Page 7 of Snowed In With You

‘So,’ he said and I tried not to wince, there went that plan. ‘What time do you think Rob and Tanya will get here?’

I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times against the heat, my mouth felt thick, like the heat had made its way behind my lips to rub itself against my tongue. ‘Oh, Rob left me a message and said that their flight has been delayed because there’s a storm rolling in.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah.’

This was the worst. I wished I could be more like those people who let bygones be bygones, or better (worse?) one of those people who didn’t care that they were just a quick fix and would happily do it again to pass the time. But I couldn’t. I needed that connection, thatspark, to go deeper than just physical attraction and I’d thought Fletch and I’d had that.

The heat didn’t seem quite so comfortable with my maudlin thoughts bringing me down. Most women would be thrilled to have alone time with a guy like Fletcher –and in a way, I was. At least this way, we could get the bulk of our awkwardness out of the way before my brother got here. This was just… practice.

I stood slowly, not wanting to fall over as the heat started to make me a little woozy. I didn’t know what it was about him, but I seemed to be ten-times as clumsy when Fletcher was around. He stood too, turning a dial near the door as we walked out to stop the heat. We moved towards the showers and I hesitated, this felt intimate even though we would have our own shower heads and would be firmly separate. The rush of cold air that hit me as we left pebbled my skin and my nipples hardened, I quickly crossed my arms over my chest and only let go to turn on the warm shower.

When I looked up Fletcher seemed amused, ‘You know that’s nothing I haven’t seen before right? Plus, you know, it’s just basic anatomy.’

‘Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean you get to see it again.’

The sound of the water overtook our conversation and I turned away from him in relief until he opened his stupid mouth again.

‘It could mean that.’ My heart stopped, surely he hadn’t just said that? ‘If you wanted it to.’

I turned off the water, deciding I’d finish my shower upstairs after all. I let my anger show on my face as I walked over and wrapped myself in my towel, ‘I don’t know what sort of person you think I am, but I definitely have more self-respect than to let you screw me and walk out again. Need to practice your calligraphy? Or were you thinking about mixing it up this time with a balloon arch or paper mache to signal your shame?’ Fletcher’s face was white as I ranted but I didn’t feel bad. Not at all. ‘So no, Idon’twant it to happen again.’

‘Okay,’ he said, his voice faint and eyes wide. His lashes were wet and there was soap in his hair but I held onto my anger all the way up the stairs until I reached my ensuite and finally allowed the tears to sneak free.

Chapter Six

Fletcher

It was official – I sucked and clearly didn’t know how to read a room. I was a humongous ass and Rob was going to murder me. Though, in my own defense, Sara did seem to run a little hot and cold – one minute ogling me in the snow and the next running away like all the hounds of hell were after her. But then again… I was responsible for all of that too. She didn’t trust me and I couldn’t blame her. The problem was, I couldn’t move on and seeing her in person had only confirmed that fact. She hadn’t been just a one night stand and that was what had scared me, I’d not been in a committed relationship since, well, ever. It was a lot to process, especially when the girl in question was your best friend’s baby sister and therefore fucking things up with her could also mean losing Rob.Worse,I admitted to myself silently,you’d lose her. I remembered the exact moment I’d known I was in trouble, of course in hindsight it was the good kind, but still, half-drunk early-morning me had panicked.

I stretched out an arm and hit warm skin, it was smooth like silk and when I breathed in deeply Sara’s fruity scent sank into me. Sara. My eyes flew open and found her sleeping naked next to me. She was on her front with the white sheets pulled up to her waist and a deep satisfaction filled me as I noticed the love-bite on her hip. Last night had been incredible. I’d never had sex like that before. I’d been with women, a fair amount in fact, but nobody had made me so intoxicated with their taste or had mebegging with just a look. She’d absolutely undone me last night and I wanted more. I rolled over to check the time and groaned, 8 AM. No wonder I felt fine, I was probably still drunk and Rob would be expecting me to –

Oh God. Rob. I sat up quickly and froze when Sara mumbled something sleepily, her lips pouting adorably and nausea swept over me. What was I doing? This wasn’t just Sara – it was my best friend’s sister! Fuck, he was going to kill me. Sure, I’d noticed she was beautiful, but she was Rob’s sister. Off-limits. A horrible thought dawned on me and as soon as it had occurred I wished I could shake it free of my mind. What if she regretted it? What if I’d just been… convenient?

I didn’t want to be convenient, or the typical bridesmaid/groomsman hookup. I wanted her and that was a problem until I could speak to her brother. If she even wanted that. Fuck, I’d gone about this completely the wrong way. I’d been having a great time last night, we’d talked and laughed and my goddamn dick had almost exploded when she pressed against me for the slow dance. What had happened? I’d planned on taking it slow. This was pretty much the opposite. Maybe… maybe we just needed to forget this whole thing. Do it over. I’d talk to Rob and I’d talk to Sara and get this whole thing sorted out. I nodded decisively and pressed a quick kiss to Sara’s cheek before standing and scrawling her a quick note. I left the room, pressed the button for the elevator and sat down on the bench nearby to wait for it to arrive.

I’d woken up four hours later with a hell of a headache, a baffled Rob standing above me and Sara’s room empty.

If I’d been less drunk and more rational, I would have woken her up that morning and spoken to her. Rob could have waited. Maybe everything would be different now.

But it hadn’t and I still needed to have that talk with her brother. If I was going to win Sara’s trust back, I needed to knowthat it wouldn’t be in vain. I couldn’t see Rob enforcing any sort of bro code really... but maybe it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission though, just in case.

I never wanted to feel like I had earlier again – to have Sara practically naked right next to me and not be able to pull her closer or feel her skin on mine. I didn’t want her to be the woman I wanted but couldn’t have. I wanted her to be mine, but I was going to have to earn it – for her sake and my own. I’d made a dumb choice but it was going to be the last one where Sara was concerned.

I’d dried off from the showers and headed back to my room feeling frustrated in more than one way, the image of Sara in that bikini had my pants feeling uncomfortably tight – I was just lucky the towels here were thick. Was Rob and Tanya’s delayed flight a godsend? Who knew how long it was going to take them to get here, maybe I could make some progress with Sara before they arrived.

Now dry and dressed, I made my way down the stairs and examined the kitchen cupboards – compared to the rest of this place the kitchen was downright cosy. It was also empty. I looked out of the big glass windows at the back of the lodge and out at the sky, it was an ominous grey with thick white flakes beginning to fall faster than they had earlier. If this got any worse I doubted Rob and Tanya would make it here at all, which… might sort of be perfect actually. Snowed in with Sara, what could be better? I was sure we could find ways to entertain ourselves, I smirked as I pulled on my boots and the heavy winter coat I’d brought in from the car. Not that it was all about sex, of course, but it definitely didn’t hurt.

If I had any hope of pulling this thing off, we were going to need food. Nobody had ever won a girl over with her stomach empty. I knew Sara had a healthy and adventurous appetite, as well as a ridiculously sweet tooth – she’d once stopped atthe food court, while we’d been at the mall picking up wedding supplies, for the biggest bowl of gelato I’d ever seen, topped with enough sauce and sprinkles that I would have had a toothache. Plus, Sara was likely to curse at me enough already, let alone throwing hangriness into the mix. So a supply run was in order, even if I had to trek through a rapidly gathering snow storm for it. There was a map by the front door that showed a path to the nearest small town and supermarket, obviously only there for the holiday-makers like us, but thankfully only a twenty-minute walk away. Of course, twenty-minutes easily became forty when you were half blinded by snow and not wholly sure where you were going. The things we do for… well, not love exactly, but in this case, at least an intenselike. Despite the chill, I grinned broadly, pulling my hood up and setting off for snacks. And booze. A lot of booze.

Chapter Seven

Sara

The sound of my phone ringing dragged me up into an upright position as I fumbled blindly for it within the covers. Rob. I groaned, I had been sulking in bed in silence, not even wanting to read, and yetstillmy brother’s impeccable spidey-sense alerted him to the best time to irritate me. My annoyance momentarily faded as I considered the possibility that he was calling to say he was almost here.

‘Hey! Please tell me you’re on your way?’

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