"Liar," Alexis says with a weak laugh. "Look, at least you two won't be alone for Christmas. You can keep each other company, watch movies, eat too much food. Dad makes amazing French toast on Christmas morning. And Nina, maybe this is good? You need the distraction, and Dad's house is the best place to hide from the world for a few days."
I look at Joel, whose blue eyes are fixed on me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.
"Yeah," I say softly. "Maybe it is."
After we say goodbye and Joel hangs up, silence settles over us—heavier now, weighted with implication.
"So," Joel says carefully. "Looks like it's just us for Christmas."
"I can find a hotel," I offer, even though the thought of leaving this warm house, leaving him, makes my chest ache. "I don't want to impose—"
"Nina." There's that tone again. "You're not imposing. I want you here."
The way he says it—I want you here—sends heat flooding through me.
"Okay," I whisper. "Thank you."
We settle back into the movie, but everything feels different now. The knowledge that it's just the two of us, alone in this house for the next two days, hangs in the air between us. Outside, I can hear wind starting to pick up, the first hints of the storm that's stranding us together.
We watch in comfortable silence, and at some point, exhaustion from the long day catches up with me. My eyelids grow heavy, my body sinking deeper into the plush cushions.
"Nina?" Joel's voice sounds far away. "You should get some sleep."
"Mm-hmm." I'm too tired to move. "In a minute."
I feel the blanket being tucked more securely around me, feel gentle fingers brush hair back from my face. "Sleep well," Joel murmurs, and then his lips—his lips—press softly against my forehead.
It's brief, barely there, probably just a friendly gesture. But it sets my entire body on fire.
When I force my eyes open, he's already standing, putting distance between us. His expression is conflicted, almost pained.
"Good night, Nina."
"Good night," I whisper.
I watch him leave, then lie there in the darkness, listening to the wind howl outside and the old house settle around me. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Just me and Joel Hartford, snowedin together while the rest of the world disappears behind walls of white.
2
Joel
Iwake to the sound of wind howling against the windows and the knowledge that Nina Castellano is sleeping down the hall.
This changes everything.
I've been careful for five years. So goddamn careful. Maintaining distance, keeping conversations appropriate, never letting on that I noticed every single thing about her. But last night, something shifted. Maybe it was seeing her so broken over someone who didn't deserve her. Maybe it was the way she looked at me when I called her beautiful. Maybe it was just that I'm tired of being careful.
The truth is, I'm not wrestling with whether this is wrong. I stopped caring about that somewhere around the second year, when I realized my feelings for Nina weren't going away—they were deepening into something I couldn't dismiss.
What I'm wrestling with is whether I'm brave enough to risk it. Risk Alexis's reaction. Risk Nina realizing I'm not as put-together as I seem. Risk falling completely for someone and having them leave again.
Because if I let myself have Nina, I know I'll fall. I'm already halfway there.
By the time I come downstairs in jeans and a navy sweater, I've decided to stop overthinking this. Nina is here. We have two days before Alexis arrives. Whatever happens between us, we'll figure it out like adults.
The question isn't whether I want her. I do, desperately. The question is what I'm going to do about it.
Then I walk into the kitchen and find Nina standing at my coffee maker, and every good intention flies out the window.
