Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

“As long as you didn’t change your mind about…” She shrugs and then licks her lips. “Whatever this is.”

“Never.” There’s no hesitation in my answer as I lean down and press my lips to hers. I try to put what I feel into this kiss, and I wish I could make all of what I’m about to tell her hurt less, but I don’t know if it’s possible.

“Then why did you run off like that?” There’s a flash of pain in her eyes, and it cuts right across my heart.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” I take a deep breath and then try again. “There’s a lot of somethings, actually, but I have to start at the beginning.”

“You’re married,” she blurts out, and for a second I’m completely confused.

“Me? No, god, no. You’re the only woman I want.” The corner of her lips lifts at the confession, and I smile down at her. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted.”

“That’s not so bad.”

My smile falters, and I drop my hands from her face as I take a step back. “Noel, I’ve been looking for you for a while now.”

“What?” Now it’s her turn to look confused.

“Months ago I was asked to find you, and it didn’t take me long. All I needed to do was put the right amount of money in the right person's hand.”

“Why were you looking for me?” She crosses her arms over her chest, and I hate the way she’s protecting herself from what I’m saying.

“Your birth mother wanted to find you,” I admit, and her eyes widen.

“You didn’t tell me you were that kind of lawyer.” That was one of many things we talked about for hours over diner.

“There’s more to it than that.” I swallow hard and push forward. I’ve got to get this out all at once and rip the Band-Aid off. “Your birth mother’s name is Kate. She wanted to find you for her own reasons, and I said that I would look into it. I’ll admit that when I started this, I was doing it to protect my father. It was all for selfish reasons until I saw you. Until we began to talk.” When her eyes widen and she doesn’t speak, I keep going. “I found you in the online book club, and we began to message each other.”

“No.” She says it in almost a whisper as she brings her hands to her mouth.

“I’m Snow. My name is Gabriel Snow.”

“This can’t be happening.” Tears form in her eyes, and when I take a step toward her, she holds out her palms to stop me. “No!”

The one word echoes in the quiet space, and I realize that it might have been a mistake to do this here at work. Fuck, can I possibly make this any worse?

“I’m sorry, Noel, but after last night, I knew I’d taken things too far and I should have—”

“You should have told me the truth.” She cuts me off, and I see anger in her eyes now. “How dare you?” She looks me up and down like she’s seeing me for the first time. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie,” I start to say, but she’s already shaking her head.

“You lied by omission.” The tears fall down her cheeks now as I nod.

“Yes but your mother—”

“My mother is at home with my dad two blocks from here!” she snaps back at me. “The person you know is a stranger to me.”

“You’re right,” I say but feel the stab in my heart all the same. I guess I can make this worse.

“I don’t ever want to see you again.” She turns away from me and begins to walk back to the front.

“Wait.” I grab her arm, but she yanks it out of my hold and turns to glare at me.

“I thought I’d found the one.” She angrily wipes away the tears. “But I should have known it was too good to be true.”

I’m frozen in place as she walks away, leaving me with the thoughts that maybe she was in love with me too. Up until today when I broke her heart.

“Noel,” I call out when my brain finally catches up with my feet. By the time I reach the lobby, she’s already gone, and I’m left standing in the middle of Troping with my heart in pieces.





CHAPTER 13





NOEL





I quickly text Joy asking if she can watch over the library until a few of the girls that volunteer from the high school can make it over and cover for me. I’m barely past the front of City Hall, and Joy is already coming down the stairs with her head down as she clicks away on her phone. It buzzes in my hand, and then she looks up and stops.

“I just texted you. I’m leaving,” I say as she comes toward me.

“What did he do?” She tilts her chin up, ready to go to battle for me.

“Who said—” She levels me with a Don’t try it expression.

“It’s a lot. A whole story.” I peek over my shoulder to make sure Gabriel isn’t following me. The man really can send me into a spiral of emotions, and I had to get away from it. That was the only way I’d be able to think straight.

“You sure running is a good idea? I saw him yesterday. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He’s the kind of guy that chases.”

“Maybe,” I agree but not for the reasons I want. The reality is he came here because my birth mother wanted to find me. Then things got out of control, and he went too far. I feel so stupid.