Page 38 of A Newport Christmess

I grabbed the handle. “How long is this cliff walk thing?”

“It’s seven miles if you walk in and out again, but we’ll take the trolley back to our car, so three-and-a-half from one end to the other.”

I glanced toward the dashboard clock. It was already past two. “How long will it take to walk it?” I asked, trying to keep the panic from my voice. I didn’t have time to spend another several hours touring like I didn’t have a job to do.

He paused, studying my expression. “A couple hours. But if you’re too busy, we don’t need to go. I just figured you’d like to see the gilded mansions.”

My lips parted. “The mansions? You can see them on the walk?”

“Several of them, and the ocean views aren’t too shabby either.”

“Can you see Rosecliff?”

“It’s a little harder to see than some of the others, but we should be able to catch a glimpse.”

I nodded, swallowing down my slight trepidation, and opened the door. I hadn’t perfected the art of procrastination to forego a glimpse of Rosecliff. “Let’s go.”

The large ornate iron gate that started the Cliff Walk looked right out of a fairy tale. A thin layer of snow stuck to the ground where the crashing waves couldn’t reach, and ice crystals engulfed the few plants brave enough to endure the cold along the narrow walking path. There were a few other adventurous souls out in the freezing weather, but not many.

I glanced behind us at the long stretch of beach. “I’ve never seen anything like that before—the snow and the sand together. It’s beautiful.”

Landon turned around on the path, taking in the sight as he walked slowly backward. “It’s not quite like Christmas in San Diego, is it?”

“No. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure I’d be willing to trade warm weather for this, but I’m definitely not as strongly opposed as I would have been a month ago. Or a week ago, actually. Perhaps that’s because I’m properly attired.” I pulled my beanie a little lower over my head for good measure. “Thanks to you.”

Landon turned to face forward again, letting his attention go to the horizon. “You’re not an inconvenience, you know.”

I studied his profile, but it revealed nothing.

“So, next time, tell me you don’t like lobster before I’m forced to gorge myself sick.” He gave a playful smile. “You might need to assist me out of here if that second roll doesn’t start to digest.”

“I was impressed you finished them both,” I said with a laugh.

“Almost as impressed as I was when you put down that giant burger and every last fry.”

“Fries are my kryptonite. I will finish all of them every time. And I refuse to share fries with anyone ... unless it’d be an inconvenience for me to have my own.” I sent him a playful look. “But you better believe I’ll be thinking all the evil thoughts as someone fists my fries into their mouth.”

Landon laughed. “Your fry-hoarding tendencies have been noted.”

We carried on in light conversation as we weaved around the coastline, walking down the Forty Steps overlook, and glimpsing an occasional mansion. Despite the chill in the air, I began to sweat—like, a lot. A solid stream ran down my back and another puddled under my non-existent chest. This coat Landon had bought me was insanely effective at not only keeping the cold out, but keeping my warmth in—every exercise-induced bit of it. I unzipped the top portion to let the frigid air flow inside and pulled off my beanie and gloves to zip them into my pocket.

“Getting warm?”

“Shocking, right?”

We entered a part of the path that wound between two tall rock walls. Before we reached a set of stairs to come out of it, Landon pointed to where a short, white fence lined the top of the wall.

My eyes widened with excitement. “Is it Rosecliff?”

“It is. But we can only see it through the chain-link fence up there.” He gestured with a flick of his chin, but I was already taking the steps two at a time. “I see it!” The exquisite white two-story building came into view, blending in with the snow-covered lawn and gray sky. It was exactly like the pictures I’d poured over, except it was real and right in front of me. “It’s incredible.”

“Did you know a lot of these mansions were people’s summer cottages?”

“Summer cottages?”

“Yep.” Landon came behind me, grabbing onto the fence just above my hands and leaning in to catch a glimpse. His breath was warm on my cheek. “Would you want to live in a place like that?” He asked it in a way that made the question sound significant.

“Not a chance. It’d be too much work and way too expensive to keep up. Besides, think of all the people it takes to run a place like that.” Something about his proximity made the words pour out of me. “They’d be coming and going at all hours of the day. I’d hate it. I wouldn’t mind visiting, but I prefer a small house that’s easy to take care of, as long as it has a decent-sized kitchen and enough storage for all my baking supplies.”