Someone is standing on the doorstep.
“Oh,” I gasp, taking a shaky step backward.
It’s Brewer.
He towers over me, lit up by the glow of the porch light, snowflakes clinging to his beard and jacket. I gawk up at him, my mouth dry as sand. There’s a flash of surprise in his dark brown eyes, his scowl deepening, and something tells me he’s just as surprised to see me as I am to see him.
“I…” My voice is an awkward squeak. I’m still too shocked to form a coherent sentence.
“Hi Brewer!” I hear Savannah say from behind me, joining us at the door. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
I turn my gaze on my best friend, but she makes a point of avoiding my eye, cheeks blushing furiously.
She planned this.
“Brewer, this is my best friend Josie,” she says, resting her hand on my shoulder. “I think you two have already met at the diner?”
Savannah asks the question innocently, all wide-eyed and uncertain, like she doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing. I don’t know whether to hug her or murder her.
“Yeah,” Brewer says, his voice rumbling through me like thunder. “We’ve met.”
My legs are trembling. I can feel those dark eyes drilling into me, burning my skin until I can’t breathe.
Oh God, I think I might hyperventilate.
“Come on in out of the cold,” Savannah says.
Brewer grunts a thanks, and I take several more steps back, giving him room to enter the cabin while Savannah shuts the door behind him. She takes the bottle of amber whiskey he’s carrying and thanks him.
“I’ll go get your drinks,” she says. “One hot chocolate, one whiskey.” She beams at us, and before I can protest, she’s already heading back to the kitchen, leaving me alone with Brewer.
Crap.
The air feels impossibly thick, and my gaze slides to the floor, settling on my shoes. I can’t bring myself to meet his gaze, but even when I’m not looking at him, I can feel his presence. It’s like I’m standing in the shadow of a mountain, the weight of it pressing down. But Brewer’s size doesn’t scare me. It makes me feel safe—like the whole world could collapse on top of us and he’d hold it back with his bare hands.
“Hi again,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.
“Hi, Josie.”
At the sound of my name, I finally look up at him, tilting my head back so I can meet those scowling brown eyes. All I wantto do is step closer. Melt against his broad chest. Wrap my arms around him and never let go…
And that’s how I know I’m absolutely, completely, catastrophically done for.
5
BREWER
The bottleof whiskey is cold in my hand, the glass like ice as I stride through the snowy forest toward Clay and Savannah’s cabin. They invited me to dinner, which is the last thing I feel like doing. Playing third wheel while they drool over each other isn’t my idea of a fun night, but my brother insisted, so I said I’d come.
Already wish I hadn’t.
I don’t want to socialize and pretend everything is normal—not when it feels like I’m about to burst at the seams after seeing Josie this morning. I keep replaying our interaction in my head, remembering the way she looked at me when I told those tourists to take a hike. There was no fear in her eyes, just gratitude and warmth.
I’d set the world on fire if it meant she’d look at me like that again.
My head is whirling with thoughts as I approach Clay and Savannah’s cabin, trudging up the porch steps and knocking reluctantly. I shake snowflakes from my hair as I wait, hearing muffled voices from inside. A pause. Then the front door swings open.
It takes me a moment to realize I’m not hallucinating as I look down at the woman standing in the doorway. My body freezes, stomach lurching as I take her in.
