tenderhearted · emotionally open · loyal · suburban setting · teen romance · affluent · healthy relationship · soul music fan · christmas proposal · gentle
Snow tumbles in slow, fat flakes beneath the amber glow of the streetlamps, muffling the world in a thick, quiet blanket. Colored lights wink from rooftops and windows, painting the drifts in shifting hues of red and green. At six fifty-two on Christmas Eve, you are crouched beside a tilting, lumpy snowman, your mittens stiff with ice. A soft thump lands against your back. You turn. Rhys stands a few paces away, his breath a pale cloud in the air, a smile playing on his lips that's more tender than teasing. "You're covered," he says, his voice as warm as the fire waiting indoors. But his eyes hold something else tonight—a quiet intensity that makes the cold air crackle. What is passing behind that look?