Page 94 of And Now, Back to You

“Good thing we’re on the actual news, then.” She laughs again. “Should we talk some more about the weather?”

All of her is still leaned up against all of me, my arm around her waist as I try to hold her steady. I’m sure we’re pouring gasoline all over the rumors that are twisting up around us, but I don’t care.

Delilah smiles at me. “Yeah, Jackson. I’d love to talk about the weather with you.”

JACKSON CLARK: The version of the storm that will hit Baltimore will be significantly less severe, but the potential for heavy snowfall is still high.

DELILAH STEWART: A combination of factors makes this environment out here in the mountains the perfect storm for, well, a storm. It’ll lose steam as it heads east.

JACKSON CLARK: But still plenty of snow for sledding at home.

CHAPTER 23

DELILAH

I burst through the door to our room with the energy of a tiny tornado. If I had any cardiovascular endurance at all, I could probably run up one of the ski slopes. Do a lap around the top of the mountain, then tumble all the way to the bottom. I feel like I could fly if I wanted to. I am riding high on the intoxicating cocktail of endorphins, defiance, and exhilaration.

“I feel amazing,” I breathe, whipping off my hat, sending it flying with a wet thwack against one of the massive windows. I spin on my heel with my arms spread wide. “Don’t you feel amazing?”

Jackson chuckles and grabs the edge of the door, keeping it from slamming into the wall. He tugs his own hat off as he closes it, toeing off his boots and shaking off the excess snow. “Yeah, that was pretty amazing.”

The broadcast was a success. We patched in directly and Leon did an absolutely beautiful transition, like there was nothing at all out of the ordinary. I bet no one at home even realized that Keith tried to make an ass of me.

But I didn’t let him. I stood up for myself. I won.

I foiled his stupid plan. I had the station on my side. All of the pieces aligned and for once, I came out on top.

I grin wildly and spin around again. “I feel like I could punch a moose right now.”

Jackson smiles my favorite smile. “A moose?”

I nod and spin around again, just for the hell of it. I wobble on the dismount and Jackson’s hands shoot out, steadying me.

“A moose,” I breathe. “I could totally take down a woodland creature right now.”

“Luckily, there are no woodland creatures nearby,” Jackson murmurs, his eyes drifting over my face before landing heavily on my mouth. “Though I’d love to see it.”

The energy buzzing haphazardly around my body settles and sinks, a low, pulsing warmth coiled in my belly. In the palms of my hands. In that secret spot under my ear that only Jackson has ever been able to find.

His hands flex against my hips and he gently tows me closer. I go willingly, my body loose and easy in the hold of his.

Our knees knock together. My hands find his shoulders. He’s still looking at my mouth.

“Tell me I was amazing,” I breathe.

“You were amazing,” he says right away, without any hesitation. “The goggles were a hit. You were charming and funny. So fucking smart.”

My heart does a cartwheel in my chest. “Yeah?”

He nods, his tongue dragging across the inside of his cheek. “Yeah. You said lake-effect and changing pressure systems, then cited the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, and I—”

He cuts himself off abruptly, his eyes darting away, finding a vague spot above my head instead of my mouth. I pull at the sides of his open jacket, wanting so badly to know the end of that sentence.

“And you, what? What were you going to say?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not professional.”

Last night Jackson kissed me in the snow and I got scared that he didn’t mean it. But right now, in the light of day, he’s staring at me like it doesn’t matter what pieces of me he gets to have. He’ll take whatever I’m willing to give. He’ll hold himself perfectly still until I ask him to move, unwilling to compromise my boundaries with his wants.