2
Amelia
Pulling back the curtains in the living room, I frown when I see the thick coating of snow on the ground and covering my car. It’s stunning, truly it is. But does it have to be so impractical? I’m meant to be in London with my best friend right now, packing to fly to LA so I can spend Christmas with my brother. Not holed up in a cottage with an attractive stranger. I mean, there are definitely worse places to be stranded, but nevertheless, if it could clear up soon, I’d be eternally grateful.
The sound of my phone ringing breaks me out of my thoughts. Seeing Seb’s goofy face flashing up on the screen has me smiling.
“Hey loser, you okay?” I ask.
“Nice, Mills. First you ditch me at Christmas, now you insult me,” he jokes, and I roll my eyes at my idiot brother.
This is exactly why I was avoiding his calls last night, hoping that I’d be able to give him some better news this morning. Sadly, I can’t. After stalking the airport websites, airlines, and news pages, the general consensus is that the weather isn’t letting up anytime soon.
Fantastic!
“I haven’t ditched you! I’m trying to get back to London or at least get on another flight closer to here.”
“Relax, I’m just messing.”
“I know, but I feel stupid. I should have left straight after the event, but I was exhausted and couldn’t face the five-hour drive home.” I sigh, annoyed at myself for not anticipating that this could have happened.
“Now that would have been a stupid idea. You did the right thing staying put and safe. Besides, we’ll figure it out. So long as you’re all right, we’ll fix this.”
A deep breath fills my lungs as relief soothes some of the stress that’s been twisting my insides. “I’m good, Sebbie. Although, I’ll be better when I’m on a plane home.”
“Don’t stress too much about it. Like I said, we’ll figure it out.” Another voice sounds down the line. “I’ve got to go—I need to save Parker from his bloodsucking ex, but I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay, love you.”
“You too,” he says before disconnecting the call.
Grabbing my boots from where they sit by the front door, I perch on the coffee-colored couch and start to put them on. I need to wrap up if I’m going to tackle this weather. But the sooner I’m out, the sooner I’ll return and I can get back to fixing this mess. There has to be a way out of here and onto a flight.
Hearing Adam descending the stairs, I look over to greet him. His chocolate-colored hair sticks up in all different directions, and his arresting eyes have me staring like a fool before I can catch myself. My heart starts to race, and my tummy is doing somersaults at the sight of him. He’s wearing a gray sweater and a pair of dark jeans. If he were a candy cane, I’d lick him all over.
“Morning,” he says gruffly, his voice full of sleep, as he heads to the kitchen no doubt in search of caffeine. Thankfully, that’s one thing we do have. “Where’re you heading?”
“I’m walking into town to get groceries,” I say, standing and grabbing my white scarf with candy canes printed on it from the back of the couch, before securing it around my neck.
“You cannot be serious?” he scoffs, looking at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“Uh, yeah I can. Unless you want to dine on instant noodles again tonight…” Walking over to the kitchen counter, I grab my purse and check I’ve got everything I need.
“It’s practically a blizzard out there. You can’t go walking around in it.” The incredulity in his tone has me giggling inside. Is he always this serious?
“Are you always this dramatic?” He’s looking at me like I’m crazy, and it’s kind of adorable.
“I’m dramatic? Who was on their knees shoveling snow with their hands yesterday?” he throws back at me, and I roll my eyes and point to his phone.
“If you’re that concerned, let me give you my number. I promise to call you if I’m in danger of turning into a yeti.”
Noticing him cringe as he unlocks his phone and passes it to me, I feel a little bad for teasing him. When his fingers brush mine, I startle at the spark that rushes through me. It’s just static from my boots, I’m sure.
Once my number is saved in his phone—as Mrs. Claus, of course—I hand it back and slip my red coat on and my woolen Santa hat. He calls me so I have his number, and I don’t miss the quirk of his lips when he sees what I’ve saved my number as. Focus, Amelia!
“See ya later,” I say, smiling as he goes back to checking his emails. I open the door and make my way into the winter wonderland outside.
It takes all of ten minutes for me to think that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. The flakes are really starting to come down now, and every step I take is a battle against the powder beneath my feet. As satisfying as it is to hear the crunch of fresh snow as you wade through it, it’s exhausting, and my feet feel like icicles. A horn beeping pulls me out of my thoughts, and I turn to see a black Range Rover pull up beside me.
“Jump in,” Adam says through the rolled-down window.
He doesn’t need to ask me twice. I open the passenger door, climbing in beside him and groaning in relief at the feel of the heating blasting through the dash. The sound of another voice startles me, and it takes a minute for me to realize he’s on a call through the car’s Bluetooth.
“I’ll read through the email and give you a call back, that okay?” he asks the guy on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, no problem. Speak to you later,” the other caller says before disconnecting.
Adam turns to me and smiles. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem,” I say, glancing over at him and feeling those pesky butterflies in action again. “What are you doing here?” I ask, now that I’ve caught my breath and started to thaw out a little. Heated seats are one of the best inventions known to man. Fact.
“The snow is starting to pick up. Thought you might appreciate a ride,” he says.
“You may have been right about the blizzard…” I admit, rubbing my hands together in front of the heater and admiring the view from the window. With the snow decorating houses and trees, it looks like the scene from a Christmas card. Houses are decorated with wreaths and twinkle lights, mistletoe, and holly.
Adam parks the car in front of the local supermarket and says he’ll wait for me while he checks his emails and returns the call. So I hop out and make my way inside to grab what we need.
Once we’re back at the cottage and have put away the groceries, I pull up the airline’s website and check my flight again. Still canceled with no other alternatives just yet. Shooting a text to Kate, asking her to keep an eye out on her end, I slip my coat back on and head out to my car. The wheels are buried deep in snow, all my previous attempts at digging them out by hand hidden by a fresh layer. Fighting with the thick coat of snow covering the door, I let out a slurry of curses as I attempt to get inside. Slipping into the driver’s seat, I start the engine, hoping by some miracle Fiona will go Hulk on me and plough through the snow.