Chapter 10
Paige was spiraling. Her flight was cancelled, and though she was already rebooked for the next day, she had little faith the snow was going anywhere that soon.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Nadia.
Paige OMG! I’m so sorry about your flight . . . I know how much you were looking forward to going home.
This storm came out of nowhere! What the hell?!
I knowwwww. It’s so wild!
Can I come over to your place if I can shovel my way out of the condo building?
Obviously you are always welcome, BUT when we realized the snow was coming down hard last night we preemptively drove out to Linus’s parents’ house :/
Well then it’s official . . . I’m stuck in here with Carter.
I mean . . . there could be worse things ;)
Nadia, there is NOTHING worse! He is insufferable. Just when I thought we were turning a corner, he comes in hot with his holier than thou attitude that reminds me why I hate him.
I’m sorry, I wish I could do something!
Paige set her phone down and made a coffee.
As she waited for the cup to fill up, she counted the remaining pods for her Nespresso machine. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . . .
“What are you still doing here?”
Paige startled at the sound of Carter’s voice. “You don’t know?” Paige asked as she turned around to see a shirtless, god-like Carter standing in the doorway.
It was a good thing her coffee wasn’t ready, or she would have dropped the mug.
His olive skin was so smooth, he looked like stone. The muscles helped with that too. His triceps were bulging, as if he had just done 100 push-ups before opening the door. His chest was muscular and led down to a six-pack chiseled to perfection.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard Carter speak again. “Holy shh . . .” His voice trailed off as he walked to the window.
While she was in her trance, he must have grabbed a shirt because he was pulling one on as he passed her.
Had he noticed her staring? Great, she thought. How long was I gaping at him?
“This is bad,” Carter said. “Very bad.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Paige replied. “At this point, we are completely snowed in.”
“So, no flight for you then.” He was still looking out the window.
“Again, your detective skills are unparalleled,” Paige said.
Carter turned toward her, jaw muscles clenched. She was getting under his skin again.
He began walking across the room to where she stood, but he walked right past her to the coffee machine.
“Ahh thanks, roomie. I was really craving a good cup of joe this morning.” Carter picked up the mug and took a sip, maintaining eye contact the whole time.
Paige couldn't believe he had the nerve but was finding it hard to summon words as she looked into his eyes.
She had never seen them this close in the daylight before. They were such a light shade of brown they almost looked yellow.
“If you’d like to take a picture, it'll last longer.” Carter leaned back against the counter with a smile.
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself,” Paige said, snapping out of her second trance of the morning. “I’m just trying to understand where you get off being such a prick. Move,” she barked at him, and she stepped to the coffee machine, nudging him firmly with her shoulder.
See how he likes being ordered around.
“Geez, can’t a guy have his coffee in peace?” he said after regaining his balance.
Paige didn’t humor him with a reply.
As she made herself another coffee, Carter spoke again, “Look, I don’t like this either. I’d much rather go out to the gym, the coffee shop, the grocery store—heck, I’d even rather go into work than be stuck inside an apartment where it looks like a Christmas bomb went off. But here we are.”
“Why do you hate Christmas so much, anyway?”
Carter looked down into his now half-empty mug, his face taking on the solemn look she had seen a couple of times before. “I just think it’s overhyped is all,” he said with a small shrug. He proceeded to take another sip of coffee.
Paige wasn’t sure she was buying it. Could he really have that bad of an attitude because he felt the holiday was overhyped?
But she was still annoyed that he had stolen her first coffee so she didn’t press any further.
As she walked toward the couch to turn on the news, she simply said, “If you say so.”
She heard the door to his room close shortly after, followed by the news anchor’s advice for everyone to stay indoors until the blizzard subsided.
With that, she wrapped herself up in her favorite blanket, hit play on a cheesy Christmas movie, and soon after closed her eyes for a nap.
***
A couple of hours later, Paige was startled awake by the sound of rummaging in the refrigerator.
“Can’t you see I’m napping here?” she groaned. As she said it, her stomach did the same.
“What the hell are we going to eat?” Carter said, ignoring her.
Shit. Paige hadn’t thought that far ahead. This morning she had been so worried about coffee and being snowed in with her Christmas nemesis that she hadn’t even thought about meals—and she had used up the last of her groceries the day before.
Paige got up and walked over to the fridge. She and Carter stood side by side looking at nearly bare shelves, save for a bag of shredded cheese, butter, condiments, and a carton of a dozen eggs.
Carter pulled out the freezer drawer, and the prospects weren’t much better. One frozen pizza, a bag of breakfast sausages, two half-empty tubs of ice cream, and a bag of veggies.
The pantry cupboard had pancake mix, syrup, pasta noodles and sauce, an already opened bag of tortilla chips, and most everything needed for baking.
Paige took stock of the options and figured they had about three meals at best.
“Okay, so there’s pizza for one meal, pancakes and omelets with sausage for another, and spaghetti and tortilla chips. Plus, looks like I can make chocolate chip cookies to hold us over in between,” Paige said.
“I have some protein bars stashed in my room,” Carter chimed in. “I’ll throw them in the cupboard as another backup.”
Without giving it a second thought, Paige grabbed Carter’s bicep and squeezed.
“You might want to eat one now. Your arm seems a bit weak,” she said.
She wasn’t sure why she had done it—perhaps she was still groggy from her nap—but Carter’s muscle was rock solid and she had to force her hand back to her own pocket.
“Sorry.” She blushed. “That was so weird.”
She debated glancing back at his face, nervous that he would look appalled, but she took the risk. And there it was—her favorite smile had returned, curling up more on the right side and showcasing some of his picture-perfect teeth.
“Living here has been nothing short of interesting,” Carter said. “Any more fitness tips?” As the words came out of his mouth, he purposefully lifted his arms to the back of his head, displaying his biceps and lifting his shirt just enough to show off his lower abdominals.
Stop looking, Paige, she thought. He is a coffee-stealing, self-centered asshole, remember?
“Sorry, the first tip is complimentary. After that, I charge in caffeine, compliments, or cold hard cash.” Her quick reply struck a chord with Carter because he let out the type of laugh that comes from deep within.
She had never heard him laugh before, but it was contagious enough to put a smile on her face.
“Okay,” Paige continued, “let’s get serious so we don’t wither away in here . . . which meal do we make first?”
She opened up the refrigerator again to stare at the items. Carter stood behind her, and Paige could feel the warmth of his body at her back, contrasting the cool air coming from the fridge. Her heartbeat was racing, and she hoped he wasn’t able to hear the pounding in her chest.
It wasn’t until he pushed off the open doors that she realized she had been holding her breath.
“You choose,” he called over his shoulder nonchalantly, disappearing into his bedroom.