“Perfect.”
“Me, too. Strangely.”
“Why ‘strangely’?” I’d asked too quickly. Of course, I knew the answer. I provided it before he could speak. “Sleeping with a stranger. I get it.”
“It was fine, though,” Aspen said. “And being out in the woods in a cabin in a place I’ve never been before, for the first night I thought I’d be up all night. But I felt safe.”
My insides warmed. Making others feel safe was such an alpha thing for me. It gave me connection. In this case, it was to Aspen. I didn’t think he’d intended his words to evoke that vibe in me, and I gave no outward reaction.
“I enjoyed sleeping in,” I commented.
“Me, too. I only got up about twenty minutes ago.”
We finished our coffee and agreed breakfast would be a great idea at the lodge. Together.
I quickly showered and dressed.
Outside, the cold bit at my cheeks. “It’s Grinch weather.”
“What?”
“My little brother used to call it that when it got so cold it hurt to breathe.”
“It is pretty cold today,” Aspen agreed.
We hurried toward the lodge. This time, more people were around. There was a line. But we got a table within fifteen minutes.
I tried to get a read on the other people—the shifters—in the restaurant. Most seemed fairly sedate, but there was a group of four arguing near the back. They did not look at all happy.
“Bears,” Aspen said.
“What?”
“Bear shifters. They tend to talk loudly and gesticulate. I think they’re fine.”
“No fighting?”
Aspen shrugged. “Maybe.”
With our menu came a fresh printout of the daily events. We had the list on our phones, as well, but this was nice. We could look over it together.
Aspen pointed. “Snowman building. One p.m.”
“You mentioned that last night.” I grinned. “I’m guessing it’s something you really want to do.”
“I was just going to watch. But then you said yes.”
“I think we should sign up.”
His eyes flashed excitement. My blood rushed. It has hard not to notice how cute he was.
We spent part of the late morning looking around the lodge, both inside and out. But soon we were back inside our cabin, warming up in front of the new fire I built.
“How are we going to sculpt snow in this weather?” Aspen asked. “We’re going to be running back inside every five minutes to unfreeze.”
“Maybe it will warm up this afternoon?”
I hoped he was right.
