Page 23 of Love Under Snowfall

Frankie sat bolt upright, gasping for air as the hotel room phone ripped her from a restorative slumber. She fumbled in the darkness for the offending relic, desperate to put an end to its obnoxiously shrill ring.

“What?” she rasped grumpily into the receiver.

“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,” Jonathan hollered in the usual upbeat tenor he reserved for irritating his little sister.

Frankie grunted in response to his cheery tone.

“It’s four-thirty in the afternoon,” he chuckled. “What are you doing asleep? The sun’s bright as hell.”

“They're called blackout curtains, my friend. And I’m still catching up from lack of sleep due to immense educational stress.” She flipped on the bedside lamp and sat up, squinting at the flood of light.

“Educational stress,” he mocked. “Aren’t you on break for the rest of the month?”

“Yes, but the damage has already been done.”

“Aw, poor baby,” Jonathan teased pitifully. “Do you need your big bad brother to beat up the mean old professor?”

Frankie snorted. “You’re the last person I’d call to kick someone’s ass. But is your fiancée free? I’m sure she could handle the prick.”

The laughthrough her phone was so booming that Frankie had to pull it away to save her eardrums. “Any man who tussles with her would regret it.”

“No doubt. Why didn’t you call me on my cell? How’d you even know I was here?” Leavenworth was a small town, but she hadn’t gone anywhere yet. Not even to grab a snack. And she knew for a fact that Todd was getting a little beauty rest before dinner too.

“I tried. Twice. It went to voicemail. Gunther ratted you out. I asked him to send me a text with your room number once you checked in.”

Damn you, Gunther.

She should have known the jolly front desk manager at the Wilhelm Haus Inn was a snitch. His cheer seemed a little too manufactured.

“Ever the protective big brother.” Frankie rolled her eyes, but really, the concern always comforted her.

“I gotta look out for the ladies in my life. It’s my job to keep you all safe.” From any other man, the sentiment would have been condescending, but Jonathan never meant it as such. He didn’t have a macho-alpha-male bone in his body, but he was a natural-born protector when it came to anyone he loved. No matter what, Jon was always there in her corner, ready to throw down. Metaphorically of course. She never could recall a time when he’d ever been in a fistfight. He might dad-joke someone to death, but that was the extent of his attempted assaults.

“How are Lucy and Mom?” Frankie asked through a big yawn.

“A little stressed but managing. They’ve both been working so hard to make sure everything’s all planned out. It doesn’t help that Aunt Agnes and the twins are staying with Mom. Be glad you decided to stay at the inn. There’s alreadyplentyof hard-headedenergy at the house without you there too.”

“Hey,” she said, trying to sound offended but knew full well he was right. Their mom and aunt butted heads like the alphas they were. Frankie getting involved would just add fuel to the flames. “How are you faring?”

“Fine. I’m trying to help where I can, but it proves safer to stay the hell out of their way, ya know?”

Francesca did know. “Smart man.”

“It took a little time, but I eventually got there.”

“Don’t take it too hard, most guys never grow up. Take Zac, for example . . . Man-child all the way. You’re among the rare specimens that actually managed to claw their way out of adolescence.”

Jonathan let out a little snort. “Awe, thanks, sis. Speaking of the devil, he seems pretty excited to see you. Is there something going on there that you’re not telling me?”

Zac Hartford. Now,therewas a guy Frankie wouldn’t touch even with her enemies’ genitals. The perpetual playboy would happily bang anything that moves. And did. She wasn’t judging. What happens between two consenting adults is their business. Frankie was all about sex positivity, but her brother’s friend since elementary school was a little too active for her tastes. To top it off, they’d worked together at her family’s guiding company, which meant any funny business would have elevated an ill-advised decision to a downright bad idea. Countless times, he’d tried to initiate an encounter with Frankie, and every time, he’d struck out. No doubt he’d take another swing—or two—during the wedding festivities and find himself slinking away from the plate yet again.

“Absolutely not. There’s not enough penicillin in the world.”

“I feel compelled to say ‘ouch’ on his behalf,” Jonathan saidthrough a giddy chuckle. “What are you up to now?”

“Getting ready,” she lied as she snuggled back under the covers and wondered if she could fit a king-sized bed in her tiny room back in Seattle. “Just putting the finishing touches on before the party.”

“Bullshit. I literally woke you up five minutes ago, remember? I bet twenty bucks you’re wrapped in a robe and a comforter and about to fall back to sleep.”

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