Her heart wouldn’t survive. Even if her lips wanted to kiss him again.
“I also want to kiss you on Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Christian continued. “For the next, say…sixty-four years. I love you, LeLe.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe three. “You love me?”
He nodded. “I think I may have fallen in love with you the minute you appeared in the snow cave. I’d never been happier to see someone. Granted, I was slightly hypothermic at the time. But I should have known it the second I kissed you under the mistletoe in the kitchen.”
She listened in disbelief. “I…”
“I may be younger than you and an idiot at times, but I learn from my mistakes. If there’s one person in this world who I can trust, it’s you. I’ll never have that with anyone else because no one else gives so much of herself for so little in return.” The sincerity in his words rang true. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t care what anyone says or thinks, not even the chief. If you want me, just say the word. I’m yours.”
She struggled to breathe. Her heart raced, matching her pulse rate. This was more than she imagined, more than she’d ever dreamed.
“Word.” Leanne rose on her tiptoes and kissed him hard on the lips. No one was watching. She didn’t have to hold back. She poured all her emotion, all her heart into the kiss. Nothing had ever felt so right. “I want you. I need you. I love you.”
“I love a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say it.” He grinned. “Marry me.”
Leanne sucked in a cold breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He had to be joking, right? She was afraid to ask.
“Oops. Forgot something.” Christian took her hand and kneeled in the snow. From his pocket he pulled out a plastic container, the kind found in a gumball machine. Inside was a toy ring. “Will you marry me, LeLe?”
This couldn’t be happening. At any moment she would wake up at the station. Except she felt the snow hitting her face and the cold air as she inhaled. “You’re serious.”
“Very.” He showed her the plastic ring. “I hope this will do until after Christmas. No jewelry stores are open today. It was either this or a mood ring.”
Her mind reeled. “But you didn’t want a girlfriend for Christmas.”
“No, but a fiancée for New Year’s sounds perfect.”
Her heart slammed against her chest. He was serious.
“If I don’t rope you into marrying me, you might take off up the mountain, and I’ll never catch you. Just like when we went backcountry skiing. We’ve both shut ourselves off, Leanne, and now we need to take the same sort of risk we take every day on the job, and trust each other, not waste more time. Let’s not be afraid to live the life we both want.”
His gaze captured hers. She couldn’t have looked away if she wanted to. The love in his eyes sent a burst of tingles shooting through her. Joy overflowed. “Oh, Christian…”
“I’m a firefighter. I’m trained to put out fires.” He touched his chest, right where his heart would be. “The one right here. You ignited. I want it to keep burning. What do you say, LeLe? Marry me?”
She’d never imagined feeling so cherished before. This was the fairy tale. At least as close as one got these days. Leanne grinned. “Using my name doesn’t always guarantee a yes.”
Hoped gleamed in his eyes. “But I’m sure it can’t hurt.”
“You realize I’m not just one of the guys.”
“You like pink, frilly things. Flowers and lace, too.”
“How did you know?”
“I saw your bedroom, though it confused me.”
“I’m sure it did.” She laughed. “I used to be a little princess-type girl. But after my family died and I came to live in Hood Hamlet, I needed to fit in somewhere. Anywhere. I missed my brothers so much. When I met Bill and Jake and Nick, they reminded me of Cole and Troy so much. I wanted to be friends with them so I did everything I could to be one of the guys. It carried on to the station.”
“I get it.” Christian caressed her cheek with the side if his fingertips. “But all that matters now is you’re my girl. Whether you’re kicking my butt skiing or dressed from head-to-toe in pink sparkly stuff or in your bunkers.”
“I am your girl. I think somehow I always knew even when I tried to talk myself out of it.” Full of love, contentment flowed through her veins. “My answer is yes, Christian. I’ll marry you.”
He kissed her on the lips. “Merry Christmas, LeLe.”
She stared at the snow falling and clinging to his hair. So handsome. So strong. And hers.
“Merry Christmas, Christian.” She placed her palm on his chest and felt the beating of his heart. “Maybe there is a little Christmas magic in Hood Hamlet, after all.”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1570-2
FIREFIGHTER UNDER THE MISTLETOE
First North American Publication 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Martinez McClone
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