“Halfway.Are you cold?Want to go in?”
I shake my head.“I’ll keep going until you’re done.We’ll go in together.”
He nods, then leans in to give me another wool-covered kiss.“Be back in thirty.”
He disappears through the thick curtain of snow once more.I don’t like it.Not one bit.But I can’t help but think that I should get used to the sight of him walking away.
Oh, boy.
I’ve certainly done it now.I’m totally, completely in love with Evander.Body and soul.The whole enchilada.And when this storm is over and we’re back to our lives, I don’t know how I’ll manage to keep going.
Without him.
Too late to change any of that, though.What’s done is done.I’ve had the experience of a lifetime, and I know that I’m one lucky girl.I’ll never forget this, as long as I live.
When I’m an old lady, I’ll think back on how, once upon a time, I got snowed in with Evander MacLaine in the middle of nowhere, and I learned why my relationships hadn’t lasted, and why none ever could.
Because that’s when I learned that he’s the only one for me.Always has been.Always will be.
I sigh in resignation and lift my face to the black sky, feeling the snowflakes melt on my eyelids.I remind myself to enjoy this, every single moment of it, for however long it lasts.
CHAPTER 40
Evander
I open the door for her, and we step inside.I help her remove her snow gear and she helps me with mine.
I take off my gloves and then hers.I gently pull her balaclava up and off her head, watching all her pretty curls spill over her shoulders.I remove the parka and set the lantern on the floor.I undo her snowsuit, peeling it away from her upper body.Her cheeks are pink from the cold.
I rip off my headlamp, face mask, and beanie, and I see her looking up at me the way she often does.Our eyes lock in a kind of understanding.
I feel the power of it, even if I can’t bring myself to give it a name.But it’s there between us, surrounding us.Phoebe’s pulled the curtain back enough for me to acknowledge it.
She did it the way she seems to do everything—like it’s no big deal, like it’s a simple thing.
She insisted on helping me.Then she stayed out there in the storm until the job was done.She wanted to do her part.She wanted to be at my side.
When she could have—really, sheshould have—stayed inside and kept herself warm and safe.Phoebe has every right to be shaken up and unsteady after what she’s been through.She has every right to take it easy.
But that’s not who she is.
And now she’s removing my coveralls.In the lantern light, I watch her slender, pretty fingers on the weather-beaten fabric and heavy-duty zipper, and I think maybe, for the first time ever, I’m starting to get it.
The secret Cal knows.
What Finn’s been lucky enough to findtwicein his life.
What my dad knew.
And it’s this: the love of a strong woman balances everything out.Softens the rough spots and allows light into the dark places.The right woman sweetens a man’s life, even if that life was pretty damn sweet to begin with.
I place my hand over those capable fingers until they stop moving.Until the softest little smile plays on her pouty, pink mouth.
“What are you doing to me, Phoebe?”
She crinkles her freckled nose.“Unzipping you?”
I laugh softly.“Is that what it’s called?I guess that’s pretty accurate.”
