Snowflake Wishes (6 page)

Noah saw Piper swallow hard as Darla pointed. The flakes were getting bigger, and they were sticking to the windshields in the parking lot. How had he been so stupid, getting this far away from town? He
always
checked the weather report.

As Darla left, Piper turned her eyes on Noah. “Please tell me you didn't plan this.”

“Plan a monster storm? No, I'm not quite that powerful.”

“I
mean
plan to get us stranded
in
a monster storm. How's your truck in snow?”

“Good enough that we have time to eat. I'm sure we'll get back just fine.”

She nodded. “That's what I was hoping. Not sure if you remember what I'm like when I'm starving?”

“Yes. Which is why I might be exaggerating the truck's capabilities. I'd honestly rather deal with a snowstorm than a hungry Bellini.”

*   *   *

Half an hour later, they'd inhaled platters of burgers and fries, and Piper reached toward his plate, then pulled back like she regretted the automatic, sort of intimate move.

He pushed his plate toward her. “Want the pickle?”

“No, thanks.”

“You know you want the pickle. You
always
wanted the pickle.”

“People change.”

He pushed the plate a smidge closer. “If we fall off the road or get stuck in a ditch, this could be your last meal till morning.”

She paused, then reached over to snag the pickle, making him laugh. “Well, in that case.”

“Ready to head out?”

Piper looked out the window, where the snow was now falling fast and furiously. The parking lot had emptied while they ate, and now there were just a few cars. “Yikes. Now or never, I guess.”

“'Fraid not.” Darla's gravelly voice surprised them as she laid the bill on their table. “Milk truck just slid off the road about a half mile down the mountain. Took out the Owl Brook Bridge. Road's closed till further notice.”

Great.
They'd have to head back
up
the mountain. Noah pictured the long curves and steep pitches, and wished they'd forgone the hamburgers and gotten out of here earlier.

Piper looked at him. “Does the truck have four-wheel drive?”

“Yeah.” He looked out the window. Only a couple of inches had settled so far. If they left right now—

“You thinking about going
up?
” Darla arched her eyebrows. “Then you can leave me your wallet and valuables, because you won't be needing them again.”

“What?” Piper's voice had a tinge of panic. “The road's not
that
bad, is it?”

“Not in normal weather, no. But nobody in his right mind would drive up through the notch in this storm. Look out there.” She pointed out the window. “Already can barely see to your truck. Looks like you're stuck with us till the snow lets up. But as long as we have power, we'll be good to go. Plenty of food, plenty of good company, right? We've got ten of you stuck with us.”

Noah wasn't sure whether Piper was going to scream or smile as she turned her focus to Darla. “You sound like you've done this before.”

Darla nodded. “At least once a year. Funny weather up here in the notch. Stuff blows in, and it doesn't ever wanna leave.” She turned and headed back to the kitchen, and Piper was silent for a full minute. Noah wasn't sure what to say, but figured shutting up was probably his best strategy anyway.

Finally, Piper lifted her eyes to his. “You totally planned this.”

*   *   *

“Ante up.” Piper motioned to the middle of the biggest table in the diner as she shuffled a deck of cards eight hours later. After everybody'd pitched in to make a family-style dinner, they'd cleared the dishes, settled the two kids down to sleep on a pile of jackets in one corner of the diner, and then gathered back at the big table for a game of penny poker.

Noah smiled as he tossed a penny in, watching Piper take charge of the game. It was ten o'clock at night, the snow was still falling like crazy, and after an initial flurry of people lining up for the pay phone out back, everybody had settled in for the night with good humor.

“Gus, are you in?” Piper motioned to one of the truckers who'd slid into the parking lot just after dark.

“Oh, I'm in, honey.” Gus elbowed the other trucker beside him. “Bear? You playing? Or you afraid?”

Bear delivered a one-finger salute as he flipped a penny into the pot. Darla's came next, and then Sully's, who'd been summarily relieved of kitchen duties by two women who were currently making popcorn and drinks. The diner didn't have a liquor license, so the strongest drink they were allowed to serve was the dark cocoa.

Piper dealt the cards, and Noah was transported to a Saturday night at her old apartment. It had been too cold to go out, and they'd been struggling-student poor, so she'd cooked them Kraft mac and cheese and microwave brownies, then talked him into a game of strip poker.

“Five card stud. Deuces wild.” She raised her eyebrows, and he shook his head to clear visions of her dealing cards practically naked.

She looked so natural sitting here at this diner, dealing out cards like she did it every Saturday night. This was her crowd, he realized. She'd been dishing up spaghetti and conversation to people just like this for years now, and she'd already been an expert at it when he'd known her way back when.

Mama Bellini had taken her in after her parents' accident, putting her to work in the restaurant whenever she wasn't busy with her art courses, and a long time ago, Piper'd told him that the Bellinis crowd had saved her from herself in her darkest days. They'd lifted her up and taken her in, and made her family. As a guy just barely cruising into adulthood, he hadn't really understood the lure of that over the chance to travel the world, but as a guy who'd just finished his twenties … he could see it differently now.

This was home to her. And home, to Piper, was more important than anything else.

Before he could think better of it, he reached an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him so he could kiss the top of her head. He knew it was an intimacy reserved for somebody who was planning to stay, but he couldn't help himself.

When he let go, her eyes looked surprised at the affectionate move, but he could swear he saw a tiny smile poking at the corners of her lips. As she picked up her cards, he did the same, for the first time feeling a glimmer of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he could break back through her walls.

*   *   *

“I'm not sure I want to admit this quite yet, but being snowed in at a run-down little diner in East Nowhere, Vermont, is actually kind of … fun.” Piper smiled at Noah across their booth, where they'd returned after she'd raked in three whole dollars in the poker game. She piled the pennies on the table, hoping Darla would let her trade them in for paper bills in the morning.

Everyone had spread out into booths and corners, bound for a restless night of pseudo-sleep. It was almost midnight, and the storm was still in full roar, but they were tucked up in a warm diner with plenty of food, so in reality, it was as cozy as could be.

It felt so natural being here with Noah, which had her waffling between feelings of comfort … and panic. In the car earlier, she'd tried to turn off her self-protection instincts and just go with the flow for the day, and it had worked beautifully. They'd laughed, they'd joked, and they'd reconnected in a just-friends sort of way that had her feeling all squishy inside.

But when he touched her hand, or hugged her shoulders, or kissed her forehead, the just-friends feelings were quickly replaced by visions of sneaking out to the truck, or out to the back deck of the diner, or anywhere where they could be alone. Every time she looked at his lips, she could feel them on hers. She could feel them … everywhere, and the memories of hot days and hotter nights were assaulting her in a way that left her feeling all jittery and exposed.

And now it was dark, the diner lights were turned way down low, and the last thing she wanted to do was sleep.

She suspected she wasn't the only one.

“Noah? Want to go outside, maybe?”

He looked up. “Right now?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged, pointing at the window, where the parking lot lanterns lit swirls of snow. “It's slowing down a little.”

“Feeling squirrelly, Pipes?” He smiled.

She shrugged again.
Squirrelly
was an innocent way to put it. “I'm just not ready to sleep. And it's beautiful out there. You can make the first tracks.”

“Okay, but for the record, I think you're nuts. It's freezing.” He shrugged on his jacket, zipping it as he slid out of the booth. Then he held hers while she slid her arms into it and tried not to lean back against him like she used to do.

He pushed open the front door as quietly as he could, holding it so she could follow him, and when they came out from under the awning, they both stopped and looked up at the same time. The flakes were huge, and Piper closed her eyes and remembered her mother dragging her out into a storm just like this when she was little.

Look up,
she'd said.
Then close your eyes and wait for the angel kisses.

“Thinking about your mom?” Noah's voice was gentle as he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, like he'd never stopped doing so. She leaned back against him, like
she'd
been doing it all along.

“How did you know?”

“Because you used to cry when it snowed. One day, you finally told me why.”

She nodded, leaning her head back against his chest. “It was one of the rare things that made her happy.”

“Hey.” He spoke gently, reaching toward the railing to scoop a handful of snow. “When's the last time you made a snowflake wish?”

“It's been a long time.”

Seven years.

He held the tiny pile of snow in front of her face. “Want to make one now?”

Piper's stomach flipped, probably in response to the hip-hop dancing her eggs were doing, thrilled that Noah was actually touching her again.

She closed her eyes. What to wish? She blew on the snow, and it scattered, catching sparkles in the pool of light beyond the awning.

“What'd you wish for?”

“Can't tell, or it won't come true.”

He chuckled close to her ear, and it sent wild shivers to every nerve ending she owned.

“Did you—wish that I would kiss you?”

“No.”
Yes.

“Damn.” He reached for another pile of snow. “Try again.”

She laughed and turned around in his arms, and as she looked into his eyes, there was nothing in the world she could do to
stop
wishing he would kiss her. She pulled his hand toward her and closed her eyes tightly, remembering how her mother had taught her to sing her snowflake wish.

“Snowflake, snowflake, hear this wish. I wish that I could have one kiss.” She blew the snow from his hand, and then opened her eyes to see him looking down at her with an expression so sweet, so charged, that she almost couldn't breathe. Then he slid his hand into her hair and brought her closer, touching his lips to hers in a kiss so full of longing that she found herself balling her hands against his jacket, just trying to get closer.

Kissing Noah made time stand still, just like it always had. When his lips were on hers, when his hands were caressing her, she couldn't think of anything but him … anything but getting him alone, with far less clothing on.

In the falling snow, their tongues tangled, and their breaths mingled into tiny puffs of fog in the freezing air. Piper found herself longing for him to pull her down, undress her, kiss her everywhere with these impossibly hot, skilled lips, but good God, it was twenty degrees out and they each had on four layers of clothing.

Noah pulled away, laughing softly as he touched his forehead to hers. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“Depends. Are you blushing while you're thinking it?”

He laughed. “No. But guys don't blush as easily as Bellini girls.” He hugged her to him, his hand on her head as he brought it to his chest. “God, I missed you, Piper.”

“I missed you, too.”

She swallowed hard. Now that his lips weren't skating across hers, the chill of the porch and the snow started seeping in … as did the chill of reality. Seeming to sense that, he held her closer and kissed the top of her head.

“Don't think. Don't ruin it by thinking.”

“But—”

She stopped when he placed his finger against her lips. “Shh. It's a kiss. It's not a promise, or a mistake. It's just a kiss.”

Just a kiss,
her foot. Did he have kisses with
other
women like that? Kisses that made him want to forgo every bit of common sense and disappear for days with someone? She prayed hard that he didn't, because that would kill her right now.

“Okay,” she finally said. “But for the record, you are still a damn good kisser.”

He laughed. “Ditto, sweetheart.”

He turned toward the door and pulled the handle quietly. “Come on back in before we freeze our butts and they find us out here in the morning.”

Reluctantly, she ducked under his arm and back into the warmth of the diner. She didn't want to analyze all of the feelings he'd just jump-started with that kiss, but she had a pretty strong feeling that's
all
she'd be doing for the rest of the night.

When they got back to the booth and sat down, she surveyed it, wondering how they'd possibly sleep. The seats were too narrow to curl up on, and too short to stretch out on, but the sides of the booth looked too far apart to try to prop body parts on both sides at once.

“How in the world are we going to sleep here?” she asked.