can do. I reluctantly yank the phone out of my purse.
My angry fingers punch out another text and after a two-minute pause—the entire duration of which Ran stares at me—my phone vibrates in my palm.
“What did she say?”
I read over her text, the shallowness still so evident even though they’re just typed, emotionless words on a screen. “She says she’s looking forward to meeting you.”
The way Ran’s eyes widen, like something pulls at their edges, almost makes me want to laugh. “What?” he chokes.
“If I have to suffer through a weekend at my mother’s cabin with her annoyingly handsome husband and her perfect little children, then you’re suffering with me.”
“Maggie,” Ran smirks devilishly, tossing a handful of popcorn my direction. “Are you asking me to go away with you?”
I lob a fistful back at him, and both Ran and the tree are dusted with popcorn.
“Oh yeah?” His eyes entice me. “Is that how this is played?”
“Uh-huh,” I grin, grabbing the entire bag in my hands.
Ran readies his stance, bending his knees slightly, his hands held out on either side, prepared to deflect my incoming attack. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh yes I would,” I sneer, lifting the bag up over my head like I’m about to tip it over.
In one swift movement Ran springs off his feet and launches toward me, hooks his hands on my waist, and twirls me around, sending hundreds of popcorn pieces sailing into the air like a giant snow machine. His family room, the tree, Nikon—it’s all covered in fluffy white.
“Ran, stop,” I giggle as he nuzzles my neck, making me shake with laughter and causing more popcorn to escape from the bag. “Put me down.”
“Okay,” he agrees with a flippant shrug and tosses me to the couch. I fall back forcefully and sink into the cushions, feeling the crunch of popcorn at my back. I scoop one up and pop it in my mouth.
I don’t know why it surprises me, but when he pulls himself over me, one strong hand propping himself up on either side, my entire body goes numb. I chomp nervously at the popcorn in my mouth, crunching down on the kernel between my teeth.
Ran’s playful expression slips and the way he looks at me—the way his face almost appears pained—cause my heart to ram against my ribcage like it’s trying to get out. “Dang it, Maggie,” he sighs, narrowing the space between our faces. I feel his breath sweep over me and try hard to keep my eyes open, but something in me instinctively wants to close them shut. “You’re making this so difficult.”
“What?” I manage to squeak out. Ran moves one of his hands to my hair and pulls out a few wayward pieces of popcorn. The backs of his fingers graze down the slope of my face, over my cheekbones and down to my jaw, finally tracing the edge of my collarbone. I feel the chilling line of goose bumps arise along that same path.
“You’re making it difficult for me to do things in the right order,” he says, the tip of his index finger floating just over my mouth. My heart reacts again to his words and I feel it pulsing on my lips. I have to bite down on them to keep it all under control.
I trap in a breathe, thinking—hoping—that he’s going to replace his finger with his mouth, but instead he glides up a few inches and presses his lips onto my forehead. I finally give in and allow my eyes to close since they’ve been begging for it. The warm pressure on my skin causes something in me to flip-flop, and I have to remind myself where I am to stay in the here and now because I feel like I’m about to float out of my skin.
“Maggie,” he exhales against my forehead. The way he says my name sounds like a prayer. “I want to do this in the right order.” I nod nervously, probably too many times, but I don’t have any control over it. Over anything. “I want to do things the right way with you,” he says again, his mouth whispering against my flushed, heated skin. “But I have a feeling falling for you this soon kinda breaks that rule.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What’s that?” I ask as Ran tosses his duffle bag into the bed of the truck and it clanks loudly against the metal ruts.
“It’s a snowboard, Maggie.” He snaps the tailgate into place and makes sure the board is situated in a