Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
5
LAUREL
My heart raced as I gaped at the snow-covered person on my doorstep. Between the hard thud on the door and his beard being covered by clumps of white flakes, it took me a moment to realize I was staring at Hayden.
Pressing my palm against my chest, I gasped, “Holy crap.”
“Sorry.” He shook off most of the snow with a grin. “Probably should’ve done that before I knocked so I didn’t freak you the fuck out.”
“Yeah, I have to admit I wondered for a second there if you had a yeti roaming the mountain who saw the smoke from my chimney.” Shaking my head, I laughed over how ridiculous that sounded out loud. Then I stepped to the side and urged, “Get in here before a foot of snow blows into my cabin.”
“Thanks.”
Shutting the door behind him, I took his coat, hat, and gloves to hang them on the rack with mine while he stepped out of his boots. “Want a mug of hot chocolate? I found a stash in the kitchen cabinet. It’s amazing.”
“I’d love some.” As he followed me into the kitchen, he added, “Raven is addicted to hot cocoa, along with all things Christmas. So I’m not surprised there’s a stash in the cabins.”
“Raven?” I echoed, my brows drawing together as my stomach clenched at the fondness in his voice.
“Yeah, she owns the inn and lodge.” He jerked his chin toward the snowman utensil crock on the counter. “And the reason you see stuff like that all over the place.”
“I see,” I murmured as I grabbed two packets of hot chocolate. I’d already had one, but I felt like I could use another sweet pick-me-up with the direction this conversation was headed.
“She’s always been into Christmas, which I guess isn’t a surprise considering we grew up in a town where the holiday season lasts pretty much every day of the year,” he explained. “Luckily, her husband is a good sport about living surrounded by snowmen galore. Caleb isn’t from around here, so I’d get it if he balked at her decorating preferences. But he fell head over heels in love for the woman, so she could probably put just about anything on their walls, and he’d be cool with it.”
The tension eased from my body, and I ducked my head to hide my satisfied grin at hearing that his childhood friend was happily married. I’d never experienced jealousy before, but I was self-aware enough to realize that was exactly what I felt. And over a guy I barely knew. Except Hayden wasn’t just any man…he was the first to ever spark a romantic interest in me.
Growing up the way I did hadn’t made it very easy to date since I was moved around between foster homes. It was easier not to think about boys that way than to get disappointed. Then I was focused on earning enough to buy my van. After that, all my time and effort went into the build-out and growing my social media platform.
Once that was all done, I started to travel most of the time. When you’re never in one place for more than a few days, there really isn’t time to connect with anyone. But here in this cabin, it felt as though the world outside had stopped. I was in a bubble with Hayden—just the two of us. And I desperately wanted to explore my attraction to him.
“I’ve never really done the whole decorate for Christmas thing, except for putting up some garland and twinkle lights in the van, which my followers love.” I gestured toward the snowman mugs I was using for our hot chocolate. “And I bring out a couple of holiday mugs since I do a lot of morning posts while I’m enjoying a scenic view with a mug of tea.”
“Once the worst of the storm passes, you’ll definitely have plenty of snow for a backdrop,” he murmured, moving to stand next to me so he could dump the packets into the mugs before I added hot water and stirred.
Once the hot chocolate was ready, we went into the living room and got comfortable on the couch. Setting my drink on the end table next to me, I turned to Hayden. “How much snow do you think we’ll get?”
“Up here on the mountain?” He raked his fingers through his thick hair. “Could be anywhere from just another foot to five more. Storms like these can be unpredictable.”
“Whoa,” I breathed, my eyes going wide.
Twisting around, he placed his hot chocolate on the other end table. “They can also be lucky as hell. Remember how I mentioned that Caleb isn’t from Winter Falls?”
I nodded, my cheeks heating a little as I thought about how I wouldn’t forget something like that since I’d been so relieved to hear Raven was married. “Uh-huh.”