Miriam shook her head and kissed Noelle again.

By two a.m., their voices were hoarse from thanking everyone profusely, and, in the case of the townies, ushering them home. Miriam had her head against Cole’s shoulder as they sat together on the stairs.

Noelle walked up and offered Miriam her hand. “I promised your mother I would make sure you got into bed.” Miriam grinned lasciviously at her. “And to sleep,” Noelle clarified, as much for herself as for Miriam.

“But makeup sex,” Miriam whined, fluttering her eyelashes.

“I’m not having sex with you when you’re drunk,” Noelle pointed out, as Miriam draped her body over Noelle’s.

“I’m not drunk. I’m just so unbelievably tired.” She waved a heel, which she was holding in her hand, over the sea of sleeping bags on the floor of the great room, where everyone who’d flown up and wouldn’t fit in the guest rooms had set up anywhere they could find. “This was a lot.”

When they reached Miriam’s closed door, she leaned her head against it.

“I’m not ready for this day to be over,” Miriam said, softly. “I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and it will all be gone, like Peter in The Snowy Day.”

“When Peter wakes up, the world is still covered in snow, remember. You’re going to wake up and still have Carrigan’s,” Noelle reassured her, as she smoothed Miriam’s curls away from her face. She couldn’t help getting distracted and winding one around her finger.

“And you? Will I still have you?” Miriam looked at her with those giant eyes, and Noelle leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“You will still have me tomorrow.”

She meant to brush her lips against Miriam’s to say goodnight. Instead, the taste of Miriam’s lips trapped her, the gentle pressure lingering. They wrapped themselves around each other, and kissed, tired and gentle, in the silence of the witching hour, for a very long time.

“Go. To. Bed,” Noelle said, when she finally dragged her head up.

“Come with me,” Miriam pleaded, and Noelle started to protest.

“Just to sleep. I was so scared you would never hold me again.” Miriam tugged at her hand, and Noelle relented.

As long as they were in the same hotel, it seemed like a terrible waste of hours not to be holding each other.

“Sweet!” Miriam whispered. “Makeup sex in the morning.”