“You chose well.”
I grinned. “Isabelle told me your shoe size.”
She shook her head. “Did that earn her another day’s pay?”
I laughed. “She knows how to drive a deal, that one.”
Even though the lights were on in the cabin, it suddenly became darker. Lorraine wandered to the window. “The driver was right,” she said. “This storm’s going to hit hard.”
“Remember that high school camp when that summer storm hit?” I asked.
She nodded. “The lightning was cracking so close to our tents. Scared the hell out of me each time.”
“You and me both.”
She turned to face me. “I was supposed to be in the tent with some of the other girls but snuck into yours when it was lights out because they were driving me crazy.”
I smiled. It had been one of the best nights of my life. “The storm hit, and there was no way you were going to go back in the middle of it.”
We’d fallen asleep together. I’d held her close, her back to my chest, as the storm raged above us. Even now I could remember the smell of her strawberry shampoo. I should have made my move then. I’d regretted not doing it for fifty years.
She laughed. “We got into so much trouble the next morning.”
It was worth it. I prayed for a storm to happen every night after that to no avail. I’d lost my chance.
“At least we’re not in a tent this time,” I said.
The resort got the Ugg boots order right. I hope they’d done the same with the food. I wouldn’t win any points if we were stuck for the weekend with nothing to fill our bellies. I strode over to the fridge and pulled the door open—eggs, bacon, butter, jam, and artisan coffee. Perfect.
“We’ve got food and a fire, and each other for company,” I said. “Can’t ask for much more.”
She looked at me for a long moment. “Four days.”
“Yep.”
“Just the two of us.”
I nodded. “Unless you invited someone else.”
Her lips twitched, and she shrugged with a tilt of her head—a move she’d obviously learnt from her grandchildren.
I went to my bag and grabbed the bottles of wine I’d packed. Her favourite from the Hunter. “I hope you didn’t. I only brought enough wine for the two of us.”
“Dan, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were trying to butter me up.”
“Is it working?”
“Maybe.” She joined me in the kitchen and opened cupboard doors until she found the wine glasses. She handed two to me. Our fingers brushed, and that small touch filled me with hope.
This whole exchange felt normal. It was comfortable. It was the us I’d become accustomed to over the years. The us I wanted to expand upon.
Maybe this weekend would be the start of something more.
CHAPTER 4
Lorraine
The storm didn’t wait long;the sky was darkening by the minute. Snow was falling heavy enough to blur everything beyond the windows. Flakes landed on the glass and then melted from the heat inside the cabin. But as they fell faster, they formed clumps on the window frame. The wind was wild, finding cracks in the windows or doors, squealing as it made its way inside the cabin.
