Page 45 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
How could I have ever thought my plan would work? I wasn’t smarter than the authors of my favorite romances. Sure, I hadn’t gotten snowed in by accident, wholly unprepared, but… well, I hadn’t gotten snowed in at all. And, in hindsight, relying on the weather for my plan had been insane. The entire plan had been insane.
“Eli?” Will called out again.
“On my way,” I shouted back, taking a deep breath. I had to pull myself together. There were only a few hours left until I was finally alone and could hide away at home, make myself a hot chocolate, stare into the fireplace, and search for animal shelters in our vicinity. I’d find a couple of cats or a dog that wouldn’t reject me, and that was that. No man needed.
I quickly grabbed my things, slung my bag over my shoulder, and left the bedroom with one last look at the large bed before turning back around and crashing into a warm, soft wall.
“Careful,” Will said softly, his hands grabbing my upper arms to stabilize me. I hated my body for the jolts of electricity that ran through me at the touch. This had to stop. “Do you want me to take one of the bags?”
Why couldn’t he be mean and act like an ass? That way, I wouldn’t melt away every time he looked at me with his big, kind eyes.
“Uh… yeah, sure.” He took the travel bag I’d packed for our romantic outing. It was still untouched. Even the champagne was still there, mocking me for spending so much money on something I’d never need.
I followed Will down the stairs in silence while trying in vain not to stare at his ass. After stepping outside, I looked wistfully at the cabin that should’ve been a life-changing destination.
“Are you going to lock up?” Will asked, waiting for a confirming nod before trudging off to his pickup. With a heavy heart, I closed the front door, turned the key in the lock, and gave myself a pep talk to just get into the truck and get it over with.
In the end, the prospect of having a heated seat was what convinced me to basically run through the snow toward the pickup.
Also, I had my e-reader ready. It was fully charged, and I was prepared to spend the whole drive reading. We didn’t need to talk, and if we put on the radio, there wouldn’t have to be any awkward silences.
“You sure you got everything?” Will checked after I’d put my seatbelt on.
I glanced at the backseat where our luggage was. Travel bags, messenger bag — Will’s incredibly thoughtful and utterly perfect Christmas present that made my heart warm whenever I looked at it — and my backpack.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Will turned the key in the ignition and… nothing happened. Frowning, he tried a second time, a third, a fourth, and… nothing.
“What’s wrong?” There was panic in my voice at the prospect of getting stuck here. Now. After everything I’d been through. I just wanted to go home, hide, and eat my bodyweight in ice cream, sulking over the fact that the man next to me didn’t want me.
And now his fucking truck broke down?
“I don’t know,” Will admitted, furrowing his brows. He looked like a lost puppy. He tried starting the pickup again, but nothing happened. We were sitting in his freezing cold vehicle waiting for a miracle.
“Maybe we should call Cassy and ask if she and Josh can come back to pick us up?” I suggested, looking at Will in desperation. This couldn’t be happening!
Fate couldn’t be so cruel to let us get stranded here now, after I’d finally realized I needed to get him out of my mind.
Apparently, Fatedidexist, and she was a cunning little asshole trying to get back at me for having the audacity to try and do her job.
“Let me have a look at the engine first. Maybe I can… see what’s going on?”
I looked at Will in surprise.
“You know your way around car engines?” I couldn’t remember a single time Will had talked about cars in a meaningful way. Except maybe for that one time last year when he’d had to take his vehicle to Josh’s garage because a part had been broken.
“Uhm…a little?” He didn’t sound particularly convinced about that statement, and oh Lord, I wished he’d sound more confident in his abilities.
While Will got out of the truck and opened the hood, I pulled my phone out of my backpack and turned it on.
Nothing. Then the battery symbol lit up the screen, blinking once, twice, three times before the screen went dark again.
“Shit. Fuckity fuck.” This couldn’t really be happening. I knew for sure I’d charged my phone last night. Hadn’t I?
Even though I knew it was in vain, I tried turning on my phone again. The same thing happened. “I can’t believe it,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes.
I must’vereallypissed Fate off by trying to take over. Lesson thoroughly learned.
