Chapter Fourteen

Cami

The next morning, I woke up to the storm still raging outside my window. I couldn”t believe my eyes. It was barely November, yet there was a thick sheet of snow on the ground. The weather was definitely crazy. Last night, I’d been afraid that the storm would turn into a hurricane—it was a blizzard instead.

I yawned, preparing myself to go back to sleep. No one would come to the park in this weather.

Business definitely slowed down at this time of the year. When temperatures dropped and there was steady snow, we had plenty of customers who came for sledding and ice skating. But November was an in-between month, as was the first half of December. Even after the winter activities were in full swing, we definitely had less to do than in the warmer months.

I was betting the storm was still categorized as dangerous, so I figured I might as well stay indoors. I’d just lowered my head back onto the pillow when I heard a sound coming from the living room and froze. Then I remembered...

Oh God, Maddox. He’s still here.

I leaped out of bed, darting out the door.

”Good morning,” I said breathlessly as I stepped into the living room.

He turned around and flashed me a lazy smile, which then faltered. I swallowed hard. His eyes were fixed on...

Oh crap.I was wearing a nightgown, and the fabric was a bit thin. As surreptitiously as possible, I folded my arms over my chest.

”What are you doing?” I asked, realizing the smell of bacon filled the cabin.

”Breakfast. Hope you don”t mind that I”ve scoured your fridge again.”

”I don’t mind at all,” I said. ”I”m just going to shower and change real fast.”

”Take your time. I”ve just started.” He nodded toward the window. ”Judging by the weather, there won”t be much to do today except stay indoors and relax.”

I laughed. ”That”s true. Is the weather bad in Boston too?”

“Yeah. I texted my brothers yesterday and this morning. They’re looking after our grandparents. How’s your hand?”

I held it up in front of me. ”Much better. It doesn”t hurt anymore.”

”I”d leave the bandage on for a while, though.”

I nodded vigorously. ”Yeah, for sure.”

I dropped my hand, and he sucked in a breath. Damn it, my nipples were pushing against the fabric of my nightgown. Still, I tried to play it cool as I turned around slowly and headed toward the bathroom.

It took a while for the water to warm, but that was more than fine because I really needed a cold shower. Afterward, I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, pulling it in a bun on top of my head. I cursed when I realized I hadn”t brought any clothes to change into; I only had one of my flimsy towels and the see-through nightgown. I really wasn”t used to having anyone over, least of all a male companion.

The towel covered me a bit more than it did Maddox, but it still left a huge opening on my side. If he was anywhere near the bathroom, he”d definitely get an eyeful. I cracked the door open carefully and peeked out. He was nowhere in sight. I darted straight to the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

All right, mission accomplished.

I changed quickly and opted to wear something seriously unsexy: fleece pants and a sweater.

When I returned to the living room, Maddox had already put the bacon on two plates and was now frying sunny-side ups. He’d cut up some tomatoes as well.

”I”m done!” he exclaimed, putting the eggs on the plates.

I noticed belatedly that he kept flexing his neck from side to side.

I bit the inside of my cheek. ”You didn”t sleep too well, huh?”

”I slept like the dead, actually. But in a weird position.”

He pressed his fingers into his neck, and I barely held back the impulse of massaging the spot myself. What on earth had gotten into me? Being cooped up inside with this sexy man was giving me dangerous ideas.

The pot with mulled wine was still on the stove. I took a quick sip while we set the table.

As we sat down, I put the bowl with cherry tomatoes between us, then started munching on the bacon.

”I love bacon,” I murmured. ”And eggs.” Then I looked outside. ”I can”t believe it”s snowing. Have you checked the weather app?” I asked.

He nodded. ”Yeah. It”s still red. But they’re anticipating that it”s going to be yellow by the evening.”

I smiled at him. ”So we’re still trapped in here.”

”Trapped? Is that how you think of it?” He zeroed in on my mouth.

”What else would you call it?”

”We get to enjoy each other”s company without any distractions.”

”Oh, you”re good,” I said.

”I know. What do you usually do on days like this?” he asked.

”Hmmm... I can”t remember the last time we had a storm like this. But usually when the weather is bad, I just watch movies and eat popcorn. I call it ”movie day.””

He whistled. ”I haven”t had that in a long time.”

I grinned. ”Don”t say that twice, because I have a whole array of favorite movies for cozy indoor days.”

“We can watch a few.”

”You feed me, and then you want to watch movies with me. This is shaping up to be quite a fantastic day.”

“It”s certainly already one of my favorites,” Maddox said, eyes trained on me.

He lowered his gaze briefly, and then his eyes went even darker. The way he looked at me, you”d think I was wearing some super-sexy clothes and not old rags.

”Really?” I challenged.

”Yeah. It”s—” He waved his hand as if he couldn”t find the right words and then snapped his fingers. ”—a change of pace. I don”t usually just take time to...”

”Enjoy life?” I asked.

”I do. But always in a productive way. Like working out.”

“I find that small-town life has a way of making you slow down, whether you want it to or not.”

”You”ve always lived here?” he asked.

”No. I went to college at NYU.”

”How did you like New York?”

”It was fun while I was a student. But once I was close to graduating and actually started looking at stuff like rent and salaries, I realized I had to leave. Then... well, Mom passed, and things changed.”

”What would you have done if you didn”t have to come here and help your dad?”

”Travel the world,” I said without missing a beat. ”I planned to teach English abroad for several years and then come back home and continue teaching. I had a whole two-year plan mapped out. It started with Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia.”

”Would you still like to do that?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, considering his words. ”I haven’t thought about it lately. But I really don’t regret staying and helping Dad. Besides, I love Essex.”

Maddox gave me a delicious smile. ”I can see why you like it.”

”Really?” I asked. ”What happened to ”small-town life is boring”?”

He groaned. ”You won”t ever let me live that down, will you?”

“Nope.”

”I was a bit prejudiced,” he admitted.

”A bit?” I teased.

That smile grew even wider. ”I could see its potential as a location to do business, not live here.”

”And that’s changing?”

”I don”t know if I could live here. But I understand why others do.”

”I”ll take that,” I said, and then we finished the rest of our breakfast.

After cleaning up, I turned on my TV. I opened the Amazon Video app and went to my purchased items. Maddox hadn’t turned the bed back into a couch, but this was even better. It would certainly be comfier to do a movie marathon like this.

His eyes bulged at the screen. ”Wait, you actually purchased movies?”

”Yeah, all my favorites.”

”I didn”t think there was a person alive who still purchased any streaming content.”

I shrugged. ”Why not? It”s annoying that they always change the content they have included with the subscription. Like this, I can watch them anytime I want.”

”All right,” he said, and then his eyes fixed on the screen. ”I see you”re a fan of fantasy and rom-coms.”

His voice was somewhere between horrified and incredulous. I could barely fight laughter.

I cleared my throat. ”Yes, but we could also continue watching the detective show from last night. What do you usually watch?”

He scratched his jaw, and the sound made me realize he had a five-o”clock shadow. It wasn”t visible yet, but I yearned to reach out and see how it would feel against my fingers.

Cami, get your shit together. That’s not going to happen.

”I watch a lot of NBA games and crime shows.”

”Ha, I love a good crime show. But they”re not exactly uplifting, are they? And what”s better on days spent indoors than watching movies that make you feel good?”

He didn”t reply, but the way he looked at the screen told me that he absolutely didn”t think either the fantasy or the rom-com option would lift his mood.

I couldn”t help it. I burst out laughing.

He focused on me. ”You think this is fun, huh?”

”Oh, I really do. Your expression is absolutely hilarious.”

He sat on the couch and moved closer to me. ”I”ll show you what”s funny.”

He reached for my armpit, tickling there. I shrieked with laughter. Holy shit, I hadn”t expected that. I angled my arms to the sides of my body to cut off his access to my armpits, but now I was ticklish everywhere.

He trailed his fingers on my belly under the sweater, and once again I started to shriek. I lowered my arms, completely forgetting about pressing them to my sides. His fingers brushed farther up on my belly, and I laughed harder until the back of his fingers touched the underside of my breast.

I gasped, the laughter sticking in my throat. A moan came out instead, and I froze.

He took his hand away, eyes wide. I looked straight at him and licked my lips.

”Maddox,” I whispered.

”Fuck, Cami, I”m sorry. That was completely out of line.”

”You couldn”t have known I wasn”t wearing a bra.” I laughed nervously. ”And I thought putting on this old sweater would mean I was safe.”

He frowned. ”You don”t feel safe with me?”

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