“Love you, too, Rosie. Be safe.” And with that, the call ended.
I looked around feeling slightly accomplished that everything was put away before I went into the main room and changed into something more comfortable, ready to snuggle up with some cookies, a fuzzy blanket, and a seriously smutty book.
5.Asher
Iblinked as I parked next to a small SUV in my driveway.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.There shouldn’t be anyone here.
My phone went off again, telling me I got another text, but it was just my nephew wondering where I was. I knew he wanted me to stop by their place first to surprise my sister, but I’d had this place built, and the closer I got to Sugarloaf, the more excited I got about finally stepping foot into my cabin.
Especially with the storm coming in. After grabbing some supplies at the grocery store, I was lured in with the idea of grabbing some food to go from the local diner. Geez, how long had it been since I’d been back in Sugarloaf?
Five, six years? Usually, I flew my sister and her family to me. But after being gone so long, you would have thought, or I would have, that no one would have recognized me. But it felt like I bumped into person after person at the grocery store and the diner. The latter kept me there longer than I would have liked. But it was nice to catch up with people I had gone to school with. People who really knew me. I mean, back in LA, I could go to the same Starbucks daily at the same time and never even see the same barista twice.
The only person I hadn’t recognized was the blonde beauty who had taken my breath away. Literally.Ember.Fuck. No matter how much I tried not to think about her, the vision of her pretty smile and hint of blush on her creamy skin kept popping up in my head, bringing out a side of me I’d never known existed. I had felt like I’d left a piece of myself behind with her. I shook my head.
I’d left a piece of me?Who was I? Getting poetic? I didn’t recognize myself. I wasn’t some kind of Casanova Don Juan. I couldn’t even remember the last time I downloaded a dating app, much less the last time I’d been on a date.
Yet Ember’s face kept flashing through my mind as I slipped out of my SUV. I took a sharp breath of air. Fuck, it was cold. The snow that was falling didn’t look like it was letting up either. And from what everyone I had bumped into said, this blizzard was going to be a wild one. The drive up to my place from the city had been a white-knuckled one as it was. I grabbed my duffle, the canvas bag full of groceries, and the one full of take-out food and hurried to the front door, trying to keep my coat closed.Shit! It’s icy.
That’s when I stopped and looked around.
Not only was there a car parked on my driveway, but the lights were on inside as soft music played. My hand froze on the knob.Do I have an intruder?No way. I wanted to laugh at the thought. This wasn’t LA or New York. This was Sugarloaf.
Maybe it was my sister?
She had mentioned needing a new car. Maybe the Subaru in the drive was hers? Maybe Dane accidently let it slip I was coming into town? Not that I’d care. It had to be my sister. No one else would even know about the place.
I opened the front door, about to shout, “You got me,” when everything stopped. Time, common sense, my heart.
“What the—“ Ember, the beautifully breathtaking blonde from the grocery store, squeaked from where she kneeled at the fireplace, her head turned and our eyes connected. Then she fell right one her ass! An amazingly perfect ass hit the hardwood floors.
“Shit, are you okay?” I asked. Without thinking, I dropped all the bags and hurried over to her, only to have her pick up the poker and point it at me, making me stop dead in my tracks.
“I don’t know what is happening, but you need to stay where you are,” she threatened. Her blue eyes were fierce even if she was a little frightened.
That’s when I noticed what she was wearing.
Or more importantly, what she wasn’t wearing.
Long gone was the baby-blue cable knit sweater and denim jeans she had been wearing at the store. Nope. Now my beautiful blonde bombshell was wearing the sweetest little satiny pajama set. Tiny little satin shorts the color of her blue eyes with the most adorable white bows printed on it that showed off her mile-long legs. The top was a soft creamy white color, satiny as well, that did nothing to hide the fact she was braless and cold, her the nipples standing at attention.
“What are you doing here?” “Did you follow me?” we asked at the same time.
“Follow you?” she repeated with clear indignation in her tone. “How would that even be possible? You got here after me!” she argued, taking a step back as she subtly scanned the room. I knew the moment her eyes landed on the baby-blue cell phone case that that’s what she was looking for.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I live here,” I said, and instead of looking chagrined for getting caught breaking and entering, she scoffed with an attitude that made the palm of my hand itch.My naughty, sassy princess.
“You live in a rental?” she asked incredulously.
“Rental?” My brows bunched. “This isn’t a rental. I had this place custom built. For me.”
“Really?” she asked, not bothering to hide the disbelief in her voice or on her face. It was more than clear she didn’t believe a word I was saying.
“Really,” I confirmed.
“Then how were there reviews?” she asked.
