She tugs at the pink ribbon in her hair until it falls into her palm. “I just needed a change in scenery, I guess. A quiet place to think.”
Her gaze falls to the floor, and she wiggles her toes until they appear from beneath the pants. The ease on her face melts away. In its place is a somberness that feels like a punch in my gut.
Women don’t drive in a winter storm for a quiet place to think, and they sure as hell don’t come to a cabin in the middle of nowhere—alone—for fun. Surely, Gray doesn’t believe that. I don’t.
I blow out a breath and head to the hallway. Audrey follows just a few steps behind.
“What are you going to do all the way out here?” I ask as we reach the foyer. “You’ll probably be bored out of your mind by tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’m going to work a bit. I’m behind, so hopefully I can catch up without a million distractions.”
“Oh. What do you do?”
“Right now, I teach a couple of philosophy courses online at Montague College.”
I drop my grocery bag next to my boots. “Philosophy, huh? Like matter cannot be created or destroyed?”
“That’s more of a scientific principle,” she says, her eyes lighting up. “Science teaches you what happens. My classes discuss why those things matter.”
“So you’re the modern-day Marcus Aurelius?”
She laughs, but nods as if she’s quietly pleased by the reference. I’m not about to tell her the only reason that I know that name is because of a video I saw on social media.
“No, Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic,” she says. “I lean more Aristotelian—usually, anyway. Instead of thinking of life as something to endure, I like to think of it as something to shape. You can create a life that gives you room to flourish instead of just playing the cards you hold.”
Wow. “So you have beautyandbrains, huh? That’s a killer combo.”
She blushes. “I know it’s shocking that I hold a PhD in philosophy after my lack of survival skills tonight. But I am smart on paper, apparently.”
I whistle through my teeth. “A PhD? That’s fucking impressive.”
She stands taller, her lips twisting together. The look on her face is the same one that I wear when someone says that I have the best elbow strikes in the world. “What about you? What do you do for a living?”
I grab my boots. They’re freezing against my toes despite my dry socks, and my shoulder screams in protest as I slide them over my feet. I did too much tonight. I’ll pay the price tomorrow.
“Me?” I ask. There’s no way I’m telling her that I make money by beating the shit out of other men whenshe’s a fucking doctor. “I guess I’m a Stoic these days. Kinda enduring life at the moment.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a little Stoic-y these days myself.” She watches me stand, nervously nibbling her lip again. “Look, I ….” She blows out a breath warily. “Can we never speak of the way we met? Please?”
Her eyes beg me to comply with her request. They soften, revealing her vulnerabilities just behind those gorgeous blues. She’s so beautiful, so wildly gorgeous that I’m not sure how anyone could say no to her.
“Sure,” I say, picking up my bag. If we’re never talking about this again, I must at least pay her a compliment becauseholy fuck. “But I want you to know before we never talk about it again that I’ve seen some shit in my life, and that was the hottest introductionever. You could solve world peace with that hello.”
She drops her gaze, the apples of her cheeks a bright pink, as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. I wouldn’t mind staying and learning more about sweet Auddie Van, but Gray’s voice is in the back of my head and, deep down, I know he’s right.
Gorgeous, sweet, smart—what the hell would I do with that?
Break it. That’s exactly what I’d do with it.
There’s an awkwardness between us, probably because we got off on a naked foot without actually getting off. If she’s a quarter as turned on as I am, she’s desperate for some privacy right about now.
I’m not sure what to say or how to end this, so I just shrug. “See ya around.”
Her gaze whips back to mine as I reach for the door. For a moment, I think she’s going to ask me to stay—and for a moment, I hope she does. But as if we’re on the same wavelength, she takes a step back as I pull the handle.
A blast of cold air fills the foyer as I take in the scene in front of me. The icy bits have mostly turned to snowflakes, but they’re coming down like crazy. I yank my hood over my head and step onto the porch.
“How did you get here?” she asks, her arms wrapped around her middle to protect herself from the bitter temperature.
