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A grin stretched his mouth. “Yeah?”
“Shut up.” She sighed and looked up toward the house, then down at her shoes. “I have jeans and boots in my suitcase. If you get it for me, I can change before we trek up there.”
“Nah.” He reached over, shut off the car, grabbed her wrist, and opened his car door again. He tugged on her arm, and she slid over the middle console into his seat as he got out.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll come back down and get the bags,” he said, reaching into the car and scooping her up.
“You’recarrying me?” she asked, blinking against the snowflakes attacking her face. The cold wind hit her bare legs and she shivered, but Theo was already striding toward the house.
“Good thing I’m a big, strong, rugged outdoorsy guy, huh?” he asked.
She looked up. He was grinning.
“You’re havingfun,” she accused.
“Now that we’re safe, I am,” he said with a nod. He looked around. “I’ve never seen snow like this in real life. Only in movies and stuff. This is amazing.” He kicked a foot through the snow in front of them and a white cloud billowed up in front of them.
Savannah laughed even as her teeth started chattering. She couldn’t deny that this was unusual and…okay, fun. In a way. A weird way. The driving was a zero out of five stars, for sure, but now, seeing the huge flakes floating down from the sky, it was pretty magical.
And seeing the amazement on Theo’s face wasveryfun.
Being held against his wide chest, his biceps bulging, as hecarried herthrough the snow also didn’t hurt the “magical winter wonderland” feelings either.
He climbed the steps to the wide front porch of the massive house and strode to the front door. He looked around. “What do we do at a place like this? Do we knock?”
Savannah laughed. “Just go on in.” She wiggled. “You can put me down now.”
“What if I like you in my arms?” He gave her a squeeze.
“I promise you that you can have me back in your arms later,” she said, meaning it whole heartedly.
He leaned in and pressed a quick, sweet kiss to her lips. “You were a rockstar on the snowy road, City Girl. I owe all those tense muscles of yours a good rub down.”
She shivered again, but this time, it wasnotfrom the cold. “I accept.”
Theo swung her feet to the ground, and she reached for the door, pushing it open.
Golden light, warm air, and the smell of cinnamon and apples surrounded them at once.
Savannah took a huge, deep breath as Theo shut the door behind them.
Almost immediately they were approached by a woman with short, curly gray hair and a huge smile. “Hello! Welcome! Goodness, come in.”
Savannah stepped forward, her hand extended. “Hi, I’m Savannah. This is Theo. We just flew in and got surprised by the storm.”
“Yes, you’re not the only ones,” the woman took Savannah’s hand in her much warmer one, rubbing the back of it with her other hand rather than shaking it. “I’m Lucy Gibbons. I own the Merry Falls Lodge.” She smiled up at Theo, too.
“I’m afraid our car is stuck part-way up your drive,” Theo apologized. “Is there any chance we can stay here tonight until the storm stops and we can dig it out?”
“But don’t be silly,” Lucy said. “I’ll have Henry or Scott tow it up closer to the house and then you can grab your bags. They’ll get the trucks out and plow the lane in a bit and then of course after the storm passes. But the major roads are going to be shut down for a while. You probably just barely made it here.” She pulled a phone out of her pocket and typed in a message.
Savannah and Theo just stared at her.
“Um.” Savannah looked up at Theo.
He looked back at her and shrugged. “You have a room for us?” he asked Lucy.
