Page 42 of Unexpected Pickle
Now she’s interested. Well, in the snacks. I’ll take it.
“I’ll tell you all about it. Then maybe we could watch a movie by the fire in a snowstorm?” I barely hold my breath as I wait for her to answer.
“You gonna spring for the movie channels?”
“Hell yes, I am.”
“Sold.”
And as we sort through my bag and then search through the available movies, I know that all my humiliation today was completely and totally worth it.
14
JEANNIE FEELS THE HEAT
This is cozy.
We snack on honey almond granola balls and raid the minibar for juice and sparkling water. I don’t know if Hex enthusiastically agrees with my movie suggestions or if we are actually cinematically compatible, but we end up marathoning chef movies.Chocolat. No Reservations. Today’s Special.
Then I realize it’s after ten and we’ve totally missed the cocktail party.
I sit up from where I’ve lounged on the sofa. Hex is on a side chair.
“Oh, gosh! It’s late!”
Hex checks his wrist as if he’s ever worn a watch. “Time for one more.”
I stand up. “We didn’t have dinner or get drinks with the chefs!”
“Is there another evening event tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I say, glancing at the door. “We can do that one.” I don’t mind missing it, really. We had more fun. Plus, I wasn’t ready to face Moreau. I should have turned him down flat rather than saying I’d think about his offer.
“I’m going to head back to my cabin,” I say. “This was unexpectedly fun.”
“I think so, too.” His eyes are more sparkly than usual. Is that because of me?
“Let me walk you back. And here.” He drapes his coat over my shoulders.
“Oh! Well. Okay.” I wonder for a moment if Moreau will see me leaving Hex’s cabin, and what he’ll think. That could solve the problem of his interest, but possibly kick off a new complication if he feels slighted.
Snow blasts us when Hex opens the door. “I don’t think we’re in SoCal anymore,” he says.
I lower my chin against the bitter wind. “Definitely not.”
Snow has piled high against the outside of the cabin. We trudge through a good foot of it on the porch before reaching the cleared sidewalks. Thank goodness for those, even though they are wet and slushy from the constant torrent of snow.
We hurry to the crosswalk between the spokes of the paths. I’m glad for those, or else we would have to go all the way back to the lobby before we branched back out to my cabin. With the snow knee-deep on the ground, we can’t easily cut through.
When we make it to my door, I fumble for the key card with frozen fingers. I can’t believe how quickly I lose function in this cold. How does anybody live here? I will never complain about the SoCal heat again.
I step inside my door and slide Hex’s coat off my shoulders. “Thank you again.”
“Sure.” He takes the coat. “Maybe I’ll show up tomorrow. I guess I can be an official taste tester.”
“That’s a great idea. You’re the target market.”
He nods. “Goodnight, Jeannie.”
