I want to go over and meet a certain little Snow White. So I have no time to mull over what happened last night.
Ronan is in the shower when I’m ready to leave, so I leave him a note on the kitchen table to let him