“There is no way quantize is a word.”
Allie nods emphatically. “It is. It means to apply quantum theory to.”
I stare at the Scrabble board, and my three and four letter words compared to Allie’s six, seven, and eight letter words. I kicked her butt at Battleship and Jenga, but she’s kicking mine in Scrabble.
“You’re making that up.”
“I’m not. Look it up.”
She giggles, and that makes me smile. I’ve smiled a lot in the last few hours. Hanging out with Allie makes me feel lighter, happier than I have in a long time. But I’m not going to let her cheat in Scrabble.
“Pass me my phone.”
She grabs my phone from the couch, and I sit up on my haunches to get it. As she hands it over our fingers touch, and a warm jolt bolts up my arm. My gaze jerks to hers, and she’s staring at me like she felt it too.
We’re inches apart, so close I can smell her sticky lipstick and see the faint line around her lips where her makeup is starting to fade. Her eyes widen, and her lips part. Her plump lips that taste like cherries.
Lips that aren’t for the likes of me.
I snatch the phone and get busy looking up quantize.
“Damn.”
I throw the phone on the rug in defeat, and Allie does a little victory shuffle.
“That’s eighty-six points. Which leaves me with…” She studies the score sheet, counting up the tally. Her hair falls over her face, and I can’t resist touching it.
She stills as I tuck the wayward strand behind her ear. “Your do’s starting to crumble.”
She tilts her head back to look at me. “Is it too much for game night?”
I chuckle. “We’re usually more causal here in the mountains.”
“Casual sounds good,” she says wistfully.
An image pops into my head of Allie here permanently. Nights by the fire playing games and hanging out. Allie wearing my clothes, her belly round with my baby.
I get up quickly. No use having fantasies about something that will never be.
“I’m going to check the storm.”
When I pull the curtain back, it’s not looking any better than it was two hours ago. In fact, it’s worse. Snow has piled up under the window frame, and I can’t see the other cabins in the staff quarters. We haven’t had a storm this bad since I can remember.
I make a quick call to the office and manage to catch Axel. He owns the resort, and if he’s on the end of the phone line then it’s not good.
He confirms what I thought, that the storm is worse than predicted. He’s advised all guests to stay in their cabins. A skeleton crew is working the kitchens to provide food at the lodge, and he’ll personally deliver supplies to anyone who needs them.
“You need me to help?” I offer.
“No. Stay where you are. I’ve got enough help here, and I don’t want anyone else going out in this weather. It’s lucky that bride didn’t show, or we’d have had to cancel the wedding anyway. Too dangerous.”
“Lucky,” I mutter.
I get off the phone with Axel and prepare to tell Allie the bad news. But when I turn to her she’s setting up the Scrabble board again, not like a woman who’s desperate to get back to her fiancé.
“The storm’s getting worse.” She glances up at me. “I can’t get you back today, Allie. You’ll have to stay here for the night.”
Excitement flickers across her face, but it’s gone so quickly I must have imagined it.
