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“Not literally.”
She laughs. “Well, that’s alright. I’m his neighbor, Ella. Me and my husband, Cade, just wanted to remind Nash that tonight is the Winterdale New Year’s Party. We were hoping he might come.”
I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as she mentions the words “neighbor” and “husband”. I shouldn’t care—it’s not like anything is going on between Nash and me. I’m just a guest in his Airbnb waiting out a power cut. Nothing more. But still, I feel my face stretch into a grin as I look at Ella like I’m seeing her for the first time.
“A New Year’s party, huh? That sounds fun.”
Ella beams. “It’s gonna be amazing! The whole town will be there, and there will be fireworks, live music, and tons of great food. For a while there it looked like it might be canceled because of the storm, but thankfully it’s calmed down now.” She looks at me conspiratorially. “Maybe you can convince Nash to come? He might listen to you since you’re his guest.”
“I doubt it,” I tell her honestly. “I’m not really his guest.”
I explain the situation to her—the Airbnb and the power cut.
“Trust me,” Ella says, “if Nash invited you into his home then he must really like you, power cut or no power cut. We convinced him to let us use his mansion to host a Christmas party last year, but I don’t think he’s had a single guest since. He’s always alone.”
Tentatively, I look back over my shoulder, checking that Nash is nowhere to be seen before leaning closer to Ella and asking, “Do you know why he’s like that? What’s his story?”
Ella shrugs. “I wish I could tell you. I’ve only been living here for a year, and like I said, Nash keeps himself to himself. Maybe you’ll have more luck getting him to open up than the rest of us.”
“Maybe.” I bite my lip thoughtfully. “Anyway, I’ll do my best to try and convince him to come to the New Year’s party. It sounds like a blast.”
Ella smiles. “Great! Hopefully, I’ll see you both there. Good luck!”
“I think I’m gonna need it.”
Ella laughs and we say our goodbyes before I close the door. Once she’s gone, I pad through the house looking for Nash. This place is like a maze, but I finally spot him in the frosty backyard, striding through the snow toward the house. He catches my gaze through the French doors, and my stomach flutters as he enters the house, his beard coated in melting snowflakes.
“We should have power,” he says, reaching to test a light switch on the wall. It illuminates the room and Nash nods, satisfied. “Good. That means I can make us some lunch—”
“Nash,” I say, cutting him off, “I have a question.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What is it?”
I take a deep breath, and in a rush, I blurt out, “WillyougototheWinterdaleNewYear’sPartywithme?”
He looks at me like I’m speaking Mandarin. “What? Will I go to the noodle party with you?”
I shake my head, trying again. “No, there’s no noodle party, although that does sound pretty fun. I said will you go to the Winterdale New Year’s Party…with me?”
Nash is silent for a beat too long, and in typical Ava fashion, I start babbling. “Your neighbor Ella came over and asked if you wanted to come and I said I’d try to convince you because honestly, it sounds like it could be really fun! She said there’s music and fireworks, and I know you’re probably gonna say no which is fine, I mean maybe you have plans anyway for tonight, maybe you’re busy, which is fine, but I just figured I’d ask in case you wanted—”
“Yes,” Nash says, cutting me off. “I’ll go with you to the New Year’s party.”
I can’t hide my shock. “Really?”
Nash nods. “If you want me to go with you then I want to go with you.”
Something about the way he says it fills my body with warmth, and I beam at him. “Awesome.”
“It won’t start until later,” Nash says. “They usually open it up around eight. So we’ve still got the rest of the day to kill.”
Before I can help myself, my mind flashes with thoughts of how I’d like to spend the rest of the day. With Nash. In his arms. In his bed. I swallow hard at the thought of his hulking body pressing me down, dominating me, claiming me, pounding me. A shiver of desire runs through me, and I try not to let it show on my face.
“I’ll go and make us some lunch,” Nash continues. “Is there anything you want in particular?”
“Do you have any chocolate?”
Nash’s lips twitch. “You want chocolate for lunch?”
