plunged into darkness by the power outage. The damn snowstorm. Fate was intervening and making sure I was well and truly miserable by trapping the man that tore out my heart in the same place with me.
I wanted to kick him out. I wanted to make him leave, but I wasn’t that cruel. The blizzard warring outside made the roads impassable. There was likely a tree down somewhere which took out the power.
“I don’t actually live here,” I snapped. “I don’t know if there are candles.”
He held up his hands. “I come in peace.”
“Not funny.”
“How much wood do you have stocked up?”
I waved my hand at the pile in the log holder. “That. I wasn’t planning on turning into a lumberjack when I came up here. I came here to get away from you.”
“I think we have enough for the night,” he replied, completely ignoring my irritation. “Is there a wood shed on the property?”
I wanted to tell him to kiss my ass but there was something in the back of my mind that recognized the seriousness of the situation. I grew up in Colorado. I knew what a really bad storm could do. I could find myself stuck up here with Chase in this small cabin for several days without power. We needed the stove for heat, which meant we needed wood. I wasn’t interested in swinging an ax or bringing the wood from the shed into the house.
“Yes,” I finally answered.
“I’ll get the wood restocked in the morning if the snow hasn’t let up.”
“Don’t get too comfortable. I don’t want you here.”
“I heard you the first ten times.”
I watched him walk toward the little kitchen and start opening drawers. “What are you doing?” I snapped.
“I’m looking for candles or a flashlight. I’m sure a place like this will have that stuff on hand.”
I walked to the bench at the foot of the bed and opened it. I grabbed one of the fluffy throw blankets and carried it to the couch. I couldn’t explain why, but I was cold. Not really cold but more like I wanted the blanket as a source of security. I wanted to protect myself from him.
“Got two!” he said loudly.
“Congratulations,” I muttered.
“Only two. We’ll save these for the bathroom. The woodstove will give us some light.”
I couldn’t believe he was acting like this situation was okay. It wasn’t. I couldn’t decide if his company was worse than being alone in the dark, cut off from the world. I was leaning toward worse.
He took the candles into the bathroom and returned a few seconds later. I watched as he squatted in front of the stove and stabbed at the log with the poker before adding another log. It was kind of strange to see him doing something so normal. Over the last month, I had gotten to know him as the billionaire owner of a hotel. People waited on him and he always dressed in a suit.
I hated to admit it, but I kind of liked this side of him better. No, scratch that. I didn’t like him at all. He was bad. That was how he was. He seemed all nice and sweet, but it was all a lie. He made me want him again. He made me fall for him and I was stupid enough to think I could be involved with a no-strings thing. I wasn’t like that.
I thought things were different. I was ready to give him my heart again. I told myself I was glad he showed his true colors before I fell too hard. I got out in the nick of time.
He sat down on the couch beside me. I glanced over to find him looking at me. I quickly looked away. The tension in the room was suffocating.
“Can I please explain?” he asked in a soft voice.
“Your explanation isn’t going to change anything,” I told him. “But it isn’t like I can turn on the TV or call for help or do much of anything. I can’t even go to another room. Yak away. It isn’t going to change anything but maybe you’ll lull me to sleep.”
He smiled, an amused look on his face. “Okay.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“No, it isn’t. I’m not laughing.”
“You smirked.”
“I’m sorry. Please, hear me out.”
“I said speak. Just get it out. It isn’t going to change anything.”
He actually looked a little sad. He took a deep breath. “Angela suggested the story should have something special to it. She said it would draw in the readers