“Come on,” Jasper laughed. “Let’s go somewhere warm.”

I wouldn’t have minded staying like that, with Jasper’s hair glowing in the light of the streetlamp and my fingers clutching the lapels of his coat, but a chilly gust of wind and the promise of food made me reluctantly let go of him.

With Jasper’s hand tugging me along, the remainder of the walk seemed to pass by within seconds. He only let go once we were standing in front of Giovanni’s, and only to hold the door open for me.

My stomach rumbled when I stepped inside and was met with the delicious smell of Italian food, reminding me that I had barely eaten anything all day.

“Ah, bambini, long time no see!” Giovanni’s voice boomed. “A table for two, yes?”

“That would be perfect,” Jasper answered.

My ears felt a little bit warm as we followed the larger-than-life man to the back of the restaurant; I blamed it on the difference in temperature after having been outside when in reality it was Jasper’s hand resting on my lower back like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The table Giovanni led us to was right next to the window, a bit secluded from the rest of the patrons. While we got out of our coats and sat down, he fished a lighter out of his pocket and lit the candle in the middle of the table. “I’m just going to make it a little more romantic for you boys.”

When Jasper stilled in surprise, Giovanni tapped his cheek and said, “I’ve got an eye for these things.”

“Last time you thought I was on a date with Evelyn,” I pointed out.

There was a lot of moustache happening on his face, so it was hard to read his expression, but I was pretty sure he was grinning. Ignoring my objection, he clapped a hand on my shoulder, hard enough for my entire body to jerk forward. “A drink on the house for you two! What would you like? Coke? Sprite?”

Once we had both ordered, Giovanni turned around to tend to a family of four that had just entered the restaurant. I shivered at the cold blast of air they brought in with them and tugged the sleeves of my sweater down to my knuckles.

“It’s so cold this year.”

Jasper nodded. “I read that it might even snow next month.

Maybe we’ll have a white Christmas.”

“Shit, it’s not even that long until Christmas,” I said. At Seven Hills, the weeks seemed to blur into each other, the change in seasons mostly perceived from behind the windows of the castle. I couldn’t believe it had been two months since Evelyn and I had arrived at the beginning of September, but at the same time I felt like I had known Jasper and Noelle for much longer than that.

“I’m so excited for the Winter Banquet,” Jasper said, closing his eyes like he was envisioning it. “All the food and the dancing, seeing everyone dressed up . . . Are your parents coming?”