“No,” he lied.
“She’s okay?”
“Yeah, she’s asleep. She made spaghetti and finished off half of a carton of ice cream.”
“That sounds like her.” Chris chuckled. “Then what is it?”
He frowned, remembering the kiss. Not the first one, but the second one. The one she’d given him.
“See, there it is again. That long silence. You’re never quiet unless you’re deep in thought. Just spill it.”
“She kissed me,” he blurted out without too much thought.
Chris shocked him by laughing. “Bout time.”
“What?” He sat up and then for good measure looked at his phone screen to make sure he was really talking to Chris. “Who are you?”
Chris’s chuckle continued. “Dude, that promise I made you give me was so many years ago. Alice is no longer my teenage sister who has a crush on you. She’s her own woman and if she kissed you, she probably had a good reason. Besides, even my dad knows how you feel about her, and he’s normally one of the densest guys I know.”
Eric chuckled at that. Chris had always joked that he and Alice had gained their good grades and intellect from their mother.
“He once got his foot stuck in a bucket,” Chris added with a chuckle, causing Eric to laugh along.
“Do you remember the time your dad decided to do some home maintenance and accidentally cut the electric wire, shocking himself?”
“I swear my dad took lessons from that tool man show.”
“Home Improvement,” he added with a laugh. “Yeah, every time he’d pull out his tools, your mother would groan and try to call a professional.”
“Still does,” Chris added, then he sighed. “Seriously though, if Alice kissed you…”
“Yeah,” he sighed when Chris didn’t continue.
“So?” Chris asked after a moment.
“So…” He leaned back and watched the fire. “This doesn’t change us. You’re still my best friend.”
“Always,” Chris added. “You know too much, and I have a lot of dirt on you, so we’re stuck with one another.”
Eric smiled. “Right back at you.”
“Be safe. Stay where you are until the weather turns. I don’t want to think about you two trying to get up to Portland in this stuff. From the weather channel reports, it looks nasty and appears that it’s only going to get worse.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” he agreed. “You and Dawn take the same advice.”
“Yup, if we can’t make it up to Portland, we’ll try for her family in Georgia.”
Feeling like he could finally sleep, he said his goodbye. He made sure the fire was mostly out, closing the glass doors on the fireplace before turning in for the night.
Chapter 7
When Alice woke, she instantly regretted not making sure the curtains were shut on the windows when she went to bed. The snow was still falling in thick clumps and with the brightness of everything outside, the bedroom was lit up like an operating room.
She pulled the covers over her head, wishing she hadn’t drunk the rest of the bottle of wine, too. Her bladder was full, and she was pretty sure that the wood floor of the cabin was going to be cold. When she couldn’t avoid the trip to the bathroom any longer, she debated taking the thick warm comforter with her on the trip.
Deciding against it, she climbed out of the bed and rushed across the floor. The hallway was a lot warmer than her bedroom and so was the bathroom. When she stepped out of the bathroom again, she glanced into the living area and saw Eric bent over the fireplace.
“Morning,” he said over his shoulder. He smiled as he took in her appearance. She hadn’t even looked at herself in the mirror. Still, she was too tired and cold to care at the moment. Moving closer to the fire, she backed her body up to its warmth.
“It’s still falling out there.” She nodded to the large windows.
“Yes.” He took a throw blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I made coffee, but there’s also hot chocolate.”
“Marshmallows?” she asked, stifling a yawn.
“I found some,” he nodded.
“They think of everything, don’t they?” She motioned to the cabin.
“Yeah,” he agreed and moved over to make her hot chocolate. “So, what do you want to do today?” he asked as he waited for the single-cup maker to finish.
She glanced out the window again. “It might be nice to go for a walk sometime today.”
“There are some games to tide us over.” He motioned to a bookshelf full of old board games. “Or movies…”
She thought about spending an entire day with Eric and the only thing that kept running through her head was how sexy he’d looked last night in the towel. Thankfully, he had his back to her so he couldn’t see the look she was giving him. Then she noticed his butt in the jeans he was wearing and bit her bottom lip.
Maybe she should just jump him? Would he let her get away with it? After all, he was the one who had kissed her first last night.
She hadn’t realized he’d moved until a cup of hot chocolate with several large marshmallows appeared in front of her face.
“Have you decided yet?” he asked her as she took the mug from him.
“I think”—her stomach growled—“I’ll decide after breakfast. But, if possible, I would like to get a walk in sometime today.”
“Sure.” He sat across from her. She was still standing with her butt towards the fire, enjoying the heat that soaked through the blanket and her yoga pants.
They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the hot drinks before he surprised her by saying.
“I talked to Chris last night.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “And?”
“And, he and Dawn were going to fly up to Portland for Christmas.”
“He was bringing her.” She relaxed. “I knew it.”
“Yeah, but their flight has been put on hold until the weather changes. They may end up going to visit her family in Georgia instead.”
Her shoulders sank. She’d really wanted to see her brother this trip. Even if he was bringing a woman home with him.
“Does that mean it’s even more serious than we all thought?” she asked, somewhat to herself.
“Sounds like it,” Eric commented. “He’s never brought someone home before.” It was nice and strange at the same time that he knew so much about her family. After all, he had spent most of his childhood shadowing Chris.
“No, he hasn’t. It really must be serious.” She set her empty mug down. The room had warmed up by then. Setting the blanket back on the sofa, she thought about making something for breakfast. He’d purchased eggs and bacon at the store the night before. But first she wanted to change and get ready for the day.
“Go,” Eric said standing beside her. “I’ll cook breakfast, you get dressed.”
“Thanks,” she said before disappearing into the bedroom again.
When she came out, the entire place smelled of bacon, and her stomach responded with a loud growl.