“I also bought you a Milky Way Midnight. But that’s not really fancy enough to qualify as better chocolate. I mean, better than this—”
“It’s not that bad,” Cooper said, breaking off another square.
He only thought it wasn’t that bad because he was used to having the bare minimum of sweetness in his life. She wanted him to get back to expectations where the hint of bitterness would add pleasant contrast. Not be the main feature.
But there was nothing she could do about that while they were stuck in a snowstorm. She reluctantly took another piece of chocolate. It wasn’t like they had a big enough picnic here for her to be choosy.
If they’d been in her personal car, they would have had a lot more options. Gretchen kept her trunk stocked with all kinds of emergency goodies just in case she ever got stranded; she was usually loaded up with granola bars, dried fruit, water bottles, flares, and more.
But hey, wait a second. They weren’t in the official government car. They were just in Martin’s personal vehicle, and Martin might be just as careful about that as she was. She’d never known him to run into a situation he was unprepared for.
Even the thought of it made her feel a little better.
Plus, if she was right, it meant she could leave the tongue-twistingly bitter chocolate to the guy who actually seemed to enjoy it.
She tugged her hat down over her ears. “There might be a blanket in the trunk. Maybe even some extra food. I’ll go out and check.”
“I’ll go.”
“I’m more bundled up than you are.”
Cooper’s jaw was stubbornly set in a way that suggested she’d be arguing about this all night. “It’s not going to kill me to be out in the cold for a minute. You’ve done enough.”
She decided to pick her battles. “Okay. But grab everything you can, anything that you think might even be the tiniest bit useful. The last thing we want is to keep having to make supply runs—even if they’re just to the back of the car. It’s too easy to get turned around in this snow. Be careful.”
She didn’t like the idea of the two of them being separated.
“I’ll be quick,” Cooper promised. He seemed to lean just a little closer to her.
She felt that crackling intensity between the two of them again, like her inner compass had just spun around to point straight at him.
She’d never felt anything like this before. Sexual chemistry, sure. But it had always been just... fun. Enticing. It hadn’t made her feel like her whole body was coming undone. She hadn’t been so aware of the guy she was with, to the point where it felt like everything about him—the faint laugh-lines at the corners of his eyes, the sharpness of his cheekbones, the barest sign of stubble beneath his skin—was like a music note coming together to form some incredibly beautiful song.
Then he leaned back and put his hand up, like he was blocking the kiss neither one of them had—exactly—leaned in for. He rubbed at his throat, giving her a rueful look.
“I’m getting a little hoarse. I’ve talked more in the last twelve hours, with you, than I have in the last six months.”
“I like talking to you,” Gretchen said. Her voice sounded strange to her too.
Cooper’s breath ghosted over her, stirring her hair. “I like talking to you too.”
Gretchen felt her eyes drop closed. They would kiss now, she thought, and it was about time. Somehow she felt like she’d been waiting for him forever.
But then there was just a blast of freezing air against her face.
Well, that wasn’t romantic at all. It did a number on the arousal building up in her, too. Not much could survive a faceful of wind and snow.
The passenger side door clunked closed, and she could see the shadow of Cooper going around the car. The windows were so thickly coated with snow that he was nothing but a dark, mysterious blur.
Right now, that was what he felt like to her. She wished she knew what he was thinking.
She knew that what was between them wasn’t just in her head. Maybe she’d been doubting a lot of things today, but there was no way to doubt that. The pull between them felt as strong and natural as gravity, and she knew he felt it too. He’d all but admitted it to her—multiple times, even.