Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

toward them in a blur. Red and blue light slipped across Thomas's face, then disappeared.

"You don't think-" Ariana began, her voice shaking.

"Hey. You have to keep it together, okay?" He pulled her closer, lowering his mouth to her ear. "They won't

find him," he said softly. "And even if they do, they won't think to ask either one of us about it. I was on my

way to New York, and you were on your way to Vermont."

"On my way to Vermont," she echoed. As if repeating the words would make them true.

"To Daniel," Thomas said somberly.

Afresh wave of tears sprang to her eyes. She knew what he meant. Daniel was going to expect her to have sex

with him. Could she actually go to Vermont and do that? Could she sleep with Daniel, tell him she loved him,

when all she wanted to do was be with Thomas? The thought of lying in bed next to Daniel made her stomach

lurch.

Ariana pressed her cheek against Thomas's warm wool jacket and leaned into him. In that moment all she

wanted was to be with him. To leave Easton and Billings, Daniel and her mother, behind. Start over. Just her

and Thomas. No one else.

209

"Hey," she murmured into his chest, "want to come with me? I hear there's this really exclusive resort there."

"I wish." Thomas kissed the top of her head and held her face in his hands. "Just remember that you're not

just some name on a list, Ariana. You're better than that. You deserve better than that."

A white taxi with a green-checkered border turned the corner and slowed at the curb and suddenly, Ariana

couldn't breathe. It was as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs, leaving her deflated.

Thomas kissed her. Hard. Frantic, she tried to memorize everything about him. The lines of his body under

her fingertips, and the softness of his lips. The way that lock of hair fell into his face and brushed against her

forehead. She didn't want to lose any of it.

He pulled away and kissed her lightly on the nose. "You gonna be okay?"

She nodded slowly.

"See you in two weeks," he said, pulling open the door of the cab. "Two weeks."

Somehow, Ariana made herself pull away from him, even though the pain in her heart was excruciating. She

slipped into the backseat, and the slam of the cab door made her jump. Thomas stood on the sidewalk, gazing

down at her through the foggy window. Ariana grasped at the memory of his kiss.

The cab lurched, forcing her to face forward. When she turned around again, Thomas was gone.