It would make no sense, though. Becauseshewas an unemployed accountant who also couldn’t shift, so why would it matter to her if he couldn’t turn into some sort of animal? Certainly it wasn’t the kind of thing she went looking for in men’s dating profiles. She didn’t think most of them would find it necessary to specifyUnable to change forms at willin their bio, and with good reason.
If, somehow, thiswasthe issue, she was going to have to set him straight. She literally didn’t care about any of that. What she cared about was that he’d rushed over and caught her when she’d tripped, even though they’d barely even met and all she’d done was embarrass herself and stare at his naked torso. What she cared about was the fact that he’d single-handedly dug herout from under an avalanche and saved her life. What shecaredabout was his smile, and his handwritten notes, and the way he savored every bite of food he ate, and the way he looked at her.
What shecaredabout wasMax.
Poppy sighed and concentrated on the action of putting one foot in front of the other.
At last, the B&B loomed up out of the hushed forest, and she approached it with a mixture of relief and dread. If Max had somehow decided to call things off, then she wanted to enjoy her last few minutes of happy delusion.
Taking off her boots and putting on the fluffy slippers provided at the entryway, she entered the building, which had a strangely deserted feel to it. The other times she’d been here she’d heard the occasional creaking floorboard or muffled voice, but now, an odd silence hung over the place.
Well, it made sense that all the guests were out enjoying their vacations, or that they’d checked out and no one else had checked in yet. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something…offabout the whole thing.
Or maybe it was just that there was no sign of Max, either. She’d seen his parked car on the way in, but that didn’t mean much, given that he could have just walked from the clinic to anywhere else in town. The only thing itdidmean was that he presumably hadn’t skipped town, so at least that was something.
Still, it was with some trepidation that she climbed the staircase, her soft footfalls the only sound in the stillness of the mansion.
Turning the key in the lock with an echoingclick, she entered her room… and almost felt disappointed when she saw that it was exactly as she had left it. Not that it was actually a surprise at all – she would be more worried if someone had been in here – but she’d just hoped that somehow Max would be sprawledacross her bed, rose between his teeth and bottle of wine at the ready.
But no, all that was there was the rather embarrassing mess the two of them had made last night, blankets and pillows strewn hither and yon. She really would have to clean all this up.
For now, though, she wandered into the kitchen, feeling deflated. Any last hope she had of running into Max dissipated as she entered the room, which, like her apartment, was just as they had left it this morning.
Without much hope, she knocked on the door leading to his room.
“Max?” she called out. “It’s me, Poppy.”
As she had expected, though, there was only silence in return.
Sighing, she went to the fridge and opened it up, staring listlessly at its contents. All the foods that had been so tantalizing yesterday barely stirred a response in her now, but she knew that shedidneed to eat, given the day she’d had.
She found herself reaching for the container that was holding the last of the chicken, about to pull out a piece, when Max’s gorgeous handwriting and the wordsExquisite chicken drumstickpopped into her head. She pulled her hand back like it’d been burned.
“Dammit,” she muttered, feeling tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
She had to stop assuming the worst. Max wouldn’t just abandon her. Hewouldn’t.
Pulling out some ham that had no weird emotional significance attached to it, she chewed on that instead, studiously ignoring the closed notebook and fountain pen on the table… before she was hit by a sudden shiver.
What…?
She’d been so warm that she hadn’t even realized that the kitchen window was open, letting in a veritable deluge of freezing air.
Poppy frowned. Sheknewthat she’d closed and locked the window this morning after their little burning bacon adventure had come to an end.
Reaching over, she pulled it closed again, making extra sure to slide the latch across all the way. Not that there was much to worry about in the way of intruders, given that she was several stories off the ground, but still, she didn’t want to freeze, either.
Sighing, she went back into her apartment to take off her jacket. Despite all the cold air that had come in, she really was feeling toasty warm. Ever since the avalanche, it had been like there was some sort of warm glow following her every step and wrapping her in its embrace. Not that she was complaining, but it was definitely weird. It certainly didn’t line up with anything she’d ever heard about avalanche survivors before.
The memory of being buried under the snow came back to her all of a sudden, more strongly than it had earlier, and she shivered again, if for a very different reason. She had been so very close to death, and she was pretty sure that the full impact of that hadn’t quite filtered through to her brain yet. There was probably going to be some sort of mild breakdown in her future.
For now, though, she was going to have to make do with eating some more ham. Now that she’d had a bit to eat, she was quickly realizing that she was starving.
Probably surviving an avalanche and then going for a walk in the snow without even eating lunch wasn’t the smartest move I ever made,she thought, with the first hint of a smile she’d managed since she got back here.
Returning to the kitchen, she resolved to find Max and thank him for saving her life, even if he wanted to call things off between them. The thought of how close she’d come to freezingor suffocating to death beneath the snow was freaking her out a little, and she knew she had to let him know how much she appreciated his actions, no matter what.
I’m going to have to find him an even more expensive pen to thank him with,she thought with a smile, digging through the fridge once more and pulling out an even larger piece of ham.
