Page 34 of The Après-Ski Proposal

“Care for some fondue?” He motioned to the setup behind him, and when I agreed, he led me by my left hand to a seat. Two champagne flutes sat beside the plates. “Champagne?” He held up a beautiful festive bottle.

“I’d love to, but that stuff gives me a headache.” I threw my hands up.

“Same here. I can’t drink it at all. How about some cold press?” He pointed to another bottle on the table. “Just made. Fresh from ‘The Squeezery’ downtown, which I can’t say with a straight face.”

I laughed in agreement, and he poured the colorful turquoise juice drink. “Spirulina, to give it some festivity of its own.” It was delicious and paired perfectly with the chocolate fondue I’d dipped a strawberry into.

“Thank you. This is really fun, Blake—the perfect end to my vacation.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I wanted you to have fun tonight.”

And we did. After eating a copious amount of fruit and chocolate fondue, two glasses of cold-press, and a few bites of cheesecake, we had a few more minutes until ten.

Blake picked up the rose from the table. “Why do I feel like I’m on an episode of ‘The Bachelor’?” He handed it to me. “Claire, will you take this beautiful, fragrant flower I received from the man passing them out in the lobby?”

I laughed and took it. “Of course, Blake. Thank you for the rose.” I breathed in its delicate scent.

“Shall we go to the balcony? We want to get a good spot for the show.”

I nodded in agreement. He picked up his coat, and it was then I realized I’d forgotten mine. But not a second passed before he put his coat around my shoulders.

“Won’t you be cold?” He was still gently trembling, after all.

“No, your smile keeps me warm.”

“In that case…” I grinned dramatically, showing all of my teeth like I was on an infomercial.

“Perfect. I feel warmer already.” Blake opened the door to the balcony, leading us out. My high heels clicked loudly on the flagstone tile. To my surprise, only a few people had come for the fireworks. Blake must have noticed the same.

“There’s a big party at that bar tonight—you know, where we met for the second time.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t want to go there, then? Maybe I could re-enact the fall in case there was anything you missed the first time.” I crossed my arms and leaned on the wood railing, looking towards the mountains.

“Oh, I didn’t miss a thing. But I knew it would be quieter here, and I was hoping to tell you one more thing that I didn’t get to earlier.”

“Okay, what is it, Blake?” I stood up from the railing and turned my body to face him.

“Remember how I told my parents that we weren’t dating?” I nodded. “That was missing something. Well... I told them we weren’t dating, yet.”

My heart picked up the pace.

“You see, I’ve never met anyone like you. You make me feel like I’m alive for the first time, not running from my father’s shadow. I may have kept away from relationships, but with you, that is impossible to do, Claire Riley. Truth is, ever since you slipped on the wet tile at Barn Door, I can’t get you out of my mind.”

My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest as he took a step toward me. “So, what part of the fall did it for you? Was it my legs flying up in front of me, or... something else?”

He smiled and shook his head, taking my face in his hands. “It was your smile, Claire. How you held it—you didn’t miss a beat; you didn’t let it faze you. We all fall in life; I slipped just a few hours ago, in fact. Kind of did something to my knee. But you, Claire, did it with grace.”

I was relishing in the fact that someone considered anything about me graceful, when he suddenly leaned in, still holding my face. “Truth is, I knew right at that moment who I was made for. My soul recognized yours.”

As soon as his plush lips touched mine, the fireworks went off in my heart and in the sky.