“The cabin is so old, it’s a pain in the ass to heat.” I touched the padding on the wall. “The soundproofing doubles as insulation, so the room stays warm with minimal effort.”

  “And you’re not exactly cramped in here. You could rent out a room this size in Boston for three grand a month.”

  I laughed. “I could probably get that in a week here during peak season. People are crazy.”

  We sat and ate our soup before I brought the bowls in and grabbed pillows. My house was already getting cold, so I closed both doors tightly.

  When I returned to my studio, I saw Eli had repositioned the couch and pushed the ottoman in. It resembled a big bed, piled high with the blankets.

  I climbed up with him, snuggling closer. “I forgot to ask you something.”

  His muscles tensed as he sat up to position a couple pillows behind his head. “Yeah?”

  “Did you punch Chad?”

  He studied me as he lifted his chin.

  I didn’t bother to ask why. It wasn’t even the real question I’d wanted to ask, but it’d popped into my head.

  “Bet he deserved it,” I said before moving on to what I actually wanted to ask. “What was the problem Hutch had that made you late?”

  His body relaxed, and he sank into the makeshift bed. “He bought Kelsey a cabin as a wedding present, but it was having electrical issues.”

  “Wow, that’s a nice gift. It’s gonna be hard for him to top that. He peaked too early.”

  Eli chuckled. “I told him the same thing, but he doesn’t care. He just wanted it to be perfect for her, so I fixed the issue.”

  “You’re good at stuff like that?”

  I knew he worked at a custom garage, not a regular one, but my mind still conjured images of him changing oil or replacing engines or whatever. All greasy and dirty. Likely in just his boxers.

  Definitely shirtless.

  “I’m good at everything.” It wasn’t said in a cocky way, though he totally deserved to be. His statement was matter of fact. “I know my way around wiring. But more than anything, I’m good at puzzles. I will work until I find a way to get what I want.”

  There was something heavy in his words, like he wasn’t just talking about cabin electricity. Before I could speak, he did. “Why’d you wanna know?”

  “Honestly? I’d kinda assumed he was having second thoughts about the wedding, and you were trying to talk him into it. Or out of it.”

  That time, he didn’t chuckle. Eli laughed, the sound rich and deep. “Pretty sure Hutch would’ve married Kelsey the day he met her. That he waited this long is the surprising part.”

  “She seems nice, but, uh… a lot.”

  “Yeah, but that’s why he loves her.”

  “Really?”

  After a silent moment, Eli shared. And I got the distinct feeling it was something he didn’t do often. “Hutch and I grew up poor. Dirt fuckin’ poor. We had very little and fought for every scrap of it.” He ran his fingers through my hair, twisting a lock of it. “Now, we’re not. We’ve got more than we need. Kelsey would still love him if he was dirt poor again, but he likes that he can provide for her. He likes that he can handle her neurotic bullshit. It may be codependent as shit but making her happy validates him. It makes him feel like he’s made it.”

  I might not have understood it, but who was I to judge? It clearly worked for them and was sweetly romantic in its own way.

  “I hope they can get married soon then,” I said honestly.

  Like maybe in a month, so you’ll have to come back.

  “Me, too. Especially since I don’t think anyone else would put up with their shit.”

  Ah, true love.

  His fingers continued playing with my hair, but with each twirl, they touched less hair and more breast. After a minute, it was no hair and all breast.

  And a minute after that, I was on my knees, and he was behind me, palming my ass and teasing me with the head of his cock. One hurried thought flitted through my lust haze.

  I don’t know what I was worried about. I was wrong, Eli’s clearly fine, and I was just being dramatic.

  Then he slammed into me, and it was the last coherent thought I had for a while.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  TO BEING SNOWED IN

  POSEY

  I was wrong.

  Or maybe it was that I was right.

  I couldn’t keep track. The point was, something was wrong. I wasn’t being dramatic. And Eli wasn’t fine.

  Not that he was bad. No, far from it. He was sweet and thoughtful and hilarious and affectionate.

  He was perfect.

  That was why it hit me so hard when I realized he wasn’t happy. Something was making him increasingly pensive, and I wasn’t sure what. But I had a good guess.

  As much as I wanted to ignore it to hoard the time with him, it wasn’t fair.

  Going to check on the dinner Eli had thrown in the crockpot, I used the time to build up my nerve and plan what I was going to say. When I got back into my office, my footsteps slowed and all the courage I’d gathered drained away.

  Not because Eli looked so good sitting with an arm stretched across the back of my couch.

  Okay, not just that.

  It was because his phone was in his other hand, and he was grinning. “That’s great news, man. Sad I wasn’t there to see it.”

  “Me, too,” someone said. “But we wanted to get married on Christmas, so I made it happen. Even if it meant knocking on every hotel room door until I found someone ordained.”

  It must be Hutch.

  Eli chuckled. “Bet that went over well.”

  “Nearly got us kicked out, but whatever. It was worth it ‘cause now Kelsey is my wife.”

  Catching me staring, Eli crooked a finger at me, and I had to lock my knees to stop myself from going. His brows lowered, but Hutch grabbed his focus back when he started talking about the revised travel plans.

  A couple minutes later, Eli hung up the phone and pocketed it before giving me his undivided attention. “Come here.”

  Since I’d never been one for games, I went over, but stopped out of reach. I forced myself to ask the question that’d been rolling around my head for over an hour. “Do you want to set up a bed in the kitchen?”

  “What?”

  “It’s cold, but there’s enough heat in that room to be comfortable.”

  “Lemme rephrase,” he practically growled. “What in the actual fuck would make you ask that?”

  “You’re not happy.” He opened his mouth, but I continued. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I get it.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. You came over for one wild and unforgettable night with a hottie.” I forced a smile, even though my heart was cracking. “Now you’ve been here for a few days… It’s not exactly what you signed on for, so I totally get it if you want some space.”

  After a million silent years—or just thirty seconds—Eli slowly nodded. “You’re right.”

  My heart no longer felt as if it was cracking.

  It was breaking.

  Shattering.

  “I do have a problem,” he continued before suddenly pulling me to straddle him. “See, I’ve been trying to figure out who to contact in town to ask them not to plow us out of here. Since that’s unlikely to happen, I’ve also been trying to figure out how I can do my work virtually.”

  “You work on cars,” I whispered.

  “So you see my dilemma.” His hands went to my thighs, keeping me in place. “But I have to figure out some way to stay here longer ‘cause it’s clear you need more time. I know this because every damn time I mention anything beyond this storm, even casually, you freeze like you took your sweet ass streaking through these woods.”

  “More time for what?” I forced out through the sand that coated my mouth.

  “More time to fall for me, too. That way you’ll agree to uproot your life and move to Boston.”

  My head jerked back, and I was certain my eyebrows had joined my hairline. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “You said ‘too.’”

  “Again, you heard me.”

  Did he…

  I must be misunderstanding.

  Because there’s no way he’s saying what I think he is.

  Right?

  He took the guesswork out of it. Sliding one hand up to my hip while the other palmed the back of my head, he pulled me closer. “I love you, pretty Posey. Marry you today if I could, but since I can’t go door to door to find an ordained snowman, and I doubt any of the bears out there are, I’ll settle for your agreeing to move in with me. Baby steps.”

  That’s a giant fucking baby!

  “It’s only been a few days,” I sputtered, as if he weren’t aware.

  “And?”

  “You can’t love me after only a few days!”

  “Not exactly normal days,” he pointed out. “We’ve spent more time together than most couples do in a month. Talking. Getting to know each other. Honestly and open, with no pretenses or expectation. That said,” he brushed his lips against mine, “pretty sure I fell the first time I heard you speak.” With his face still right in front of mine, I got an up close view when he gave me a teasing smile. “Even if you were quoting Lil Jon.”

  “You mean because I was.”

  “That, too.”

  My thoughts raced, a wild rush of everything and nothing. There were a million logical reasons why I couldn’t move. Why it was fuckin’ insane.

  Including, but not limited to…

  We barely knew each other.

  He could be a firework, his passion flaring hot before dying off quickly.

  I could hate Boston. It was unlikely because I absolutely loved it when my small town got hectic. But maybe I wouldn’t like it all the time.

  Or maybe I’d miss Winter Falls and my little cabin in the woods.

  But for every reason why it was an insane idea, my brain came up with twenty reasons why it could work.

  I could make the cabin another vacation rental.

  As long as I had a good setup, I could work from anywhere.

  And, most importantly, I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Eli.

  That one thing was enough to have me saying, “I’d need time to find an office space and get my studio set.”

  Shifting me forward, Eli pulled his phone from his pocket before tugging me close again. I thought he was going to look for rentals in his area, but then a ringing filled the room.

  “Yo,” someone answered. “Still at your woman’s?”

  “Yup.”

  “Fuckin’ lovin’ it?” It took me a moment to realize it was Jake.

  “Yeah,” Eli said, squeezing my ass. “Need a favor.”

  “Name it.”

  “I wanna convert one of the extra spaces in the building into a recording studio for Posey.”

  I let out a noise that was somewhere between a squawk and a yelp.

  Hang up the phone, I mouthed, worried his boss would have him committed.

  Like I hadn’t just made the inhuman sound, Eli continued. “I’ll send some pictures and info.”

  “You movin’ Posey here with you?” Jake asked, but there was no shock or ridicule in his words.

  That was okay, I had enough shock for both of us.

  “Working on it,” Eli answered.

  “Surprised it took this long.” Jake chuckled. “Given that noise she made, I’m guessin’ this is a current conversation.”

  “You’d guess correctly.”

  “Good luck, brother. I’ll work on shit here. You just focus on what you’ve got there, yeah?”

  “Thanks, boss.” Eli ended the call, and I was torn between kissing him and smothering him with a pillow.

  Or maybe my thighs.

  “I bet he’s getting ready to come here and drag you back home because you’ve clearly lost your mind.”

  Eli laughed, and since I was still pressed tight to him, it was a good sound and sensation. “He’s not.”

  “Oh, he definitely is. Who builds a recording studio for a woman he’s known less than a week?”

  “Trust me, he gets it. Jake fell for Piper the first time he saw her in his waiting room. Might’ve fought it a bit, but once he gave in, he was in. Converted the break room into a kitchen for her, then when he built his expanded garage, he did it with a connected bakery for her. Kase moved Harlow in while she was at lunch. Nox fell in love with his dog sitter mostly long distance. Lars bought a shit-ton of expensive motorcycle parts just for an excuse to see his woman.”

  Okay, so a recording booth doesn’t sound too insane, after all.

  “Those select few might not think you’re nuts, but everyone else will. I love you, but even I think you’re crazy.”

  I hadn’t planned to say that, but the words flew from my mouth like my giddy butterflies needed to be free.

  “What’d you say?” he asked slowly.

  “I think you’re crazy.”

  “The other part.”

  “Your friends are crazy as hell, too?”

  “The other part, pretty Posey.”

  “I love you?”

  It was insane. Totally, completely, unequivocally.

  It was also the truth, logic be damned.

  Flipping us so I was on my back, Eli took my mouth in a bruising kiss. “Yeah, that part. Say that part again.”

  “I love you.”

  His eyes closed for a moment before he smiled, big and happy and so fucking handsome. When he opened his lids, his brown eyes were no longer warm. They were hot, desire mixing with happiness as he looked down at me.

  Slowly, he stripped me, kissing my skin as he exposed it. Once we were both naked and worked into a teased frenzy, he held my thighs open and pushed into me. It was slow, but it wasn’t soft and tender. Each long, hard thrust made it feel as if he was fusing our bodies.

  Our souls.

  My orgasm built quickly as I took what he gave, trusting him to get me off. With savage thrusts and a skilled thumb on my clit, it wasn’t long before my neck arched and waves of euphoria crashed over me.

  “Love the way you feel,” Eli grunted, his words a staccato with each matching thrust. “Love. You.”

  At the feel of his hot come filling me, I realized we’d bypassed the condom. We’d already talked about all the important things that needed to be talked about, but still. It was the first time we hadn’t used one.

  Not that it was the craziest thing we’d done that day, given that we’d confessed our love and I’d all but agreed to move across the country to be with him.

  I’m on the pill. What’s the worst that could happen?

  Eli slid free, causing an amazing shiver to go through me. His lips dragged across my collarbone as he stood. “Be…” he started before he stopped. His eyes locked between my thighs, and his softening dick began to harden again.

  He’s insatiable.

  And I don’t mind a single bit.

  I closed my legs, cutting off his view.

  “You’re mean,” he grumbled like I’d taken away his favorite toy. “Be back.”

  When he headed for the bathroom, I grabbed my phone and typed a text to the one root I had in Winter Falls.

  Me: On a scale of one to ten, how crazy is it that I’m in love with Eli already?

  Demi: Does he make you happy?

  Me: Extremely.

  Demi: Then not crazy.

  Me: Okay. On a scale of one to certifiable, how crazy would it be for me to move to Boston?

  I expected an instant phone call. A freak out. Some pizazz. Instead, another text came through.

  Demi: Not as crazy as you’d think. We need to talk. Soon.

  Me: Uh oh.

  Me: Or yay?

  Me: It’s really hard to read tone via text.

  Demi: It’s a yay. Definitely a yay.

  Tossing my phone aside when Eli came out, I reached for the damp cloth he held. He just shot me a look before kneeling between my legs to clean me up. He tossed the cloth back into the bathroom before climbing onto the couch and pulling me into his arms.

  “Are there blizzards like this in Boston?”

  His body tightened under me, but he just kept stroking his fingers up and down my spine. “Yeah.”

  “And are there cabins in Boston?”

  “Around there, yeah.”

  “So, hypothetically, we could rent a cabin and get snowed in?”

  “Pretty Posey, I will buy you any fuckin’ cabin you want and pretend to be snowed in even if it’s ninety degrees outside.”

  His promise warmed me as thoroughly as that roasting weather would.

  Holding me tight, he didn’t bother to mask his hopeful expression. “This mean you’re moving in with me?”

  I spent so much time in my recording studio, narrating fictional love stories.

  It was time I started living my own one.

  And, lightning fast as it was, there was no one I wanted to live it with more than Eli Becker.

  “Yeah,” I said with no hint of doubt or uncertainty.

  Eli kissed me until we were both hot and panting before tearing his mouth away. “When I was in the bathroom, I saw the storm is letting up. Bet they’ll be able to plow by the morning.” He moved down my body. “Know what that means?”

  In that moment, the only thing I knew was how desperately I needed him to touch me, so I shook my head.

  A sexy as hell smirk curved his lips. “We better make the most of our last night snowed in.”

  EPILOGUE

  POSEY

  Four Weeks Later

  I can do this.

  I can do this.

  I… can do this?

  I did my best to hype myself up, even as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. I wasn’t sure I’d ever been more nervous in my life. But since it wasn’t like I could turn around and go home, I needed to woman up.

  Grabbing my bag, I inhaled deeply, climbed out of the Uber, and scanned the building in front of me.

 

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