1
OWEN WOODMAN
“What?” I mumble, half asleep as I answer the phone, my eyes heavy and my body dead tired.
“I need a favor,” an all too familar deep voice says on the other end of the line. I groan. I am going to kill whatever brother this is.
“What the fuck? Who is—" I pull my phone back and look at the screen. “Eli? Jesus, do you know what time it is?” I mutter as I sit up in my bed, ignoring the chill in the air.
“Ow—”
“Tell me the sky is fucking falling and that’s why you’re calling me at”—I look at the time on my cell —“Fuck, it’s three in the morning!”
“The sky is fucking falling, asshole,” he responds, and just like that, he gets my attention. I stretch my neck and hear it crack. I hadn’t been asleep for more than an hour.
“What’s going on?” I yawn, clearing my throat while looking at my nightstand and frowning. Fuck, I forgot to grab a glass of water.
“Tessa’s car is stuck,” he shares. At the sound of my girl’s name, the fuzziness of sleep quickly fades away.
“Stuck?” I repeat, wondering how the hell that would even be possible.
“In the snow. Man, do you ever look out the window?”
“Snow? It’s almost April.”
“Jesus, you really are a damn hermit,” Eli huffs, and I scowl.
“Hey!” I stand and move to the big window in my bedroom, then pull the curtains open. “Fuck,” I curse lowly. Everything is white. Covered in a blanket of snow.
“At least Reed would go outside to do shit in his workshop. You don’t even leave your place for food,” he complains as I walk around my room trying not to let worry get the best of me.
“Why should I?” This was a frequent argument between us. “There are companies that will literally deliver food, meal kits you can cook at home or just warm up. Why do I have to go out? You deliver me my favorite baked goods.”
“Tess does,” he corrects, and my lips twitch. It’s the reason I order a dozen muffins every other day. “I need you to get out there now. Your huge-ass truck will be able to get to Tess.”
Tess.I hate the easy way my brother shortens her name. The familiarity in it only a reminder of how long they have been friends. And how long I have been waiting on the sidelines with a crush I couldn’t do shit about.
Until Stella came to town.
The moment Stella walked into Eli’s bakery was game over for him. She’s his other half, and from what I can tell, they’re doing great together. Seeing him with his girl makes me realize just how wrong I was for assuming there might have been feelings between Eli and the one woman in the world who gets under my skin.The woman of my dreams.Not that anyone knows about my obsession when it comes to Tessa and the lengths I’ve gone to throughout the years to feel closer to her.
“What does Princess Tessa need now?” I ask, sounding like a grade-A asshole.
“She’s stuck,” he repeats, and now that I’m more awake, I start to connect the dots and make out the urgency in his voice.
“Wait, you mean she went out in the snow?” I stand up quickly, rushing through my room as I look for something to wear.
“Have you ever met her? She’s stubborn and—” he droans on and on about Tessa. Like I don’t know everything there could possibly be to know about her. I nab a pair of jeans and pull them on quickly. Eli, hell, no one needs to tell me how wonderful Tessa is. I know. I know how incredible, loyal, and talented she is.
I’ve always known.
“Owen?” Eli calls out. “Please tell me you didn’t fall back asleep.
“Relax,” I mutter. “She’s a stubborn pain in your ass,” I repeat his words. “It was a stupid question on my part. Where is she?” I ask, trying to bat away the fear of her being out in the elements, in this cold. I’m buttoning my jeans with my phone balanced between my ear and my shoulder.
“She said she was about a quarter mile from your place.”
“Mine?” That makes me stop, my body still.
