Page 45 of Chilled and Thrilled

I’m not scared, though.

In the space of one snowstorm, I’ve become a whole new person. Or, at least, I see myself in a way I couldn’t before. How long have I been carrying around this shame? How long have I seen myself as unworthy of love and friendship?

We don’t speak for a long time, lost in our respective thoughts. Outside the window, the storm’s last few snowflakes are drifting down to join the seamless carpet of white that covers Bram’s backyard. Since it’s a holiday, I doubt the plow will come to clear the drive until tomorrow,but I’m not bothered. They can take their time. I have everything I need, right here.

“What are you thinking about?” murmurs Bram, his voice rumbling through his chest.

My lips curve. “What’s going to happen when they dig us out of here.”

“Hmm.” He pushes his fingers through mine, and I gaze down at his larger, slightly darker-skinned hand, intertwined with my own smaller, softer one. “That’s easy.”

“Oh?”

Bram hums, and I can tell by the way he’s breathing, that the night spent decorating the whole house is catching up with him. “We’re going to be together.”

I laugh quietly, peeking up to confirm his eyes have closed. “You make it seem so simple.”

“Sometimes the simplest solution is the correct one.” He says it in such a bossy, Bram way that I have to grin, reminded of all the meetings I’ve sat through when he tore apart design proposals for being needlessly complicated.

It doesn’t take long before he’s asleep, my cheek still resting on his shoulder and our hands laced together atop his abdomen.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

18

SOPHIE

“Ijust need to get a few things, it won’t be long.”

The gentle thud of E&V’s front door echoes through the cavernous space, which is eerily still and empty. I’ve never been here when the lights are off, and it’s even darker than it should be with the snow built up on all the windows.

I shiver, pulling my coat tighter around myself as I edge into the room, watching Bram move around the reception desk to flick on the lights. We only have a few more hours together before Honor’s flight lands, and I don’t want to kick off this new—more complicated—phase of our friendship by abandoning her post-breakup.

That won’t stop me from sneaking back to Bram’s house after she’s gone to bed.

Above my head, the original brass bank chandelier flickers to life, and my heart lifts as Bram reappears, pulling his leather gloves off while he surveys the room. “Did I tell you we’re trying to buy the lot behind us?” He nods toward the mostly abandoned parking lot behind the office. “When webought this place, it was huge, but now…” He trails off, smiling wryly.

I laugh. “Now, you’re very important and successful and you need to expand your empire?”

The corners of Bram’s eyes crease as his arm snakes around my waist, pulling me close. “Are you impressed?”

Playing with the zipper of his coat, I hum, feigning deep consideration. “I’ll be impressed when you bring back the chocolate chip cookies in the vending machine. If I want to eat sixteen cookies in one day and lay on the couch groaning when I get home from work, that’s my business.”

“You’re a heathen.”

“You like it.”

He doesn’t argue, grinning as he draws back and takes my hand, the two of us walking side by side up the marble staircase toward our office space. “What’s going to happen when work starts up again?” I ask as we enter Team Vogel’s domain. Bram releases his hold on me to flip on the lights, illuminating dozens of empty workspaces. It feels weird to be back here, when the last time I was, I’d resigned myself to Bram never returning my feelings. Now, only a few days later, everything is different.

Bram unlocks his office door and pushes it open. I trail after him, watching as he crosses to his desk and starts booting up his computer. “I’ll have a sit down with HR and explain the situation,” he says at last, sounding weary. “They won’t be happy, I’m afraid, but there’s not much they can do. I own fifty percent of the company, and there are no other shareholders apart from Holden.”

I nibble on my bottom lip. “Could they fire me?”

This question earns me a sharp, reproving look. “Not without cause. You’re excellent at what you do, and you have a spotless employment record, Sophie. If they try it, I’ll fire them.”

“In the spirit of full disclosure, I did use one of my sick days because the night before I ate an entire pot brownie without reading the label, and it turns out you’re only supposed to have a sixteenth at a time.”

Bram snorts, shaking his head as he straightens up, kissing me on his way back out the door. “Lesson learned, I presume? Wait here, I’ll be right back. Marty left some contracts for me in his office.”

---