2
The following morning, Candace pulled open her blinds to see a white blanket covering the parking lot. She expected as much. What she didn’t expect was to see several feet of snow piled on top of each car. Even her car had what looked to be a few extra feet of fresh powder on top.
Candace clicked on the news to see that the snow would continue to fall for the remainder of the day.
If they were going to be stuck in a town, at least it was a town with a ski resort. She pressed her thumbs to her eyes.
Jessica would be crushed. None of their guests were going to make the drive in these conditions.
A knock on her door had her padding across the floor in only her nightgown. She threw it open without looking through the peephole.
“Ugh. I’m sorry. Come here.” She opened her arms, expecting Jessica to fall into them, but quickly took a step back when Brent took a step toward her with his arms open.
Candace frowned. “Um, what are you doing?”
“You wanted to give me a hug.” His eyes strayed down to her chest before snapping back up to her face, and she was suddenlyconscious of the fact that her spaghetti strap nightgown was on the thin side, and her room wascold.
She didn’t have to look to know her nipples were in tight buds, leaving little to the imagination in the scrap of fabric.
Her face reddened. She stepped back into her room and grabbed a complimentary robe out of the closet, pulled it on, and tied it around her waist. Then she turned around to face him and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Can I help you?”
He glanced at the robe, and she only responded by hugging herself tighter.
“I just came to see if you wanted to join us for breakfast.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Brent continued. “My mom sent me over to ask.”
She suspected he added that last part, so she wouldn’t immediately shoot him down. Jan was like her second mom, and she wanted to spend as much time with them as possible while they were there. Plus, Jessica and Travis would likely be there, and then they could all discuss the wedding as a group.
“How long do I have?”
Brent glanced down the hall. “Only a few minutes. But I can let them know you’re coming, and we’ll just wait for you at the restaurant.”
Again with the niceties.
“Okay. Thank you,” she said, cautiously.
He nodded before walking away.
When Candace walkedinto the resort restaurant where they had dinner the night before, she spotted their group immediately. She made her way over to them and gave a small wave.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, sweetheart! Did you sleep well?” Jan asked.
Brent stood up and pulled out the only available chair which was between him and Jessica. Candace eyeballed it and then looked at him where he stood with an enormous smile. She pressed her lips into a thin line before stepping over to the chair and taking a seat as Brent pushed it in for her.
“Thanks,” she said. “I slept well, thank you.”
“That’s good to hear. Pick out whatever you’d like to eat. We’re buying this morning,” Rick said.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“We insist.”
Candace gave him an appreciative smile before looking over the menu. The restaurant was on the more expensive side and since the roads were treacherous, their options were limited. When the server arrived, they placed their orders.
