My brows draw together. “Whoa, slow your roll. In case you forgot, I’m heading back to New York after Christmas. Shep and I both knew this was temporary.”
The same uneasy feeling churns in my gut whenever I think about leaving.
Gemma waves me off. “Plans can change. The odds of finding another grumpy mountain man who’s a sex godandhas a miniature Highland who’s just as obsessed with you? Slim. In New York? Zip.”
I look over at Maple, who nudges her nose against my coat to beg for more apples. I pull a few slices from my pocket and let her eat them straight from my hand.
“What would you ever do without me if I left New York?” I tease Gemma.
“Easy. Find a new best friend who will never leave me,” she replies, her serious act undermined by the playful pout tugging at her lips. “Honestly, I’d probably entertain my mom’s endless pleas and move back to Vermont. I don’t hate the idea as much as I’ve led her to believe. Our team’s remote, so why can’t we be too? As long as you’ve got a spot to record the podcast, we’re golden. Plus, we’d save a fortune ditching that overpriced studio.”
“Why didn’t you mention thinking about moving back before now?”
We tell each other almost everything, and I don’t like the idea that she might have withheld this from me because she’s worried about how I’d react.
She shrugs. “I hadn’t genuinely considered it until this trip, and nothing’s been decided. I’m just saying if you ever consider moving yourself, even temporarily, I’ll fully support you.” She fluffs her pillows and lies back on the bed. “But if it comes to that, we’ll have to get all the episodes scheduled beforehand, or we could end up with disgruntled sponsors and subscribers for taking another hiatus to change studios.”
I furrow my brow. “What makes you say that?”
“I skimmed your emails this morning and saw a reply from CoreFuel Labs. They’re still upset about the extra time you took off for the holidays.”
I blink at Gemma, stunned. I’ve gone above and beyond for them, including tossing in free additional ad reads on the rare occasion they didn’t hit their sales goals for a specific episode. And that’s not a part of our contract.
“Guess they weren’t impressed with my last reply.” I sigh.
“Girl, don’t sweat it. We’ll figure it out. Advertisers come and go, and with how popular the podcast is, there’s no shortage of companies that want to work with you,” she assures me. “Everyone will survive waiting for a new episode until after Christmas. I’m just glad you finally took some much-needed time off.”
“Thanks, Gem.”
“Always, babe.”
I know she’s right, but this business with the sponsor has me worried—I can’t help it. I hate upsetting people, and normally I’d stew about it for days. But I can’t let it ruin the limited time I have left with Shep. Work will wait until after Christmas, and I’lldive back in once I return to the city. The unease that creeps in whenever I think about leaving comes back, giving me no choice but to stay in denial and focus on making the holidays with Shep the best I possibly can.
Reality can wait a little longer.
Baby It’s Cold Outside
“Is this the part where you confess you’ve been a serial killer the whole time, and tell everyone I went back to New York when I go missing?” Noelle asks, her breath visible in the cold air.
“You caught me. I lured you into the forest in the freezing cold for that very reason,” I say, tossing her a wink.
After swinging by the barn to check on the animals—and coax Maple back to her stall following Noelle’s attempt to walk her like an oversized puppy—we stopped by the cabin so Noelle could change. My sweats and flannel weren’t going to cut it for this adventure, so I’d picked her up some proper clothes and boots in town that actually fit. Once she finished getting dressed, we drove to the edge of my property.
“You could always sneak me into the local morgue’s incinerator. You’ll just have to make sure there are no cameras around,” Noelle informs me cheerfully.
I shake my head, running a gloved hand across my face. “Sounds like someone’s watched too many murder mysteries.”
“True crime podcasts, actually,” she corrects me with a grin. “That and bingeing romance novels are my favorite pastimes.”
I slow my pace as we climb another crest, our boots crunching over the frosted trail. Thankfully, I came out early this morning to pack down the snow to make the walk easier.
“That’s an unusual combo.”
“What can I say, I’m unpredictable.” Noelle pauses as I lift a low-hanging branch for her to duck under before I follow. “One day I’m hooked on true crime, the next I’m lost in a smutty mafia romance with a morally gray antihero who doesn’t hesitate to cut another man’s dick off for daring to look at his woman.”
I wince, instinctively shielding my crotch. “That’s a reasonable reaction,” I say flatly.
Noelle tilts her head with a sly grin. “Coming from the guy who kicked someone out of his honky-tonk just for dancing with me.”
