“No…okay.” His reply came slowly, gloved hands perched on his hips. I was glad he hadn’t gone out without them. “But only because I need the help.”
I chuckled, already feeling the cold seep through my clothes. Keeping moving would keep me warm—at least for a bit. “I’m glad you’re admitting it instead of trying to do everything yourself.”
“I’m often guilty of that.” He dug the shovel into the snow and tossed the white stuff aside. “You may remember.”
“Yes.” I recalled wanting to get him to slow down once upon a time. But he’d been a force and I had no luck. “No more of that, Nico. As long as I’m here with you, I insist you let me take some of the burdens from your shoulders.”
“This snow is heavy!” Not an answer, but we’d see how it went. At least he was allowing me to help for now.
Shovelful by shovelful, he cleared the path and I followed with the load, wondering how he’d managed to get as far as he had. I would have to keep an eye on him and make sure he took care of himself. Maybe he’d even let me take care of him a bit, too.
With my eye on the prize, we managed to work our way to the bottom of the porch steps and unloaded the wheelbarrow. Nico stood on the top and I passed the split logs to him to stack by the door.
“Do we need to go back for more?” I studied the pathway even now filling in behind us. “I don’t want to run short.”
“No. I loaded it so high to avoid a second trip. We already have a good supply inside by the hearth, so at least for a few days, we should be golden.”
“Then we go in?”
“We should, but it’s so gorgeous out here.” While we were stacking, the snow had let up a little, and even more moonlight glittered on the falling flakes. I agreed, it was smart to go indoors, but watching Nico’s eyes dance, I couldn’t resist agreeing.
“What shall we do?”
“Absolutely, snow angels.”
A beautiful idea, and we started out that way, but one thing led to another, a handful of snow tossed playfully became snowballs became laughter. Completely magical. I’d never forget this either. No matter what happened.
The thought sobered me, and I herded Nico inside to get warm, not even recognizing how cold I was until the door closed behind us.
Chapter Eight
Nico
By the time Paxton and I were inside, his teeth were chattering and he could barely manage a laugh at the predicament we’d created.
“Come on. You need a shower. Warm at first and then we’ll raise the temperature until you’re not shaking anymore.”
He nodded. “Not the way I thought I was going to get you into the shower but okay.” He said it all with a shaky voice and a shivering body.
I chuckled and shook my head. That made two of us. I walked with him to the bathroom where he sat on the closed toilet while I turned on the shower and grabbed towels. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let you come out.”
“I wanted to. I wanted to help you. To be out there with you.”
Even though we were cold as icicles, my heart was warm and full. This man was everything to me, and, only a few minutes ago, we’d made a memory to last us for the rest of our lives. And if I had my way, we would be together for the rest of those years.
Time to open my mouth and confess everything to him. Easier said than done.
“Let me help you undress,” he said, smiling.
“Don’t even joke about it. We’ll never get you warmed up if you don’t stop hitting on me.” The words tumbled from my mouth, and I couldn’t believe how bold they were, but Pax didn’t argue with me. Instead, he shrugged and helped me get him undressed, and I added my clothes to the pile of his.
“What are you doing?” His gaze darted from the shower to me and back. Never once did he look down at my groin, and I offered him the same respect though the temptation was there, throbbing between my temples. The man I’d always wanted andloved was naked in my bathroom, but my priority was taking care of him and not getting him to bed. Well, mostly.
“I’m getting in with you,” I said. “Until I know you’re okay on your own.”
Nodding, he stepped in, letting out a long moan as the warm water touched his skin, sending up billowing steam all around us. “Oh, that feels amazing.”
I got in alongside him and cursed myself for not making a bigger shower stall the first item on my list. But, when I bought this place, I never thought I’d see Paxton again, and I didn’t want a partner or a daddy that wasn’t him. I moved the showerheads so that they were hitting different parts of him and made him raise his arms and flex his fingers and toes, making sure the blood was flowing.
