Spring Secrets - Allie Boniface Page 0,30
chuckled. “Something like that. But you know what I mean.” This place was too big, too lonely, too filled with memories.
“I get it.” She touched the neck of her bottle to his. “Well, if you want some help sprucing it up before you put it on the market, let me know.”
“Really?” He followed her back to the living room. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. I owe you after today’s delivery.” She took another sip of beer and then set down her bottle on a scarred end table.
“You don’t owe me anything. I wanted to do it.”
“I know.” She pulled on her coat. “And I want to do this.” She winked. “So let me.”
Chapter Fifteen
It snowed for three straight days.
The storm came in from Canada, fierce and unforgiving, and blanketed Whispering Pines. Streets closed down. The schools closed down. Abandoned cars lined the sides of the road, all the way over Sunrise Mountain into Silver Valley. The Whispering Pines Motel put out a No Vacancy sign for the first time in its history as travelers from three surrounding states found themselves stranded. Finally the governor declared a state of emergency.
No Unnecessary Travel, read the bright orange banner across every local television station and social media site. Emergency Vehicles Only.
Not everyone listened, Sienna noticed. Plenty of locals still drove their snowmobiles and four wheelers up and down Main Street. She saw quite a few pickup trucks, too. Born and raised this far north, most of those who lived in Whispering Pines saw the storm as an inconvenience more than a reason to stay cooped up inside.
“We haven’t had snow like this in years,” Sienna told Max Wednesday night. She swung the iPad to face outside. “Look.”
“I can’t see anything.”
“That’s my point. There has to be four feet of snow out there. And it’s still coming down.” She took a sip of wine. She hadn’t gotten out of her pajamas in two days, and while she’d enjoyed the unexpected vacation, she was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic. “Weather report says it’s supposed to stop tonight.”
“That’s good. How’s work?”
“I haven’t been there in two days, but otherwise it’s pretty good. I’m still getting used to everything. By the time I do, it’ll be June, but it’s still good experience.” She paused. “Did I tell you Dash Springer bought me some bean bag chairs and a table for the classroom?”
Max’s mouth fell open. “Um, no, you most certainly did not. When did that happen?”
“Just the other day.”
“So does that mean you’re sleeping with him?”
Sienna spilled her wine. “What? No. Of course not. Why would you ask me that?” She grabbed some tissues and mopped the floor. Her glass rolled around and disappeared under her chair.
“I don’t know. Because he’s gorgeous and obviously likes you.”
“We’re friends.”
“Sure you are. Friends don’t buy each other expensive furniture, Sienna.”
“I don’t think it was that expensive.”
“You know what I mean. It’s not like he bought you a cup of coffee.”
Sienna decided not to tell Max that he’d bought her a whole dinner the other night at Zeb’s. That would probably mean a whole lot more than coffee.
“Do you like him?”
“Of course.” As a friend, she meant to add, but heat spread across her cheeks.
“Oh, my God. You’re blushing.”
“No, I’m not. Or if I am, it’s only because I saw him half-naked.”
“What?”
“It’s not what you think. He left his phone at school. So I stopped by his house to drop it off. He’d just gotten out of the shower.” The memory flashed into her mind. Flat planes of muscle everywhere she could see. Damp skin. Intricate tattoos. A thin line of dark blond hair that trailed from his chest down to his—
“Oh, Sienna. And you didn’t jump him?”
“Max! What do you think? I’m not about to jump anyone.”
“I think the promise you made to Jason Kingsley happened a long time ago and shouldn’t be held against you since you’re not even dating him anymore.”
Sienna didn’t answer. Max was the only one she’d ever told about that night.
Promise me we’ll wait, Jason had said to her when she turned twenty-one. He’d given her a ruby ring and asked her to think about marrying him when they both finished college. I want it to be special.
So she had. It made sense, anyway. She’d seen too many of her friends get mistreated, hurt, dumped by guys right after they slept with them. Sienna had held her college roommate Misty’s hand the night Misty found out she was pregnant. She’d heard rumors of a woman at