He walked back over to the front windows and stared out as the snow continued to fall.
“I’ll take the room on the right,” Alice said behind him, picking up one of her bags. He moved quickly to grab the bigger one, but she already had her hand on the handle, and he ended up covering it with his own. Touching her was like touching an electric fence; he could almost see sparks shooting from their joined skin. He felt it vibrate up his arm and shoot into his chest.
“Sorry,” he said softly and jerked his hand back. “I’ll carry these in for you.”
“I can do it myself,” she said, her chin going up slightly. “After all, I did carry them to your car myself.”
“Right.” He remembered sitting in the car while she waddled through the rain yesterday. “Sorry,” he said again and watched her drag her bags towards the back rooms.
He watched the snowfall for a moment, thinking about being stuck with Alice for a full night. There had been plenty of times when was younger that he’d spent the night over at Chris’s place. But back then, Alice had been his best friend’s annoying little sister. When he’d started thinking of her as something else, they’d been too old for sleepovers.
He’d been avoiding her for a good reason. He’d never felt the way he felt about her about anyone else.
Even on a simple car trip like they were on, he’d laughed more than he had with any other woman. She was easy to joke with, to talk to, to be around. It just felt right. Her.
Not to mention the spark that always happened when he was around her. It was like being too close to the speakers at a concert. She made his entire body vibrate.
Glancing at his watch, he pulled out his cell phone and shot a text to his sister, telling her that he was delayed.
When he heard the lone shower turn on, he instantly wished for a shower himself. But knowing Alice and remembering how Chris always complained about how long his sister took in the bathroom, he figured he had some time. He decided to take a walk and stepped out onto the porch and took a deep breath. Coughing instantly from the chill coming off the Pacific, he bundled his jacket around him and set off towards the beach.
Chapter 5
The hot shower felt wonderful. She thought of Eric as she stood under the spray for almost ten minutes. Then, shaking the thought of spending the night under the same roof with him, she used the fancy guest shampoo and conditioner and cleaned up. She’d taken plenty of road trips in her life, and the best part of each one had been when the travel was over. But this trip hadn’t been that bad, mainly because of the conversations she’d had with Eric.
It had been years since she’d spent the night under the same roof with Eric. Chris stopped having him over shortly after his thirteenth birthday.
Alice had always believed it had something to do with her flirting with Eric, but her brother had never mentioned anything about it.
What should she do now, she wondered, wiping the mirror free of fog. Her long wet hair hung around her shoulders. She didn’t want to spend the time to blow dry it, since she was just planning on eating something and crawling into bed to catch up on some sleep.
She pulled on a fresh pair of yoga pants, a tank top, and a sweater. She took a few extra minutes to braid her hair and apply the lightest makeup so she didn’t appear too homey.
But when she stepped out into the living room, he wasn’t there. Nor was he in the other bedroom. Walking over to the windows, she noticed his footprints in the snow, leading down towards the beach.
She walked into the small kitchen to see what she could drum up for food. By the time Eric walked back into the cabin, she had a full pot of spaghetti and was pulling garlic toast out of the small toaster oven.
“Wow,” Eric said, removing his jacket and hat, then sitting down on the side of the sofa and pulling off his shoes. “What’s all this?”
“Dinner,” she answered, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“You can cook now?” he asked, setting his shoes on the mat by the front door. They were covered in snow and sand. His dark hair was still dry, since he’d been wearing a beanie, but the tip of his nose and ears were a little red from the cold.
“I made some coffee too.” She nodded towards the hot pot. “I figured you’d be cold when you came back.”
She had set the small dinner table and had even found some candles to light.
“The fire needs more wood.” He tossed a few logs on it before stepping up to the table. “It’s a good thing I thought to grab this.” He held up a bottle of wine. “She turned and smiled at him “You pour?”
“Sure.” He chuckled.
She finished putting the bread on the table and scooped some spaghetti onto their plates. She made sure to add an extra scoop onto his, since she remembered how much he ate.
When he handed her a glass of wine, she was sitting at the table. “Thanks,” she said, feeling nervous.
“This looks amazing. Chris never mentioned that you’d finally learned to make something other than mac and cheese,” he joked.
“Chris has been away at college for the past few years,” she supplied then sipped the wine. “How was your walk?” she asked, hoping the alcohol settled her nerves.
“Cold.” He laughed. “But amazing.” He took a bite and groaned with pleasure.
“Good?” she asked, feeling even more nervous. She really hoped he would like it.
“Very,” he agreed and took another bite. “I was so tired of potato chips and soda.” He reached for his wine glass and took a drink. “Now, if there was some beer in that fridge” She shook her head. “I didn’t think so.” He took another sip of his wine. “Still, you can’t beat a home-cooked meal.”
“Does it look like it’s letting up out there?” She looked towards the dark windows.
“No.” He frowned. “I checked the weather apps and it actually shows we could get two feet tonight.”
“Two?” She almost dropped her fork.
“Yeah, they’re expecting even more tomorrow during the day. We may be stuck here for a few nights.”
She shrugged. “Thankfully, we have a full week before Christmas.” She smiled. “Chris is stuck in LA. All flights to Portland were canceled.”
“He was going to fly?” Eric asked, sounding a little surprised. When she’d talked to her mother and found out that her brother was flying up instead of driving, she’d assumed Eric had been in on it.
“Yes.” She frowned. “Didn’t you know?” He shook his head and continued to eat.
“Did you talk to him?” he asked between bites.
“No, I called my mother and told her we were stuck.”
Eric cringed.
“What was that for?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. Her eyes narrowed and he sighed when she gave him her “I’m not buying it” look. “It’s just… your folks… they know you’re with me?”
“Yes,” she said slowly. “Why?”
“I don’t think your father likes me,” he said quickly.
“Of course, he likes you. He’s known you your entire life. My parents are practically your second parents.” She waved him off.