“Did you now?” He winked. “Just where exactly were you planning on sticking those pins?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “I’ll never tell.”
He lifted my chin, and we stared into each other’s eyes. There were golden flecks in his deep brown irises, and I suddenly felt like I was being pulled into their depths.
Just as I opened my mouth to say something, Angus let out a tiny snore on Connor’s lap, and I smiled. “Your dog is sleeping? We are about to freeze to death in here, and he’s happy as can be.”
“Seems to me,” Connor said, running his other hand over the side of my face, “that if we’re about to freeze to death, then maybe we should try a little harder to stay warm.”
“What do you have in mind?” I whispered while those silly little butterflies inside me did their own dance to keep warm.
“Well, body heat is a good start.” He pulled me closer, but gently, letting me decide if that was the way I wanted things to go or not.
“I’ve always heard that,” I whispered again, unable to tear my eyes from his lips.
He lowered his head slowly, again with the offer that left the choice up to me. “We should find out if—”
I didn’t get to hear his offer or follow through on it, though. Just as his warm breath brushed my lips, a heavy thud on the other side of the door had us both sitting upright, and Angus woofing out a small bark in surprise.
“Ivy!” Ella’s voice called out a heartbeat before she whipped open the freezer door. “Ivy! Oh, my gosh! There you are!”
21
Connor and I jerked apart as Angus growled low in his throat, the tantalizing moment over and done. Whatever that moment had been.
“Hold the door open!” Connor yelled as he untangled his arms from around me. Ella grabbed the freezer door with both hands so it wouldn’t close, gaping at both of us in a mix of shock and worry.
“What happened to your beautiful creations?” Ella had clearly seen the mess in the kitchen, her gaze sweeping over us and the two trays of salvaged sugar sculpting as I stood up and walked out of the freezer on shaky legs. “There’s broken cookies and sugar flowers everywhere. And now you two are in the freezer!”
Angus looked up and yelped sharply.
Ella waved her hand. “Sorry, youthreeare in the freezer.”
“It was an accident,” I said. “Then the door shut behind us. I’m so glad you came along.”
Okay, maybe I wasn’t too thrilled about her timing, to be honest, but not freezing to death definitely was a good thing.
Connor followed me, looking down at the mess on the floor. “Do you need my help in cleaning and repairing things, Ivy?”
“No. I can clean this up, Connor. Thank you, though.”
“Okay. I just wanted to offer.”
Ella watched our exchange like a tennis participant, head whipping back and forth, but she held her tongue while Connor paused and glanced back.
“Again, I’m sorry about what Angus did,” Connor said. “Both the knocking over your items and eating them, and then the locking us inside part.”
Without another word, he turned and strode from the kitchen and out into the cold night, his little dog in his arms. The back door, now unchained, clicked shut behind him.
“What wasthatall about?” Ella fixed her gaze on me once we were alone, no longer silent. “And did I just interrupt something? Because it looked to me like you two wereinchesfrom kissing!”
I put a hand on my friend’s shoulder. “It’s been a crazy night.” I filled her in on what had happened, amazing myself with my leveled tone and the fact that I no longer felt like I was going to collapse in grief over the loss of my work. Instead, I was calm and more settled than I’d felt in a week, like the near-death worry had somehow erased the knots inside me and left me still and, pun aside, chill.
Ella gasped, despite my logical retelling of the tale. “That’sawful! I’m so sorry, Ivy. I know how hard you worked on everything.” She looked down at the mess. “But how did you get stuck in the freezer?”
“We carried the trays that hadn’t been ruined in, and the door shut behind us.” I glanced up at the clock. “Why’re you here?” I ran my hand along one of the trays, debating how much time it would take to redo the contents. “It’s almost ten o’clock.”
“I was driving home from Mark’s sister’s house—we had a girls’ night tonight—when I saw the lights on. I decided to stop and check on you, to see if you needed any help. When I came into the kitchen and saw the mess, I looked all over but couldn’t find you.” She rested her hand on her chest. “Well, I almost had a heart attack, thinking of what could’ve happened to you!”
