Chapter Fifteen
Jenna
I can hardly believe it’s winter again. The snow’s drifted into every crevice of Kentbury, frosting each rooftop and blanketing the square, giving it that storybook look the Winter Festival is known for. Even though I’m not officially part of the planning, I’m handling all the flower arrangements this year—only now, I’m finally getting paid for it.
Genie McFolley, bless her well-meaning heart, had been asking for donations left and right, as if the shop could keep running on good intentions. She never knew just how close I came to losing the shop, how hard it was to tell anyone—not even my grandparents.
Admitting it felt like saying I’d let my grandmother’s beautiful store slip through my fingers, even though that wasn’t the truth. I’d simply been charging the same prices she’d set years ago. The world had changed, but the shop’s prices hadn’t. She could afford to keep them low, using the income as a bonus rather than a necessity. But for me, it was my livelihood, my everything.
I head toward the festival square, taking in the bustling crowd, the bright holiday lights, and the cheerful decorations strewn across the shops. It’s turned into a holiday bazaar with stalls selling handmade gifts, ornaments, and steaming mugs of hot cocoa. People are setting up garlands along lampposts, and Christmas music floats through the crisp air, filling the square with warmth despite the chill.
And then I see him.
Holden. He’s standing near the edge of the square, looking around like he’s searching for something—or maybe someone. He’s bundled up, his coat collar pulled up, a hint of scruff on his jaw that somehow makes him look both rugged and impossibly handsome.
My heart skips, then races, and for a second, I can’t move. He looks different. Older, stronger, carrying something deeper in his eyes. But when he spots me, his face lights up in a way that melts any distance that was between us.
I barely have time to catch my breath before he’s walking toward me, then running, a grin breaking over his face. In that split second, the whole square, the festival, the people—everything fades into the background. All that exists is him.
Holden sweeps me up into his arms, pulling me close. The warmth of his embrace is like stepping out of the cold and into the coziest firelit room. I bury my face against his shoulder, feeling his heart beat fast and strong against me.
“I got here earlier than I thought,” he murmurs, his voice rough, like he’s been holding back a thousand words just to say these. “I was on my way to find you.”
I pull back, looking up at him, my hands still resting on his chest, feeling the solid warmth of him beneath my fingertips. He searches my face as if he can’t quite believe I’m here in front of him. Then, before I can say anything else, he leans down, capturing my mouth in a kiss that sends a spark through every inch of me.
His lips are warm, insistent, and I feel his hand cup the back of my neck, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. The world blurs around us, and all I can feel is him—his mouth moving against mine, the quiet, desperate hunger in his kiss that says everything words never could.
He kisses me like he’s making up for all the time we spent apart, for every moment he held back. His other hand slips to my waist, pulling me so close I can feel his heartbeat against mine, steady and real.
A soft sigh escapes me as I let myself melt into him, letting all the feelings I’d been holding back pour out in this kiss. My hands slide up to his face, feeling the warmth of his skin, the roughness of his stubble, grounding me in the reality of this moment.
It’s fierce, raw, and I feel like I’m drowning in him, in the heat that builds between us, in the way his thumb brushes gently along my jaw, in the way his lips seem to memorize every curve of mine.
When we finally break apart, I’m breathless, my cheeks flushed. Holden’s eyes are dark and full of something that sends shivers down my spine, and I can’t help but smile as I look up at him.
“You know the whole town’s going to hear about this, right?” I murmur, still catching my breath.
A slow grin spreads across his face, his eyes lighting up with that mischievous spark that makes my heart skip. “This is Kentbury, after all. Of course they’ll know. But I don’t care. We don’t have to hide this, Jenna. I don’t want to hide this. I want everyone to know I finally have you.”
Hearing those words makes my heart feel like it’s soaring, and I smile back at him, unable to keep the joy from showing on my face. I lean up, pressing my lips to his again in a soft, lingering kiss, savoring the way he holds me like he never wants to let go. I’ve dreamed of this, imagined what it would be like to finally be with him, and now that it’s here, I can’t believe it’s real.
And for the rest of the night, the smile doesn’t leave my face.