I was simply admiring his scent.
And his beard.
And his big strong hands.
And his enormous arms.
And his kind eyes.
Yeah, he has an awful lot of good qualities to think about. I pinch my lips together, holding back a secret smile. Out of my peripheral vision, I catch the lumberjack’s backside in front of the big storefront window as he crosses the street.
He certainly is easy to look at.
And an excellent distraction from the fact I’ve sworn off dating forever.
“All right.” Christian’s stance straightens toward the door. “Enough stalling. I’m going to run to the hotel, grab my laptop, and see if they can extend our room for another night since the roads are closed. Is there anything you need me to grab for you?”
I survey the store, and the only people in here are the first couple. It’s pretty uneventful. “I should be fine.”
He throws up his palm as he marches forward. “Be back in a bit.”
I watch him leave and then because I no longer have an excuse to avoid it, I pull out my phone and text my dad
Me: Hey, Dad, I’m not going to be in for another day or two. Christian and I ended up getting snowed in.
Dots indicating he’s typing show on my screen for a long time, which is weird because my dad hates texting, and he usually only types one or two words. The amount of time it shows him typing makes me think that he’s going to lecture me about something.
Dad: Everything else okay?
My top teeth crash down on my bottom lip, as I reread his text and wonder if he suspects something else is up. Had he heard the rumors about Tom? I can’t even begin to think about how I’m going to explain that whole thing to him.
Me: Yeah, it’s fine. Just helping at the coffee shop today.
I drop my phone onto the counter before I’m tempted to add anything else. Now determined to get my mind on other things, I turn back to the coffee bar with my eyes on the broken coffeepot.There must be a button or something I’m missing.Running my hand all along the base, I can’t find anything that even resembles a button or a switch. I grab the plug out of the wall and plug it back into a different outlet. Still nothing. A cool breeze comes infrom behind me, alerting me to the front door being open, and I toss a glance in that direction.
It’s just Christian.
“Back already?” I push the coffeepot back to its original spot and step away from it.
“Yeah.” He’s breathing heavy, most likely from running, and he plops his backpack on the table near the front window before he takes a moment to brush the fresh powder snow off the bottoms of his pant legs. “It’s really coming down.”
“I figured.” I slowly stride to the front of the store and peek out the large front window. There’s so much frost accumulated on the glass, it’s hard to see except for a few bare spots right in the center. “Did you notice if anything else is open? I’d love to see if I can find a coffeepot.”
“Nah, there really isn’t a point since Coffee Loft has its own brand. Just wait until we get our franchise one. That’s better than anything you’ll find at the store.” Christian unzips his bag, pulls out a thick black binder, and sets it on the table in front of him.
I turn my gaze back out and study the town. Mounds of snow are piled up on the sidewalks, making some places nearly impossible to walk. The streets have yet to be plowed, and there’s just a single lane of tracks blazed through the snow by the trucks that risked travel. Town is essentially deserted except for in the center of town where there is a park and a single truck pulled over with firewood in the back.
That must be that man who was just here…
“What are you looking at?” Christian holds his gaze on me, as if I’m accountable to him.
“Just the snow everywhere.” I shove my hands in my pockets and move away from the window, sneaking another peek at the truck before I turn completely away. “You know, since you’re back, I might step out for some fresh air.”
“Did you already forget it’s freezing out?” Arching his chin, his gaze slams to the window like he’s inspecting the outside for something he suspects he missed. His smile grows flimsy when his eyes roam over on the lone truck. “El…”
My lips curl against my will, and I move toward the door before Christian has more time to solve this riddle. I push the door open and step out, calling back, “Just grabbing some fresh air . . .”
I turn toward the park, and add under my breath and only for me, “And a better view.”
