Page 44 of The Mistletoe Bluff
Facing forward, I crossed my arms over my chest, choosing to ignore Oliver and the warmth he promised. I would have to be frozen solid before I took him up on that offer.
“Suit yourself.” Oliver wrapped himself in another blanket and pulled a book out of his bag.
Oliver Lewis was areader? He just got a million bonus points from Elsie for that.
Silence filled the Jeep aside from the faintest patter of snow hitting the windows. I lasted all of twenty minutes before the cold was unbearable and my entire body shivered from head to toe.
“You’re shaking the car, Maya.”
I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep.
“Come on, Maya. I can’t stand seeing you sitting there freezing. Come back here. Let me warm you up. I promise to be good.”
Any chance at pretending to be asleep died as I let out a loud, “Ha!”
“What?” He gave me a blank look.
“You promise to be good? Yeah, right.”
Oliver’s gaze softened. “I don’t want you to suffer. I’m just offering to keep you warm, so we don’t freeze while we wait.”
Why did my stomach swoop at the thought of letting Oliver hold me?
“Come on.”
I wanted to say no. I didn’t want to risk whatImight do if I crawled into the back and cuddled with him.
But my teeth chattered, and my body ached from how hard it was shaking. The snow had shown no signs of letting up, so there was no telling how long we’d be stranded here. As stubborn as I was, I didn’t think I’d be able to hold out.
It was just too cold.
“Fine,” I muttered before throwing my blanket in the back. I awkwardly threw my legs over the center console to slide between the seats, then plopped down next to Oliver.
He wasted no time scooting closer and wrapping his blanket around the both of us.
I pushed it away. “I can use my own blanket.”
“But mine is already warm, making it easier to share body heat.”
I sighed, too cold to argue, and let him wrap us in the blanket. At first, he stayed shoulder-to-shoulder with me, but after a few minutes, when I hadn’t stopped shaking, he let out a sigh of his own.
“I’m going to put my arms around you, okay? You’ll never get warm unless I hold you.”
“T-that’s a l-line if I’ve ever heard o-one,” I stuttered through chattering teeth.
Oliver huffed a laugh. “I promised no funny business.” He paused, looking me in the eye. “Unless youwantfunny business.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just warm me up, Oliver.” A mischievous grin spread across his face. “Nicely.”
His smile defied physical bounds. “There’s lots of ways to warm you upnicely.”
Heat flooded me as I blushed, and I shoved his shoulder.
He laughed. “Okay, okay. Lean forward.”
I arched a brow at him but did as he said. Oliver adjusted the blanket before laying down behind me. His hands spread across my stomach, inviting me to lay in front of him.
Desperate for warmth, I laid down, and his arms wound around me, pressing me into him as he settled the blanket around us. Heat engulfed me, and I let out a shuddering sigh.
