Page 41 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

I peeled his hands off my arms and stepped back. “Why does it matter to you anyway?”

His face was stoic, in contrast to the fire in his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply before clamping it closed, his jaw muscles tensing. Finally, his usual mask of indifference returned. “Hazel, let’s be rational.”

My eyes flared wide as I digested his words. “That’s it? That’s your next move—calling me irrational?” I spit out, my hands on my hips and nails digging into my palm. “You are in no position—”

I went silent as a ringing sounded in the tense air around us.

Peter pressed his lips together and tore his eyes away as he took out his phone and brought it to his ear. “Yes?”

He nodded, and his jaw clenched as he stepped back a few inches, shooting me an intense look before turning away. “No, I don’t.” What followed was a series of similarly short, abrupt answers.

Finally, he lowered the phone from his ear and turned toward me, his facial muscles relaxed even while his eyesnarrowed. “They want to video chat with you. I don’t know if the signal is strong enough, but you can try.”

“They … who?” Then, realization dawned. “Is that Mari?”

He nodded, holding out the phone to me.

I was careful not to brush against his fingers as I took the phone from him. I needed distance, more than ever. I pressed the video button on the screen and waited for it to load. “Mari? Can you hear me?”

“Yes! Hazel, I’ve missed you. Are you all right? I’ve been trying to call you and was terrified something had happened to you!”

Finally, my best friend’s beautiful yet distressed face filled the screen. My smile was genuine as I nodded. “I’m fine, more or less. We’ve been having the blizzard that never ends. Today’s the first day I can seeanythingout the window. I haven’t been outside in days … but I’m fine. How are you?”

Mariana’s brows furrowed. “We’re fine, other than being worried about you. We had to postpone our return flight since we were supposed to fly out tonight, but the MSP airport is still closed.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were supposed to return today. That’s a bummer that you can’t though.”

She squinted. “Your video feed is a bit blurry. But yeah, don’t you remember? I told you I got a great deal on a return flight on Valentine’s Day. You joked about the Mile High Club, and then we—” She paused, her mouth curving downward. “Are you all right, Haz? Did I say something?”

The blood was draining from my face as the news sunk in.

It was Valentine’s Day.

Today.

And I was stuck here with the most infuriating man on earth.

I shook my head, trying to smile as I caught my breath. “No, I’m fine. I’m just—I forgot about the holiday.” I forced my smile to widen. “I hope you two are celebrating since the flight is delayed.”

Mariana stared at me for a long moment. “Oh, I get it. Oh, no, Hazel, I feel so bad. You’re snowed in onValentine’s Day. The favorite day of all romantics. You must be devastated. I’m so sorry—”

I cut in before she could embarrass me anymore. “No, I don’t care about that. I’m taking a break from dating, remember? I couldn’t care less about a holiday for lovers,” I lied, careful to smile brightly to prove I didn’t care.

“But you’ve alwayslovedthis day. Once, you even said—”

“Mari, can we just drop it? It’s not a big deal. Especially in this literal weather emergency …” I trailed off, giving her another forced smile.

“Oh, but you’re not alone! I almost forgot—Terry said you’re staying with Peter. He lives next door? How perfect!”

“I don’t know about ‘perfect,’ but he let me stay here since he has power and I don’t. I’m using his phone.”

“That’s so kind of him. I’m happy to see you guys are becoming friends now. It would’ve been a little awkward if—”

“We’re not. Friends, I mean. We still don’t like each other.”

Mariana’s face fell. “Oh. Well—oh, hi, Peter!”

My eyes widened as I turned to see him behind me, apparently visible on camera. “What did I say about sneaking up on me?” I hissed.

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