Sprinkle All The Way (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 26

twenty-six

VIOLET

The moment we got into the bedroom Noah dropped me onto the bed and disappeared, shouting, “Be right back.”

Now, I’m sitting on his bed wrapped in my towel because his comforter is still out in the fort. I’m still in shock over his tattoos. I’m not surprised though, and now that I think about it things are starting to make sense. Like how when I came into his apartment that first night I found him sleeping naked. But when I started sleeping over he suddenly found his clothes. He wasn’t trying to make me comfortable, he was hiding the beautiful bouquet on his chest. A bouquet I want to lick and bite.

Noah’s been gone for several minutes before he jogs into the bedroom. His towel is hung in all the right spots for me to admire the way his hips create a perfect V to where he’s holding it in place, the dusting of hair leading down to where I want to touch him.

“Take this,” he says out of breath, handing me an envelope. I start to flip it over, until he yells at me. “Not yet. Wait until I’m gone.”

“This is weird,” I tell him, furrowing my brow.

“I know. Trust me. I’m going to go lay down in the fort. You read that, and if you like what it says, come join me. If you don’t”—he pauses to rake his free hand through his hair—“stay in here and let’s pretend this never happened. Deal?”

“Noah, we already agreed to try this. What does this say?” I ask cautiously, trying not to flip it over like he said.

“Consider this your last get out of jail free card, and I don’t know,” he says.

“You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know?” I’m starting to get concerned now, and I’m unsure what’s going on. I hate how he keeps attempting to push me away, like I’m lying about wanting to be with him.

“Trust. Me,” he says, emphasizing each word before kissing my forehead and leaving the bedroom.

I look at the envelope in my hand. It’s old and battered, yellowing slightly with age. I’m uncertain what could be in here that would make me want to forget what we’ve finally started and walk away. I’ve waited so long to be with him, I don’t think anything could stop me.

Taking a deep breath, I finally stop stalling and flip over the envelope. The front only has one sentence in handwriting that I recognize right away from the papers at Gingerbreads.

Give to the person you fall in love with

Opening the envelope, I slowly pull out the paper inside and start reading.

Dearest Violet,

To start, I apologize if you’re not Violet. This letter might be awkward for you to read. I can only assume if you’re not Violet that she must be dead, in which case, please help Noah heal .

Anyway, Violet, I’m glad to see Noah finally figured things out. I wanted to let you know he never stopped talking about you. No matter what we were doing, he always found a way to bring you up. Whether it would be something you liked or something you said, he was always talking about you.

I tried to push him to ask you to prom, but maybe I wasn’t pushy enough. I was so sad when you both left town, but I always knew you would find your way back to each other. Soulmates always do.

The only thing I ask of you is don’t break his heart. He might act all tough, but we both know what’s hidden under his surface.

In return, if he ever breaks your heart – call Carl from the morgue. He’ll be able to help you out.

Wishing you both the best. I hope you grow old together and never lose sight of the most important thing. Your love. For each other.

All my love & happiness,

Ginger

My vision is blurry as I read the last line and a tear stains the bottom of the letter. I can’t believe Ginger knew all this time. I wish Noah had listened to her. I wish we hadn’t been so stupid. I wish neither of us had ever left this town.

A rush of urgency comes over me as I drop the letter on the bed and run out of the room, leaving the towel behind me as well. Goosebumps cover my skin from the cold, but I don’t care. My heart is pounding as I reach the living room, only lit by the twinkling lights strung over the fort.

Dropping to my knees at the entrance I see Noah laying against pillows, a blanket spread across his lap. He’s gazing at me with all the hope in the world, and it takes everything in me to not jump into his lap. He pushes off the ground, arms flexing and distracting me before I put one finger in the air. He freezes, arms straining to keep himself up.

“You love me? Like love-love me?” I ask, needing to hear the words from his lips.

“I love-love you.” He nods. “I’ve never not loved you,” he tells me, sitting up fully inside the fort. Leaning forward, he reaches out his hand to me like he did in the bathroom. A silent invitation to join him. My body takes over as my brain processes what’s happening, and then I’m sitting by his side.

His warm vanilla scent fills the inside of the fort, and the lights outside shine through the sheets enough to illuminate him in the most beautifully maddening gold.

“Are you going to say anything?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

“I love you too. My heart has always belonged to you, Noah,” I tell him, guiding his hand to rest over my heart. It feels like my chest can barely contain it.

He mirrors me, bringing my free hand to rest over his tattoo. My fingertips try to memorize the raised lines there as his heart beats, moving in sync with mine.

I’m not sure who leans forward first, but one second I’m looking into his eyes and the next his lips are on mine.