Page 25 of Snowed in with My Pucking Ex
“Alright. I’ll talk to you soon,” I answer and hang up once he says his goodbye.
I tuck my phone away and leave from my spot under the tree where I seem to get the best signal strength. I should go back inside, but instead I sit on the small porch, staring off into nothing. The cold sinks through my pants underneath me, but I’m thinking too hard at the moment to truly feel it. All in a day, I went from worrying about a storm and kissing Winter, to stressing over my career and wondering if I’ll even be around here enough to have the future I was starting to dream of.
I rake my hands through my hair, tugging on the ends as I try to come up with some sort of an answer. The unknown is nerve-wracking when you thought you finally had things figured out and a plan in motion. Life can change at the drop of a hat, and knowing I may miss my chance with Winter all over again because of this has me feeling a bit defeated inside. I should tell her what’s happening, be upfront with everything, and the changes that I could be facing. However, if I say something, and she puts her walls up all over again, I’ll be heartbroken. Asking her to come with me wherever I may end up is out of the question right now. I won’t put that sort of pressure on her when she already has enough to deal with at the farm.
My back-and-forth thoughts are interrupted by the cabin’s front door being opened behind me. The creak from the rusty hinges being frozen while Winter gives it a decent tug is hard to miss. I should see if there’s some WD-40 or grease around here to fix that before I leave. “Hey,” her soft voice calls. “You okay out here? It’s freezing.” I’m quiet for a moment before she says, “Sean, you’re shaking. Please come in and warm up.”
I nod and stand, then brush the snow off my clothes. Turning to her, I meet her concerned stare. “Yeah, you’re right. I was just getting too cold.”
“You were outside for a while, and I started to get a little worried. You’re not in trouble for missing practice or something,right?” She asks as I follow her back into the cabin, closing the door behind us.
The warmth hits me, and I’m glad to find it’s no longer cold, so she can relax. She has her boots off now, her thick wool socks on display. They remind me of a knitted Christmas sweater, and I don’t know why I find them so cute. Maybe because they’re on Winter’s feet, and I seem to think everything about her is either adorable or beautiful.
I take the dark green, speckled mug she offers, the heat from it instantly warming my hands. The steamy scent drifts up to my nose, and I remember she said she’d found some hot chocolate earlier to make us. “This smells delicious.”
“It’ssogood,” she agrees with a small smile and refills her mug. She adds a candy cane to her cup and then hands me one for mine.
I can’t remember the last time I had an actual candy cane. I suck on the red and white stick for a beat, the intensely sweet peppermint flavor exploding over my tongue. It’s the best way to drink hot cocoa, and one thing Winter and I have always agreed on. I follow her to the couch and sit beside her.
She plops down in the corner, shifting her body so she’s facing me, and I automatically pull her feet onto my lap. Her brows go up at my move, but she doesn’t mention anything about it. “So your agent called?” She asks, no doubt noticing how quiet I’m being.
I’m not a huge talker anyhow, but when I’m thinking hard over something, I’ve been known to be the silent type. I nod, not wanting to come off as rude, but I’m also not ready to tell her what Spencer said and possibly ruin the moment. I go for a subject change. “I hope you weren’t too upset with me having your car delivered. You haven’t brought it up, which I figured you would’ve.”
“Thanks for reminding me. Imagine my surprise when a tow truck came down the driveway, and Doug, who we went to school with, had my car attached to the back.”
“A good surprise?”
“I mean, I didn’t have to venture out in a tractor with no heat, having absolutely no idea how to get my car back. Aside from the bright idea of attaching a chain to some random part of the vehicle and then praying that when I pulled the car, it didn’t completely fall apart. So, yeah, it was good.”
I’m mentally patting myself on the back while sipping my hot chocolate. With my free hand, I lightly massage her feet, pulling her little toes until the knuckle pops, and it makes her giggle. She’s ticklish on her feet, that much I remember from before. “I was wondering if Doug would fess up about who hired him.” And, it looks like I was right about him not being able to keep it a secret.
“Yeah. The secret Santa was a bold move on your part,” she comments dryly.
I quietly chuckle at the look she sends me. The one with her brows raised and her lips pursed into a smirk. I’m about to apologize, trying to think of the best thing to say when she shoots me a mock glare, making me keep my mouth shut for the moment.
“I especially liked how you pocketed my keys without asking, and distracted me with a cappuccino. Speaking of, were you up to something earlier when you brought drinks? Maybe I should be keeping my eye on you.”
I groan, dropping my head back to glance at the ceiling. It makes her laugh, which I kinda adore. It’s the sweetest sound, and I’d love nothing more than to hear it all the time. “Uh-oh, should I have kept quiet?”
She shakes her head as she shifts her foot to push against my leg. I begin to rub her foot again, taking the hint. I got distractedand quit moving my hand, but obviously, she’s paying closer attention than I am since she noticed right away. “No, I’m glad you did. Dad was impressed, I’ll say that much.”
“Yeah, but…were you?”
The playful sparkle in her gaze tells me she wants to give me some more grief over it, and so help me, my lips tip into a smirk. She’s spicy, and boy, do I enjoy every minute of it.
Chapter Sixteen
Winter
I watch as Sean carries the mattress into the living room, thinking of our earlier conversation. He never did share what the call with his agent was about, but something more important happened, anyhow. He showed me his cards by admitting that my opinion on him fixing my car is the one he cares about. Not anyone else’s, justmine.
Sean Sprucelikesme.
He hasn’t kissed me yet, and it was starting to make me wonder if I’m the only one feeling the connection growing between us. The bits of flirting we’ve shared, along with all of his helpfulness lately, have been giving me green flags. However, without him making an actual move on me or even talking about potential feelings, I can’t help but get in my own head over what I want to be happening, versus what’s actually happening. I’ve been getting the vibe from him that he wants me, and now, I’m fairly confident he’s crushing on me just as strongly as I am with him.
When he was staring at my lips earlier, it made me want to lean in and kiss him so badly, but I held myself back. I can’t help it that I’ve had my guard up, trying to protect myself this time around. I don’t want another broken heart to deal with, especially at Christmastime, because that has to be the worst. Besides, I wouldn’t have been able to look him in the eye again if I’d gone for it, and he ended up not wanting the same thing.
After our chat, with him wanting to know if I was impressed by my car being delivered, well, it opened my eyes a bit more. It’s not only me picking up on the chemistry between us, and I’ve decided that I won’t let another opportunity pass me up. If he gives me the same sexy smolder from earlier, or even starts to lean in, I’m planting my mouth on his. I’m going to finally put myself out of this pent-up, sweet misery that won’t seem to stop growing inside of me.
