Yep. That was the bridge.
By the time we got to the house, it was snowing. I loved that Frankie still lit up like a kid whenever the snow started. Then again, prior to our trip to Colorado senior year, the only snow she’d seen was always in Texas, which just didn’t last long.
Another reason to stay in the northeast in my book. We all enjoyed the seasons, from the bright, colorful autumn to the white Christmases to the first blush of spring. We parked in the garage—another set of changes since Archie and Frankie took over the house. A shifting of the parking situation and expanding it to make sure if we were all up here, we could all park. There was an additional garage for guests.
“Go on,” I told her, laughing as she danced out of the car. “I’ll grab our bags and take them up. Then come find you.”
To my enormous pleasure, she danced back to me and gave me a kiss before darting into the house. The staff—still took some getting used to remembering we had a staff of any kind—was kept pared down when we weren’t here regularly. A housekeeper came in twice a week to clean, and when we planned on being here, she had the chef prep meals for us.
Sometimes they went shopping, though we were usually content to do that for ourselves. I’d called the day before with some requests. I left our guitars in the hall and then carried our bag up to the bedroom. We had plenty of clothes and toiletries here, but I brought a few toys from home.
Back downstairs, I glanced toward the French doors overlooking the patio. Frankie stood with her arms wide and her face tilted up toward the sky. Big fat flakes floated down where they glistened against her cheeks and her hair.
A grin pulled at my mouth. She loved the snow. We should get out here more often. It was quieter here. Less traffic. More space. And right now, just her and me.
In the fridge, I found the lasagna ready to be loaded into the oven. There were also two bottles of wine pulled, both her favorites.
The housekeeper left a note with the instructions for the other meals, all stored in the big refrigerator in the butler’s pantry. The fact that the house had a butler’s pantry entertained me.
She had also picked up the hot chocolate bombs from the shop in town. If we needed anything, her phone number was at the bottom, otherwise, just leave any mess, and she would take care of it on Tuesday if we didn’t need her before then.
Turning the oven on to warm it up, I used the milk foamer on the espresso machine to super heat up the milk, then made her a nice spicy hot cocoa, just the way she liked it. Once I’d filled the tumblers and cleaned up after myself, I carried the tumblers out to the snow-coated patio.
Frankie turned at my arrival and bounced. “The forecast says we’re going to get about a foot tonight. We could get more tomorrow. We could be trapped here… forever.”
Her enthusiasm was rather contagious. “One, that’s not a problem for me,” I informed her as I pressed the hot cocoa tumbler into her hands and checked the temperature of her fingers. They were cool, but not cold. “Two, we’re well-stocked since I think Allison stocked for it to be all five of us. And three…”
Since she was so close, I hooked an arm around her and pulled her to me for a kiss. Hints of coffee she’d had on the road, along with the rich decadence of the chocolate and a touch of spice, flavored her tongue.
All at once, I didn’t give a damn about three anymore. Just the fact that I had her right there with me. It was nice when we got to carve out time for ourselves. Nicer still when it happened on the heels of everyone being busy.
One night a week, we made sure to have dinner together, all five of us, and one day on the weekends, we tried to spend together too. Didn’t always work with our schedules, but the fact we made an effort just made all those days it did work out all the sweeter.
Reluctantly, I lifted my head and studied her flushed face. “It’s getting colder out here.”
“I know,” she whispered. “A few more minutes? Then we can go up and put a fire in the bedroom. Or we can just make one in the living room—no one is here to see anything.”
“Going to let me lay you out in front of the fire and have my way with you?”
"Yes, please, Sir.” The breathless little catch in her voice undid me every time she whispered those words. It was the tone, coupled with the look in her eyes, and just the way she relaxed against me.
My angel.
Pressing my lips to her forehead, I held her to me. Then with a sigh, she turned her back to face the snow where she could lean against me and we could sip our hot chocolate.
“Ian?”
“Hmm?”
“This was a good idea. Thank you.”
“I should be thanking you.” Because until she’d said those three words, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to steal us away and to have this time. We hadn’t been to the club since before Christmas and there’d been no real time at home between the wedding, the holidays, and then bracing for the new year.
“You’re welcome,” she teased and I grinned. “What was three?”
“Hmm?”
“Earlier, you said three, but then you kissed me. Unless the kiss was three, that totally works.”
Chuckling, I spread my hand against her abdomen and rubbed my cheek against her hat-covered hair. “Three, if we truly get snowed in, don’t worry. Archie will come and get us.” Or bring the guys, and we’d all hole up together.
“This is true. He’s rather determined like that.”
Yes, he was.
We lingered outside for another half-hour as the snowfall grew heavier. With the whole weekend ahead of us, there was no reason to hurry.
The next morning, I woke before she did and savored the way she slept, flat on her stomach, one hand on my chest and the other folded under her pillow. With care, I eased onto my side so I could study her. By the time we came in the night before, she’d been thoroughly chilled.
We retreated to the bedroom, lit the fire, and I’d put the lasagna in the oven to heat while she showered. When I came upstairs, I found her kneeling in front of the fire and our night pretty much just stayed in here.
It was more than just sex, it was taking care of her and soaking in her absolute trust. Of course, the sex was always amazing, and by the time we collapsed in the bed, I had ideas already brewing for today.
“You’re staring,” she murmured.
“I am,” I agreed. “Shh, let me enjoy you.”
She smiled, but her eyes didn’t open. Ten minutes later, she said, “When you’re done enjoying me—can I bribe you into getting us coffee?”
“You don’t even need to bribe me,” I promised, then kissed her bare shoulder. Her smile grew. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore in all the right places.” A delightful answer. “Are we going to get to the music today?”
“Maybe.” I chuckled. With care, I rolled her over and she lifted the lashes on those gorgeous green eyes. There were a series of little hickies across one of her breasts. I’d gotten just a little too enthusiastic. I pulled the sheet back as I ran my hand over her torso and down to her thighs. “Maybe we’ll just stay in bed today. Except for when I get your coffee.”
Her soft sigh was definitely not a complaint. Trailing kisses up her abdomen to her sternum and then to her chin, I hovered over her and smiled.