Chapter 2
Eunice
“OHHH… YOU’RE SNOWED in with your lover boy in a cozy little town.”
Tara’s voice crackled through the phone speaker, cutting in and out. I brought my knees up, pressed them against my chest, and dug my fingers into the patchwork quilt covering the bed. The smile trying to break free was impossible to stop.
“It’s work,” I said, though I didn’t sound very convincing even to myself. “This is a very important case.”
“Sure.” The word dripped with disbelief even through the spotty signal. “Nothing says ‘work trip’ like thermal underwear.”
My neck flushed hot, the heat climbing until my ears were on fire. I looked over at my suitcase sitting in the corner. Buried beneath my thick wool sweaters was the black lace set I’d bought just for this.
“They’re not thermal,” I mumbled.
“Aha! So you did pack something special?” Her laugh dissolved into static before coming back. “I knew it. What else did you bring? Please tell me you at least brought that red lipstick I bought you.”
I rolled off the bed and walked to the window to avoid answering.
Outside, snowflakes drifted down lazily, like someone was sprinkling caster sugar from the sky.
The whole town of Hope Peak looked like those Christmas movies where everything works out in the end, where the girl always gets her happy ending.
“It’s so beautiful here, Tars.”
“Don’t change the subject. How’s Derek been? Is he making moves yet?”
My stomach did a nervous flip. “He’s been...” I paused, searching for the right word. Distant? No, that wasn’t right. “Focused. Rigid, almost.”
“Rigid, huh?”
“Stop it,” I laughed, my breath fogging the glass. I wiped it away with my sleeve. “I mean... It’s like he’s holding himself back. We’re at work. He has to be professional. It probably takes a lot of effort for him… working together, and having to act like nothing happened.”
“So he’s being a gentleman. Being considerate.”
“Exactly. Especially with office gossip, the woman always takes the hit.”
Derek was ambitious, careful. He wouldn’t want to mess things up by assuming too much, not when he wasn’t sure how I felt. Maybe he thought it was just a onetime thing for me. Maybe he was waiting for a sign that I wanted more.
“Look at this,” I whispered, holding my phone up to the window. “It’s magical. It feels like… a sign.”
“Oh my God, yes.”
“I keep wanting to go outside and just stand in it, but Derek said I’d catch pneumonia.”
“Aww. He’s being protective.”
“He is.” I leaned my forehead against the cold glass. “He’s just waiting for the right moment. I know he is.”
“Well? Don’t make him do all the work. Give him the green light.”
“I’m going to tell him tonight.”
“What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know yet. Something simple. Maybe just… that I’ve been thinking about that night. That I’d like to have more nights like that.”
“Yeah, keep it light but clear. Give him permission to want you back.”
When we hung up, I sat in the quiet, and a giddy, nervous energy buzzed under my skin.
A knock jolted me, pulling me from my spiral of happy thoughts.
“Hang on,” I shouted, scrambling off the bed and smoothing down my sweater.
When I opened the door, Laura, one of the senior associates, stood there with a bright smile.
“Would you mind grabbing coffee for everyone? There’s a little cafe next door.” She paused, checking her watch. “Meet everyone in twenty?”
“Of course. I’m on it.”
I grabbed my coat, practically floating down the stairs. Even a coffee run felt like an adventure when you’re in love.
Perfect Brews sat just a short walk from the inn, and when I pushed through the door, bells chimed overhead.
The smell hit me first—cinnamon and roasted coffee mixing with pine from the garland draped over the windows. Christmas carols played softly in the background, and the warmth wrapped around me like stepping into someone’s living room. This place was achingly charming.
I made my way to the counter, humming along to Jingle Bells. Life was good. I was in a beautiful town with a job I was good at, and tonight… tonight I’d finally tell Derek how I felt.
I was trying to decipher Laura’s messy handwriting when the bell above the door chimed again. Nothing special about it, except that the entire cafe went quiet. Not gradually but instantly.
The milk steamer behind the counter quit hissing. The two women at the corner table stopped talking mid-sentence. Even the Christmas music seemed to fade into the background, like someone had reached over and turned the volume down on the entire world.
I turned, not because I wanted to, but because the stillness forced me to, curiosity getting the better of me.
I saw him then—a man who stopped traffic simply by existing.
He was so tall that the doorframe looked like it might clip his head.
Black hoodie, dark denim jeans, snow melting off his broad shoulders as he stood there absorbing all the warmth of the space.
He looked like trouble that had wandered into a Hallmark movie.
It took a ridiculous amount of effort to drag my gaze away. My pulse felt like it was beating in the wrong places… my throat, my wrists, low in my stomach where it had no business being.
What is wrong with you? I scolded myself, forcing my eyes back to the menu board. You’re in love with Derek. Focus on Derek.
But he was still there, drawing me in like gravity, like a magnet that had flipped the polarity of the entire room. I stood stiffer, smoothing my hands over my coat, wondering if my hair was messy from the wind. I scolded myself again.
When the barista finally handed me the tray, I felt a heat at my side.
Not the cafe’s ambient heat, but something different…
Every hair on my arms stood at attention.
My hands trembled. It was him, the man who had entered.
I was sure of it even without looking. I’d never felt energy like that before.
“That’s a lot of coffee.” The voice came from directly beside me—low, textured, rough.
I turned without thinking, without permission from my brain, and found myself staring up at eyes so blue they didn’t seem real…
like an ocean under a cloudless summer sky.
But everything else about him was shadow and winter.
Dark stubble lined his jaw, and his hair looked like he’d just rolled out of bed… or a fight.
“Oh.” My hand stuttered, nearly sending one of the takeout cups tumbling. I fumbled with the serviettes, needing something to do with my hands. “Coffee run. Someone’s gotta make sure everyone stays awake.”
I tried a joke, but he didn’t react. He watched my hands fumble and flex before zeroing in on my mouth.
“Coffee’s the only thing that makes mornings bearable,” he said.
To my absolute horror, I felt a hot flush creep up my neck. Everything from my collarbones up felt feverish. I didn’t need a mirror to know I had gone red… just from hearing his voice, just from being this close to him.
I wanted to sink into the floor. Here I was, planning my romantic confession, and some stranger in a hoodie walked in and turned me into a puddle just by talking to me. It felt like a betrayal of everything I’d been building forward.
“Hello. I’m Eunice.” I thrust out my free hand too quickly. “I’m with Rutherford & Blake.”
His gaze dropped to my outstretched hand.
For a second, I thought he was going to leave me hanging.
Then, slowly, his hand closed around mine.
Warm. Rough. Large enough that my fingers disappeared entirely.
The grip was solid, but then his thumb moved, pressing a deliberate weight against the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse was racing out of control.
I forgot how to breathe. He had to feel that. He had to know he was affecting me.
“Dom,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine again. “We work together.”
I blinked. “We do?”
“Yeah.” His thumb was still there, feeling my racing heart.
“Really?” I pulled my hand back, my skin tingling where he’d touched me. “Which department?”
He watched me for a while, his expression carefully blank. “IT.”
I knew all the IT guys from calling them about computer problems. I was certain I’d never seen this man before, but I nodded anyway. Maybe he’s new?
“Well, Dom,” I said, backing toward the door, clutching the tray of coffee like a shield. “I’d better get going. Nice meeting you.”
“See you around, Eunice.”
The way he said my name gave me goosebumps. I hurried out the door and into the cold air. My whole body was buzzing, electric. Every nerve ending was awake.
What is this feeling?
Why did one conversation with a stranger feel like the ground had disappeared from under my feet?