The next twenty-four hours are like something from a movie. Maybe it's the optimist in me, the hopeless romantic I've tried to suppress since being dumped by Lucas, but for once, the future looks bright. My future with Milo is bright.

It feels absurd to think it, but it's true. Somewhere along the line, I have fallen for the man with the deep-set frowns and the vampire coats. The man who wears brightly colored ties to rebel. The man who hates Christmas. I've fallen for the man I despised and who I thought despised me. 

I've fallen, period.

I don't know how long we lie like this, but it's a while. Mulan joins us at one point, burying herself into the folds of the blankets between us. Milo reaches down, half asleep, and scratches her ear with one hand while pulling me closer with the other. The skin beneath his touch tingles, a slight simmer that travels from my arms to my toes. If I could have this every morning, I'll die happy.

Outside, the blizzard has settled into a gentle snowfall. I turn in Milo's arms until I'm facing him properly and study the curves of his face. He looks vulnerable when sleeping, a younger, carefree version of himself. My lack of self-control forces me to lean in and gently kiss his nose.

He shifts a little. His mouth curls upward as his eyes flutter open, dark and hazy with sleep. Unable to resist, he gives a curled-up Mulan another head scratch before pressing his lips to my neck.

"Merry Christmas," he murmurs.

I shiver at the affection in his voice. His lips feel soft and warm against my neck, as if they've always belonged there. As if I've never known anything different. "Merry Christmas," I say, and he kisses me again.

His hand starts to roam toward my thighs when my stomach grumbles. Laughing, we peel ourselves from our fort of blankets and head upstairs to shower. Ever the gentleman, Milo lets me use the main bathroom while he uses the smaller one, which means I get the rainfall shower all to myself. I turn on the faucet and wait for it to warm before stepping inside.

It's so heavenly that I spend a little too long under the water. When I'm dried and ready, I head to the kitchen and find Milo busy cooking breakfast. I hover in the doorway while his back is turned and watch him gracefully flipping pancakes. For the briefest of moments, there's this pang in my chest as I realize that this - waking up to someone I love with pancakes and cats - is all I've ever wanted.

The growl of my stomach betrays me. Milo looks over his shoulder, sees me standing under the archway, and smiles. "Right on time," he says, and he gently scoops up the pancakes and shimmers them onto my plate. "Power is back on, so we don't have to freeze tonight."

I sit at the table and say, "I didn't freeze last night either. Luckily, I had someone to keep me warm."

He passes the syrup. "Oh, Mulan?"

"Yes," I say as I dig in. "She's got all that fur, you see."

He walks around the table before standing behind me. Voice low, he says, "It couldn't possibly have had something to do with me."

I shiver at the warmth of his breath. His voice is so sultry, so inviting, that it's impossible to think straight. "Of course not."

He laughs and moves his mouth to my neck, where he kisses me gently. "Eat your pancakes. I've got something for you."

"Well, in that case." I wolf down the rest of my pancakes like I haven't eaten in weeks, and he laughs again. Before all this happened, I don't think I'd ever seen so much as a smile, let alone a laugh, and now I can't imagine a world without it.

As soon as I finish breakfast, he takes my hand and leads me into a second living room I hadn't known existed. It's different from the first one, more rustic with its old leather sofas and vintage coffee table, but I like it. In the corner is a floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree, under which Mulan sits dressed as a snowman as she attacks the bottom needles. Sitting beside her, perfectly wrapped with a big red bow, is a present.

I turn to Milo and smile. "For me?"

He nods. Maybe it's just my imagination, but he looks a little nervous. I scoop up the present and undo the ribbon before letting it fall to the floor. Mulan pounces on it as I lift the lid of the plain black box.

Inside are two tickets. It takes a good moment for my brain to engage, but the longer I stare at the little Mickey Mouse, the quicker it sinks in: two tickets to Disney World.

I'm so shocked that my brain can't form a single thing to say. I open my mouth, trying to form words that might actually make sense, but the task is too great. Milo Woods got me Disney tickets.

Two Disney tickets.

"I figured, as a fellow Disney fan, you might want to go with me." His voice sounds easy, but I don't miss the slight hesitation. The uncertainty. The doubt. It's the kind of present one might give in a serious relationship and not a casual hookup. Does that mean Milo likes me? That whatever this is could last beyond Christmas?

Slowly, I face him. His stills as he waits for my reaction, but I'm too surprised to talk. After a moment, I manage, "How did you know I like Disney?"

"Your cat is called Mulan, and you have Disney toys all over your apartment. Call it a hunch."

This is the part where I should probably reply, but I can't. I'm just staring at the tickets, surprised that he would be so thoughtful, let alone want to go away with me.

"If you don't want to-" he starts, but my mouth is already landing on his. Relief fills his eyes as he wraps his arms around me. To see him so nervous about giving me a gift is adorable.

After a moment or two, I pull away to look at him properly. "What about the promotion? The rules between sixes and sevens fraternizing? If we keep this thing going, if one of us is promoted, we both risk losing our jobs."

"Then we'll keep it a secret," he says. "Or we'll figure something out." I'm about to argue, but his mouth comes closer until it's brushing my jaw, his voice a soft, low whisper. "I like you, Kennedy James. More than I've ever liked anyone, and I've waited too long for us to get to this moment. Promotion or not, I'm not giving you up."

There is something about that last part that makes my knees tremble. I kiss him again, my heart so full that it's heavy in my chest, a reminder of what I've been missing. Milo Woods has been waiting for this - for how long, I don't know - and I realize so have I. I've been waiting forever, long before I even knew what it was I was waiting for, but now there's no mistaking it.

Him.

I've been waiting for him.

For the rest of the day, we frolic in the snow like kids. It gets colder, and Milo flashes a daring look before stripping to his underwear. I'm about to ask him if he's officially gone insane when he hot-foots it over to the hot tub.

I watch with a little bit of drool. Milo's body is perfection as he lowers himself into the water, muscles arched and taut under the strain of his weight.

Like a coward, I succumb to the urge to get out of this cold. I strip slowly, enjoying his gaze as he watches me strip to my underwear. I climb into the hot tub and lower myself into the water, where he reaches out and pulls me toward him. Eyes dark, he lowers his head like he's going to kiss me, but I move at the last second.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," I say. It's as though - despite everything that's happened this weekend - there is a lot I don't know about Milo Woods - I'd like to rectify that.

He sighs and moves his hands to my waist before tilting his head. "What do you want to know?"

I feel myself sink further into the bubbles. It feels nice to do nothing, to be at peace in a winter wonderland, no stress or deadlines or upcoming promotions: just us. "Favorite Disney movie."

He thinks for a moment, arms tight around me as splashes of water leave droplets on his face. I reach to brush his cheek with my thumb, letting them dissolve to nothing.

"Moana," he says. "Is yours Mulan by any chance?"

I smile. "Yes. Favorite dessert?"

He lowers his head and kisses my chest. "You-" he looks up and adds, "-and chocolate brownies." I laugh as his hands gently caress my thighs. "Is this game of questions over now?" he asks. "Can I kiss you yet?"

"Not yet," I say because I'm desperate to learn everything. Part of me feels like this is just a dream, and tomorrow it will be over - I want to make the most of it. "Who do you talk to the most?"

"My sister," he says. "I call her most days to check in on things. We were pretty much best friends growing up."

It's impossible not to smile again. Beneath Milo's hard exterior, he's a teddy bear. "Favorite music genre?"

"Rap."

"Rap?" I scrunch up my nose, not because I'm not partial to a bit of rap, but because Milo seems much more the classical music type. "Do you prefer hot places or cold?"

"Cold. I get irritable when I'm too hot. I have a question: favorite kiss?" He says it all innocent like I can't see right through him, but even so, my heart does this energetic jump in my chest as his fingers trail my arms.

"You already know the answer to that question."

His expression grows wicked.  "Maybe I want to hear you say it."

I swallow hard. Milo has this way of stealing the oxygen in the air and then only giving back small increments at a time. "You're derailing my interview."

"I like the sound of derailing you."

Sometimes I think I must have the strength of a god not to succumb to these urges. "Biggest fear?"

"Caves," he says, wincing a little. "I hate enclosed spaces."

"And yet you've spent a lot of time in elevators, Mr. Woods."

His eyes grow dark as they drop to my cleavage. "Some things are worth it."

The look in his eyes makes my heart race. I want to ask more questions, but the feel of his hands as they slide up my hips makes me speechless.

"What about you?" he asks innocently. "What's your biggest fear?"

I think about being half-honest and saying drowning or heights or something tangible, but instead, I look into the depths of his icy blue eyes and say, "Being alone."

If Milo were Lucas, he would say something cutting that makes me feel small. That's a silly thing to be afraid of, Kennedy Everyone finds themselves alone at some point. But Milo doesn't say any of these things. He reaches up and tucks back the hair from my face before leaning into my ear. After a moment or two of deliberation, he whispers, "Me too."

My questions keep going long after we've headed inside. I keep thinking Milo will grow tired of my avid curiosity, but he answers each one like he's surprised I find him interesting. They carry us through dinner, a hearty meal of salmon and potatoes, before he leads me upstairs to the bedroom for a Disney marathon.

We settle under the covers and turn on Mulan - his choice - but it's hard to concentrate with him next to me. I keep thinking about the butterflies in my stomach, about how much I want to talk to him. Finally, I turn in his arms until we're facing each other.

For a moment, he watches me. "You're missing the movie."

"I'd rather talk to you," I say.

"More questions?" When I nod, he laughs before nuzzling my nose with his. "I'm not going anywhere, Kennedy."

I'm surprised by the relief that washes through me. Maybe, deep down, that's what I've been afraid of most. "Well, good, neither am I."

"I'm glad that's settled. Can I kiss you now?" But he doesn't let me answer. His mouth brushes mine like he's been waiting all evening, and I'm all too happy to oblige. His hands roam my body, trailing my legs and hips before dipping between my thighs. His kisses grow harder, and the moment his fingers dip into my underwear, I picture it all: the house and the kids and the little white picket fence - a future.

I squeeze my thighs harder as the heat builds up and reach into his underwear. He's solid and ready, responding to my touch before I've even moved a finger. I gasp a little as his fingers move faster and match my strokes to his.

His breathing comes harder the longer this goes on. It's the best part about this, the part that turns me on more than anything. Knowing I have this effect on him is almost as good as his touch. I tease him a little, slowing down my pace as my lips brush his neck, and I love the way his neck muscles tense. The harder he fights to stay in control, the more I want to break him down.

It's almost become a battle of who gets there first. His mouth finds my breasts, falling into rhythm with my hand. I'm close to the edge, and he realizes too, because his mouth curls.

I let out a moan to drive him insane, and it does. His whole body tenses as I start to move against him, and I know I'm on the verge of victory. Knowing he likes to be dominant, I test his restraint and swivel on top, but he pins me back to the bed.

His eyes travel down me in a way that makes me shiver. "Your move, Kennedy."

I meet his gaze, determined to win this war. With a teasing look, I reach up and brush my thumb across my breasts as he watches transfixed. I'm about to keep going, but he lets out a rough, steady breath in my ear before parting my legs with his hand.

I reach into his boxers again, taking him in my hand and guiding him toward me. When I feel him pressed against me, I suck in a breath as he rests his palm on my breasts. He leans closer, pushing himself further until my body syncs with his.

"Kennedy," he whispers. His eyes flit to mine, dark and serious, as he gently rocks us closer. "I love you."

My words comes out in a breathless rush. "I love you," I say, and that future I'd imagined- the one with the house and the cats and the kids - starts to come into focus, taking over everything else.

***

It's almost midnight when a vibration on the nightstand forces me awake. I turn to the phone as it lights up a tiny fraction of the room. In my dreamlike state, I reach out, thinking it's coming from my own, and glance at the home screen.

I'm about to put it back when the words come into focus. I blink twice, trying to process just what it is I'm reading, but the words don't make sense. The text is from the elusive Anna. Milo's ex-girlfriend Anna. It reads:

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the cabin.

Can't wait to see you. XOXO

And just like that, everything I'd briefly imagined - the kids, the picket fence, the waking up to his face each morning - is swept away in a blizzard.

A/N

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