“Hey, baby.”
I screech to a halt. Three heartbeats is all it takes.
One.That voice, deep and smooth. I’d recognize it in my sleep.
Two.The hand folded around my wrist, holding me steady like an anchor.
My gaze drifts up.
Three.Those two dimples splitting his cheeks.
I stare straight into the face of my soldier. Rowan smiles down at me, blue eyes bright under thick lashes.
For a split second I’m frozen, mouth agape. Then everything I’m holding drops to the ground. The remnants of my cocoa, cup and all. My purse. My dignity. I lunge forward and throw my arms around his neck. “You’re here.”
He snickers into my hair. I pull back and shove him in the sternum. “What the hell, Rowan?”
His hand grips my coat, pulls me flush against him, head dippinglow.
“What are you doing here?” I yelp before his lips make contact, giving him another shove.
“I was trying to surprise you.”
“Surprise me?”
He yanks me close again. “Yeah, sunshine. I should’ve known it wouldn’t work out the way I’d planned.”
A scruffy jaw tickles my chin as his mouth hovers above mine. I smirk and shove him back again, slap my hands on either side of my face. “I’m so confused.”
Rowan just laughs as he ambles forward, entirely too entertained by our little game of push and pull. I need answers,dammit.
“Who’s with your mom?”
He grins. “Nobody. She’s here with me.”
My forehead crinkles and I shake my head. “But you said she wasn’t cleared for travel.”
“I lied,” he whispers, sweeping hair off my face.
Jaw unhinged, I shove himagain. His smile is mischievous and way too smug. “Rowan Shaw!”
“Hannah James!”
I curl my fingers in the lapel of his coat and lug him close. “Stop smirking and start talking.”
“I was going to?—”
“There are no mice are there?” I cut in, nostrils flaring.
A guilty pause. “Gotta be honest, I’m shocked you fell for the annual pest control bit. I told Kristen it wouldn’t work, but…” He shrugs.
“Wait! You and Kristen have been?—”
Rowan silences me with a firm hand around my neck, thumb cupping my jaw. “Hannah.” I swallow, his palm curling around to fist the hair at my nape. “Shut the hell up.”
Our mouths collide and I sink into him. The air makes our lips cold to the touch but we settle into the kiss, reacquainting ourselves, tongues warm and seeking. Snow falls, people pass by all around, but we’re oblivious. He’s kissing me, and I feel his hands on my face and in my hair and…he’s here.
We pull back to catch our breath, but I hold him close, pressing our foreheads together. “How long do you get to stay?” A dumbbell drops in my gut. I’m scared to hear the answer.