“Shut up and hold me,” she whispers, her lips lifting against my chest.
“As you wish.” I tuck the blanket tighter around her, both hands splayed over her back.
The motel hums. The winds rage on. Her breath evens out.
I stare at the deer over the desk.
“I’m right where I want to be,” I tell him.
It’s not where I pictured our first date ending, but I like it better this way.
Our way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
JULIANA
When I blink awake, the sunlight is blinding. The scratchy brown curtains are doing nothing to block it out. For a second, I’m not certain where I am, but then I realize my head is propped up on a broad chest, and my leg is wrapped around a thick thigh that, even through my jeans and his, feels delicious. The faint hum of the heater that rattled all night is still going strong, thank goodness.
“Morning.” His voice is deep and gravelly.
“Morning,” I whisper back.
I lift up and look at him. It’s so strange. This man I’ve fought with for years, who’s driven me crazy with his attitude, is looking back at me with such longing. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. He looks younger, calmer. His dark hair is messy and he must be sore from this lumpy mattress, but he smiles at me like this is his happiest moment.
And I know it’s mine. I feel like I’m living a dream. Last night…no one has ever made me feel like that.Ever.
My cheeks are suddenly hot, so I try to distract him.
“It looks like the snow stopped,” I say, tilting my head toward the window.
He looks out the window. “It’s pretty out there. Prettier in here.”
I sit up, hugging my knees to my chest. “Yes, it is,” I say shyly.
His eyes are soft when he smiles at me. He gets up and looks out the window. “It looks manageable out there.”
“The roads look good?”
“A lot better than last night.” He glances at me and smirks. “So…we both already told our people that we got stuck out of town last night…”
“No one knows we’re together, though,” I add.
He gets a funny expression. “Right,” he says slowly. “And good thing we kept that to ourselves. News travels so fast in Windy Harbor––the entire town would know by the time breakfast is over. What if we…don’t rush back just yet?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t rush back?”
He watches me carefully. “What if we continued this date?”
I bite my lip, feeling entirely too excited. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“We could head back to Windy Harbor…hide out somewhere. Duluth…or St. Paul. I owe you something romantic after this dump.” He gestures around the dingy motel room.
I laugh, shaking my head. “We had romance under the sky last night.” I will always remember being out there watching the lights take over the sky, and the way his kisses left me breathless in the back of his SUV. “And amazing things happened in this dingy motel…”
His eyes light up. “Yeah? I know it was amazing for me.” He moves toward me, and I hold up my hand before he can kiss me.
