"The timing is shit luck." He strips off his wet jacket and hangs it by the fire. "Trust me, if I could control the weather, I would have made it sunny. Trapped in a cabin is one thing. Staying here during a blizzard is something else entirely."
He's not wrong. The storm makes everything feel more intense and more claustrophobic. The cabin that felt cozy yesterday now feels like a pressure cooker, the two of us trappedinside with nowhere to go and nothing to do but deal with each other.
I hate that my first reaction to being stuck here longer isn't panic. It's relief. A shameful, secret relief that I don't have to face the real world yet.
Phoenix is watching me, his head tilted slightly, reading my expression the way he always seems to.
"You're not as upset as you're pretending to be," he says.
"Shut up."
"Admit it. You're happy we're stuck."
"I'm not happy. I'm resigned." I turn away so he can't see my face. "There's a difference."
His laugh follows me across the cabin. Smug bastard.
I wander the small space, restless, stopping to examine things I've already examined a dozen times. The books on the shelf. The old photographs on the wall. The collection of DVDs that look like they haven't been touched in years.
And then, in the corner by the bathroom, my phone buzzes.
I freeze. I haven't had a signal since we got here. The cabin is too remote, the mountains blocking everything. But when I pick up my phone and look at the screen, there it is. One bar. Weak and flickering, but there.
I glance at Phoenix. He's crouched by the fire, adding another log, not paying attention to me.
Before I can think too hard about it, I dial Chloe's number.
It rings twice before her voice cuts through the static. "Jade? Oh my god, Jade, where the hell are you? I've been trying to reach you for days!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." I press the phone harder against my ear, keeping my voice low. "I'm in California. Well, technically I'm in a cabin somewhere in the mountains. It's a long story."
"Then start talking, because I have about a thousand questions."
I take a deep breath and tell her everything. The investor dinner. Marcus and his phone call. The confrontation at the restaurant. Phoenix driving me north instead of to the airport.
By the time I finish, there's a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Wait," Chloe finally says. "Let me make sure I understand this correctly. He literally kidnapped you, and now you're sleeping with him?"
"It's complicated."
"That's what every woman in a Dateline episode says right before they find the body."
"He's not going to murder me, Chloe."
"How do you know? He paid off your debts without telling you. He flew you across the country under false pretenses. He trapped you in a remote cabin during a blizzard. These are not the actions of a mentally stable individual."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I know how it sounds."
"Do you? Because it sounds insane. It sounds like you've lost your mind."
"Maybe I have." I lean against the wall, watching the snow batter the window. "But I can't stop. Whatever this is between us, I can't make it stop. I've tried."
Chloe is quiet for a moment. When she speaks again, her voice is softer. "Are you sure about this guy? Like, really sure?"
I think about Phoenix. About the way he looks at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters. About the way he touched me last night, desperate and tender all at once. About the confession by the fire, the photo of our mothers, the years he spent watching me from a distance.
"No," I admit. "I'm not sure about anything. But I can't walk away. Not yet."
