Not only that, but planning to move my entire life from Boston back to Winterbury was no easy task. I’d already given my notice to my employer and would soon be heading back to finish up my time there and pack my apartment.
I thought I might be anxious about it—expected it even. But all I could think about was the next time I’d see Archer. The feel of his hand in mine. The way his lips brushed over mine while his beard tickled my skin. How enveloped I felt when he wrapped his arms around me.
I was addicted. Well and truly addicted to Archer Hodge.
Not even a twelve-step program would be able to cure me of the affliction.
As if I’d ever want to be “cured.” I’d willingly—no—enthusiastically fall victim to the way he made me feel.
Which was exactly why I was driving toward the farm despite the risk of sliding into a ditch and getting stuck. If necessary, I’d just get out and walk.
He’d meet me halfway.
Yeah, yeah, it was tooth-rotting sweet. Didn’t make it any less true.
By the time I passed through the Hodge Farm gate, heavy snow was falling in the form of flakes so small a man wondered how they would ever amount to anything. But even as I wondered, I knew. I’d seen it happen a thousand times.
Soon, everything would be buried in white, icicles the size of swords would hang from every surface, and the trees would be crystallized against the sky. I’d probably be stuck here for a few days until the world thawed out enough to have a pulse.
Good. I might not be able to put everything on pause, but I was grateful for what I could.
Even though it was still early evening, my headlights illuminated the gray day and cast a spotlight on the man stepping out of the barn as I passed. Heart knowing him immediately, it skipped a beat as my foot pressed the brake. Archer turned from closing the oversized wooden door, a smile filling the entire lower half of his face.
His square jaw, broad shoulders, and dirty-blond hair would forever be the standard to which no one else could measure up. He waved and jogged forward, his thick-soled boots leaving footsteps through the quickly accumulating snow. Snow swirled in the second he pulled open the passenger door, his body following, bringing with him the scent of pine and sweat.
“You’re still working?” I asked.
“Just finishing up a few things,” he said, leaning over the center console to lay his cold lips against mine.
“Mmm,” he hummed against me. “You’re warm.”
Pulling my hands from the wheel, I captured his cold cheeks to share my warmth as we sank a little deeper into the kiss. The contrast of our temperatures was exciting as we kissed, my heat thawing his ice as we both melted into a temperature somewhere in between.
“Are you finished for the day?” I asked when we finally pulled apart.
“With work? Yes. With you, never.”
My stomach fluttered as I turned back to the steering wheel. Archer chuckled, and I knew I was probably blushing, something he found charming. Linking our hands, he pulled mine across the seat and into his lap, and we rode in comfortable silence the short distance to the main house.
“Is your mom still visiting her sister?” I asked, gazing up at the house.
Archer nodded. “She extended her trip because of the incoming storm.”
“Does that mean I get you all to myself for a few days?”
“You can have me all to yourself whenever you want.”
“Kinda hard to do with meddling mothers and two full-time jobs,” I murmured.
Archer reached across the car, somehow making the interior feel small with how easily he found my chin and pulled my face around. “Do you feel neglected, baby?”
My stomach swooped. It did every single time he called me that.
“Not neglected.” I confirmed. “Just greedy.”
He laughed, the puff of air making it feel even warmer. “I know it’s been kinda hard with everyone always around. It will be easier when we get our place built.”
“Isn’t that going to take like a year?”
