I don’t know how long we stand there. It can’t be more than a minute, two at most, but it stretches. The snow keeps falling. The porch light hums. Somewhere inside, a floorboard creaks as the house adjusts itself.
Then reality catches up.
It hits both of us at once.
He goes very still.
I feel the change in him before he pulls back, the way his hand tightens in my hair, the way his breath stutters, the way tension floods through him.
His mouth breaks away from mine.
Cold rushes in between us, shocking after the warmth.
We stare at each other, breathing hard.
“Oh, hell.”
CHAPTER TEN
Dallas
December 27th
The storm breaks sometimearound dawn.
Not fully. Nothing about this winter is willing to give us anything all the way, but enough that the howling lets up and the light leaks through the blurred frost on the window. The kind of muted gray morning that promises hard work and a headache.
I’m already awake.
Didn’t sleep much. Couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the porch light catching on the snow, her breath puffing in soft white clouds, the way her hands trembled on my coat right before she pulled me in because she couldn’t help herself.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the way she kissed me back.
And every damn time, my stupid chest lit up as if it remembered something it should’ve forgotten years ago.
Not helpful.
Not smart.
Not allowed.
I roll out of bed with a groan, scrub a hand over my face, and force myself into jeans and a flannel. Work will clear my head. It usually does.
By the time I step into the kitchen, Boone’s already pouring coffee, Nash is hunched over a bowl of cereal, and Clay is leaning against the counter, eating ham straight from the fridge.
“Morning,” Boone says.
Clay squints at me, trying to solve a puzzle. “You look like garbage.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, reaching for the coffee.
“You sleep?” Nash asks, eyebrows raised.
“Define ‘sleep,’” I say.
Boone smirks. “He didn’t.”
I ignore them, take a long drink of scalding coffee, and immediately burn my tongue. Great. Today’s going to be one of those days.
