Page 43 of Pucking Snowed In with the Enemy

The suite was quiet. I figured Nathan had gone to make a call or deal with something at the front desk before I spotted the orange rose and a folded piece of paper on the table. My smile fell. I looked down at my feet and forced myself to walk even though I already knew what it would be. My stomach churned and my hand shook as I picked up the note with Kisa scribbled on the outside.

Savannah

I am not one for long goodbyes, and I didn’t want to make this any harder for either of us.

I want to remember us in our private snow globe and not the enemies we must be.

I’ll keep my promise not to contact you, and it is safest if you do the same.

I’ve made a deal with my father, and as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and stay away from my family, what we agreed upon will work for us both.

I made arrangements to have your car brought to the resort, and the front desk will take care of anything you need before you leave. Stay as long as you like.

I want you to know that my time with you has been special and meant more to me

than you will ever know.

I will never forget you.

Take care of yourself, Kisa.

N.M.

P.S. I had the napkins forwarded to your office at Quantico…joke.

Iwiped away the single tear that trickled down my cheek. How was it that someone I’d only known for a handful of days could have such a profound effect on me more so than people I’d known my whole life?

Sighing, I wrote out a text to my boss.

S: I’m ready to come back to work, and I think you were right. I was too close to my brother’s case. Do we have anything that I can do outside of the country?”

I couldn’t stay here. I needed to get away, at least for a few months, until I got my out-of-control feelings under control.

M: Good to hear. I may have something. We’ve been asked to consult.

That sounded boring, but I would take it to get out of the country.

S: When do I leave?

And just like that, I stepped out of my snow globe and said goodbye to the man who had stolen my heart forever.

Author’s Note

If you loved the way this book ended, then please do not read any further. If you want more of Nathaniel and Savannah, then be sure to read the Epilogue and be on the lookout for their full-length novel (Click ~> PROTECTIVE PHLOX ), which will be part of the California Made Men Series, coming Summer 2024.

EPILOGUE

NATHANIEL

FOUR YEARS LATER

Paperwork, always fucking paperwork. It felt like that was all I ever did anymore. Well, that and have meetings that led to more paperwork. Getting to kill the odd fucker was the highlight of my life these days.

I glanced at the monitors and the people partying. Heart-shaped balloons filled the club as silver and pink confetti floated around with the wind machines. God, I hated fucking Valentine’s Day. I hated it more now than before my time with Savannah. Every fucking February was a reminder of what I gave up for this family. It wasn’t that I didn’t love them, but Savannah had felt like my future, while my family…shit, I didn’t know anymore. Did they hold me back?

Everything had been simple before she arrived, but now, with each year that passed, I wanted to reach out and see how she was doing. Was she married? My hand tightened on my pen. She better not fucking be married. Did she still think of me at all, or was I the only one who thought about our time together? I thought with time the memory of her touch would fade, and that my heart would stop aching with a longing that I knew only she could fill.

Fuck.