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What’s it with the snow-assisted discussion-resolving? First Lauren, Nic and Kylie, now Brooke. Is my face so attractive that it tempts people to throw snow at it?

Dick and Rose notice our little snow fight and sprint over, eager to join. I lean down and push some snow together in my hands until it forms a ball.

"How dare you? I am sick and weak and..." More snow hits my face. "Oh, you’re going down, Brooke."

Brooke squeals and tries to run off, but her legs are a good bit shorter than mine, which makes it harder for her to get through the ankle-high snow. And then she trips over a hole in the ground. It’s game over for her. I reach for her, and before I know what's going on, we're both lying in the snow. What a perfect opportunity. While she’s still trying to tell up from down, I push snow right into her face.

"Parley!" she shouts through giggles and tries to fight me off.

"This is my revenge for the icky vitamin sludge." I push some snow down her collar, knowing firsthand how annoying it gets once it melts.

"Revenge for making you healthy again?" I don't know how she does it, but all of a sudden, I'm on my back and she kneels on my chest. Meanwhile, Dick and Rose are having the time of their lives trying to get between us to lick our faces.

"You should be thankful I made the icky vitamin bomb for you. Come on, say it." I try to push her off me, but she's good. Her hands move too fast, and she keeps pushing more snow down my shirt.

"Okay, okay. Thank you for the yucky vitamin stuff." I hold my hands up defensively, snow melting under my sweatshirt.

"Good."

"Oh God, I need to get inside." A drop of ice-cold water snakes its way down my back and sends a shiver down my spine. "Or I'll catch my next cold immediately. And so will you." The threat of more vitamin smoothies hangs over us and Brooke concedes.

The dogs run ahead. As we fight our way up the very steep path from the lakeshore up to my house, she repeatedly loses her footing in the snow. Without a word, I offer her my hand.

For a moment she stares at it. Then the slightest blush tints her cheeks, and she grabs it with both her hands, hugging my arm to her chest.

Being with Brooke is so comfortable. So easy. Her moss eyes see right through me. There’s no use pretending. And contrary to what I always thought, not scary or annoying. It’s freeing. Okay, sometimes it’s annoying.

"Do you have to go back today?" I ask her as we reach my porch, glancing at her car in the driveway. She spent several days at my place, and I’m starting to feel guilty about it.

I’m also selfish enough to want to keep her here forever.

"I can leave tomorrow."

"Good." I try to find the stupid grin pulling on the corners of my mouth, but it’s no use when she’s involved. "I'd love that. How about a movie night?"

"You know, you've had worse ideas," she declares, but I see the happiness lighting up her face.

An hour later, we are both freshly showered and warm again. She's wearing one of my shirts and jogging pants. Both are absolutely giant on her, but I could watch her strut around my living room in my clothes for days. Who am I kidding? For weeks.

Rose sits by the window, wistfully staring outside. I'm pretty sure she wants to hang out in the snow again. We barely managed to make her come back inside earlier. She’s an overall happy and content dog, but snow? The white fluff is absolutely her thing.

Thankfully, my stomach is already better, too, and finally, I dare eat something not chicken soup.

"We can do frozen pizza. Frozen cannelloni. More frozen pizza..." I close my freezer and open my fridge instead. "Or we can make grilled cheese."

"Do you have tomato soup?"

I shoot her a look over my shoulder, eyebrow raised. "Did you buy tomato soup?" She shakes her head. "Then I don't."

"Okay. Let's do frozen pizza."

She feeds the dogs while I free the pizzas from their packaging and throw them into the oven.

We navigate around the kitchen with surprising ease. It's scary how quickly she became a normal fixture in my home. And even scarier, how badly I want her to remain one.

These past few days were like a dream. I mean, half of them were a fever dream for me. But still.

While Brooke makes the dogs sit and wait until she gives them the command to eat, I reach for my phone. It's been sitting here in the kitchen corner for the past few days, completely forgotten once I messaged Kylie Brooke’s number.