Page 8 of Chilled and Thrilled

Leni frowns. “You said your type was unavailable. Did you meet someone?”

My stomach plummets right through the laminate wood floor. Shit. I forgot about that. “No idea.”

“That’s what you’re going with?” she asks mildly, lifting her eyebrows.

I swallow. “Yup.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.” I turn on my heel, striding for the door to the apartment, my uneven pulse pumping adrenaline through my veins. I’m jittery and on edge, my breath shaking as I stop before the elevator, gazing at my pale reflection in the gleaming chrome.

It’s a very surreal experience when something that’s only ever lived inside your head, my feelings for Bram for instance, are suddenly out there in the world. It becomes real. Leni issmart. She wouldn’t have asked those questions if she hadn’t already put together part of the puzzle.

Does she know who I was talking about?

Is she going to tell Honor?

I haven’t done anything, though. It’s not like I can control how I feel, and by the looks of it, Bram has absolutely no interest in me and is dating another woman. Would she stop being friends with me over her sister suspecting I’m into their dad?

If she asked me flat out, would I be able to hide it?

The elevator doors slide open and I step inside, fingers fumbling to do up the buttons on my coat. I only live two blocks from the office, which is convenient, except for a solid eight weeks in the dead of winter when it feels like my limbs are going to fall off for the duration of the ten-minute walk.

As I cross the lobby, bracing myself for the inevitable deep freeze, I’m totally unprepared for the sight of a tall, broad-shouldered man standing on the curb, a knit cap pulled low over his ears, leaning against an expensive-looking black SUV that is double-parked in front of the building.

I stop short, staring at Bram as a strange ringing sound fills my ears, and although I haven’t stepped outside yet, my muscles feel rigid as I push open the door.

Bram watches me, unmoving, as I stop five feet away from him. “Honor already left. Like half an hour ago,” I report, trying to sound casual and unruffled, when I am, in fact, extremely un-casual and very ruffled.

Bram nods. “I know. She texted me on her way to the airport.”

I blink, scrambling for another explanation for him to just be standing here. “Um, Leni is upstairs? I don’t think she’s expecting you, though.”

He doesn’t look surprised by this information. “Yes, she’sgoing to stop by the office to say goodbye on her way to the train station. I’m here to give you a ride to work.”

My mouth is dry, and I stare at him, grappling with this disconcerting and unprecedented turn of events. “Not to sound ungrateful or anything… but, um, why?”

In way of response to this perfectly legitimate question, Bram pulls open the passenger door and stares at me expectantly. When I don’t move, he sighs. “It’s cold out, Sophie. Get in the car.”

I get in the car.

The inside is cozy and warm, all dark leather and Christmas music playing quietly on the radio. Most of the staff, Bram included, park in the garage across the street from E&V, so I’ve never actually seen his car. It looks just as fancy and expensive as everything in Bram’s life.

Meanwhile, I am wearing practical but ugly winter boots, a hat Honor knitted me, and a coat I picked up on the sale rack at a discount store in April.

What is he doing here?

“Are you cold?” asks Bram as he closes the driver’s side door, not looking at me as he pulls off his gloves and sets them in the center console.

“Um.” I blink rapidly, staring at the sparse snowflakes swirling outside the windshield. “No?”

It comes out like a question because every other thing in my head right now is a question, but before I know it, Bram is reaching over to adjust something on the dashboard screen. “Seat warmer,” he explains, offering me a lopsided smile that makes my stomach swoop.

“Bram,” I begin as he puts the car in drive and pulls back out onto the street, “why are you giving me a ride to work?”

He doesn’t answer at first, too busy adjusting the temperature controls, so I’m blasted right in the face with hot air. At this rate, I’ll be sweating before we get to the office. Finally,when we’re turning onto the street where E&V is located, he speaks. “I didn’t like the idea of you walking in the snow.”

“It’s barely snowing! The storm won’t hit until late tonight!” I gesture incredulously to the occasional fluffy snowflake drifting down from the gray sky. We’re already close after two minutes in the car. I can see the marble columns of the office from here. Unable to help myself, I turn to look at him, taking in the lines of his handsome profile.

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