Page 83 of Abdominal Snowman

“Before you say anything, you were right. Tobin needs to be stopped, and if you have the proof, I want to help. I’m sorry I was a brute and brushed you off without listening. I didn’t even hear you out before I shut you down.” Soren winced at just the memory.

“Thank you, Soren.” She looked down at their hands, rubbing her thumb softly over his calloused palm. “I fell in love with... this town the second I saw the string lights illuminating the town square. It’s magical here, and Tobin is threatening that. No one deserves to lose their home because of his greed.” She finished speaking with a sigh, and Soren could hear her heart racing. Was she nervous?

“I know we haven’t talked about what happens when my vacation ends, but… I want to do as much as I can to help Berrysburg. And you. If you’ll let me.” Sage peeked at him through her eyelashes, her heart thundering in Soren’s ears.

There it was. The ball was in his court now. She wanted to stay, to help. If he could just man up and tell her.

Sage cleared her throat. “I found a ton of articles about Tobin after you left. Mostly news articles, but there’s this opinion piece written by someone in Utah. It talks about how Tobin swindled their land from them and pissed it away. Hundreds of people responded with their stories. It’s insane how far his reach has gone.”

Fuckin’ Tobin.

Soren couldn’t believe how much she’d found in just a few hours while he wallowed in the garage.

“Guess you’re a reporter for a reason, huh?” he murmured.

She pinched his arm. “I want you to read it.”

“Okay.”

Without even waiting, Sage pulled on his arm and began a march back toward the house.

“Sage,” he prompted.

She stopped on the top step of the porch, and he shrugged.

“I should tell you before you make a decision, I snore loud enough to cause an avalanche, so you’ll have to deal with that… if you want to stay.”

The smile that twitched her lips was the cutest thing in the goddamned world.

“I sing really loudly in the shower,” she retorted.

“I know. I heard you yesterday.” Soren chuckled at the memory. He’d heard her all the way in the kitchen. “I’ve never heard a rendition of Celine Dion that was so... exuberant.”

She gasped in mock outrage and planted her hands on her hips. “Celine would hire me as a backup singer like that.” Sage snapped her fingers at him, a smile winning out and spreading across her lips.

Soren pretended to back up. “Uh… wait. How long will this story take again? I should have asked that before subjecting myself to nightly karaoke.” He glanced down at his bare wrist. “What time is it again? I need to water my otter—oof!”

Soren wrapped his arms around Sage’s waist, steadying her where she’d jumped off the steps, trusting him to catch her. Her legs curled around his hips, and he stared up at her.

As she settled against him, warmth flashed across her gaze. “What do you say we get inside? And then maybe you can get inside me.”

Soren was up the steps in a heartbeat, the door slamming shut behind him.