I kiss her again, because I don’t want to hear her response. This is forever for me, and we’ll find a way to stand up to her family, but I don’t want her to think about that yet.
“It’s going to take more than one day to clear the snow. Your dad doesn’t know where you are. Tell him they won’t get to you until tomorrow morning. It buys us some time.”
And it gives us one more night together. One night I don’t intend to waste.
9
ALLIE
“Allie, are you awake?” Hans jostle’s me, gently shaking my shoulder. I open my eyes to find Hans kneeling over me, a wide smile on his face.
“What’s the time?”
I must have dozed off when I was waiting for him. I’m on his couch, and the fire that’s been burning all day has died down to embers. It’s dark outside, but up on the mountain in winter, that could be anytime in the late afternoon.
“It’s six o’clock.”
“In the morning?” My brain is trying to figure it out. Have I slept right through the night and missed hanging out with Hans? Is he waking me to send me back?
“No.” He smiles. “In the evening.”
I sit up and stretch lazily. I spent the day mooching around in Hans’s cabin while he was out clearing paths and making sure the guests were okay. I found a book and curled up by the fire to read. But I must have fallen asleep at some point.
“Let’s eat. Then I want to show you something.”
He’s got a smug smile on his face. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. It’s good, I promise. But we’ll eat first. I’m starving.”
We spend the next hour cooking together. Hans is good in the kitchen and whips up a traditional Swedish dish of meatballs and mashed potatoes. It was his mother’s recipe, he tells me. He tells me about his family, how his parents passed away a few years ago and how close he is with his sister. Although the frown that creases his forehead when he mentions his brother-in-law makes me think there’s no love lost there.
As we move around the kitchen together, I’m aware of every time his body is close to mine. I know exactly where he is in the kitchen, when he’s looking at me, and when his arm accidentally brushes mine as he reaches across to grab a utensil.
We haven’t kissed again, but this is just as nice. Conversation and easy banter, cooking together like we live together.
The thought makes me smile. I like being here with Hans. I can imagine this life, up on the mountain with the ski fields at our back door. I could do my studies online while he works, and in the evenings we’ll cook together just like this, with only ourselves for company and far away from my mother.
The thought of Mom makes me frown. Because even if Hans did want the same things I do, it’s not just my happiness I have to think of. There will be consequences for my mother in choosing a life with Hans.
The fate of my mother has my stomach twisting in knots, and I know that whatever fantasy I have of me and Hans in our mountain cabin is nothing more than that: a fantasy. Real life is much crueler.
I glance at Hans, and he looks up from stirring the pot of sauce. When he sees me looking at him, he smiles and it makes my insides flutter.
I don’t want to think about reality right now. For one night, I want to live the fantasy. I’m here with Hans, and I want to live in the moment and enjoy it. For one more night, I can pretend that I’m free to make my own choices.
We eat opposite each other at the small kitchen table. The food is delicious and the conversation easy. Throughout dinner I’m aware of every time our thighs brush under the table, spreading heat through my veins.
Once we’re finished eating, Hans pulls his chair around so I’m bumped up right next to his. He wiggles my thighs apart and pushes his between mine.
“Come here, you.” He takes my hands and kisses my fingers, sending tendrils of heat skittering over my skin.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Allie.”
Our lips meet, and it’s sweet and perfect. All doubts about my mother flee my mind. This is right. This is where I should be, and I’ll just have to find a way to make it work.
Hans pulls away too soon and stands up.
“Come. There’s something I want to show you.”
