Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ADDISON
I could only blink at him as his words took longer than they should have to register, my mind rewriting everything I’d thought I had figured out and replacing it with this new information.
There was no Chris. No A-list celebrity.
Just a professional hockey player who called Maine home, who had been born and raised right here in Starlight Cove, and who had a soft spot for my family’s resort.
“What?” I snapped, not bothering to hide the venom in my voice. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Sure am.”
“So you’re saying the rumors around town about one of the Chrises building this place are completely false?
That you have, in fact, been the person behind this new construction the entire time?
Is that what you’re telling me?” My voice was too loud, my tone kicked up several octaves, but I didn’t have any hope of tempering it.
This was not good. Not good at all.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “I think that pretty much sums it up.”
I curled my hands into fists at my sides and stomped my bare foot. “This isn’t funny!”
He strode toward me, amusement lighting his eyes as he held up his hands in supplication. “I never said I thought it was, but this mini-tantrum you’re throwing is pretty adorable. I love it when you’re feisty.”
I elbowed him in the stomach. “Don’t try to be cute.”
“I don’t have to try, firefly.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why aren’t you surprised to see me? And why am I the only one freaking out here?”
“Between the two of us, you’re usually the only one freaking out.”
I jabbed a finger in his direction, a scowl on my face. “You planned this. You tricked me into coming here! There’s probably not even an agent. You made that call yourself, didn’t you? What did you do, get a voice changer?”
Without answering my question, Chase turned around and strode into the kitchen, opened the commercial-sized stainless-steel refrigerator, and pulled out something from inside. Then he strolled my way, holding it outstretched to me.
I yanked the small, individually sized bottle of juice out of his hands, breaking my glare at him long enough to glance down at it. Orange pineapple. Fresh squeezed. My fucking favorite.
How dare he, honestly.
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve shoved this right back against his chest and told him I didn’t need it. But A) only idiots cut off their noses to spite their faces, and I was no idiot. And B) I was parched after all this yelling.
So, with a lot more attitude than necessary, I opened it and took a drink, my eyes narrowed on him the entire time.
Chase lifted his brows at me after I’d downed half the bottle. “Better? You always get a little cranky when your blood sugar is low.”
“Or maybe I just get cranky when I’m around you. Have you ever thought of that?” Without waiting for his response, I continued, “And don’t try to distract me. I want to know what the hell’s going on.”
He shrugged and slid his hands into his jean pockets. “My agent’s been pushing me to up my endorsement game. The problem is, I’m not interested in most of the businesses he’s suggested. I made a deal with him—one of mine for one of his.”
“And one of yours is…”
“The resort,” he confirmed with a nod. “So, he reached out to set up the appointment. How was I supposed to know you’d be the one coming?”
I shoved the now-empty bottle against his chest and scoffed. “Who the hell else did you think was going to show up? Levi? No, no…maybe Beck. Actually, I got it—you were expecting Brady. Of course!” I shook my head and scowled at him.
“What are you really mad about here, Addie? Because from where I’m sitting, this endorsement deal only benefits the resort.”
When he put it that way, he had a point. But logic didn’t take into account that he was my ex for all intents and purposes. And I was nowhere near the point of indifference I needed to be in order to work this closely with him.
Before I could come up with a lie about why I was upset, my phone rang, the sound piercing the otherwise quiet space. I pulled it from my pocket, glancing down to see Brady’s name flashing across the screen.
I flipped it around so Chase could see who it was. “Look, here’s the brother you were expecting!” I rolled my eyes and accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Why isn’t your car at the resort?” Brady asked without preamble.
“Because I’m not at the resort. Why?”
“Where are you?” It was less a question and more a barked demand—the usual with Brady.
I shot a glare over my shoulder as I answered him. “Chase’s new house, apparently.”
“The one on the bluff? What the fuck are you doing up there?”
“Wait, you knew it was his?”
“You didn’t?”
“No! I thought it was one of the Chrises like everyone else in Starlight Cove!”
“Who the hell are the Chrises?”
“Uh, Hemsworth, Pratt, and, the best Chris in the world, Evans? Hello.”
“I have no idea why you’d think a movie star would be at that house, and it still doesn’t answer why you’re there.”
“I got a call from an agent’s office—Chase’s agent, apparently—with an endorsement opportunity for the resort, so we scheduled a meeting.”
“Jesus Christ, Addison,” Brady grumbled. “Did you look outside? Or even check a fucking weather app at any point this week?”
I glanced out the plethora of windows along the back wall of the house.
The snow fell heavily, but it didn’t look that bad to me.
Of course, being this high made it difficult to gauge how much was sticking on the ground.
From this vantage point, it all disappeared into the ocean below.
“No, I wasn’t checking the weather reports.
You’re supposed to keep track of that for me. ”
“Oh, I am, am I? Well, here’s your forecast. You’re fucked for forty-eight hours. Nobody’s getting in. Nobody’s getting out. Airports are closing, and planes have been grounded.”
I gasped, my face draining of all color as I shot a panicked glance at Chase. That meant the agent I’d been sent here to meet was no longer on his way. And that meant I was stuck here with my ex. Alone. “No…”
“Yes,” Brady snapped, aggravation punctuating the single syllable. “We’re in the middle of the harshest nor’easter of the season. And you, apparently, didn’t even know it was coming.”
“I’ve been a little busy, all right?” Busy making it my job to avoid Chase, for all the good it did me.
“Yeah, and you’re paying for it now. This could’ve been avoided if you’d adulted better and checked your fucking weather app. Jesus, Addison, it’s February in New England.”
“So?”
“So, we get snowstorms. A lot. And considering you’ve lived here your whole life, this shouldn’t be news to you.”
“Well, forgive the fuck out of me for missing one week of looking at a stupid app that’s wrong most of the time anyway!”
“Don’t get pissy with me because you fucked up.”
I clenched my teeth together, closed my eyes, and exhaled sharply toward the ceiling. “I’m sorry. I’m upset and anxious, and I just want to know when you’ll be here to get me.”
Because there was no fucking way I could stay here, trapped in this gorgeous house with a man who still set my body on fire.
Worse…one who calmed my soul.
Brady barked out what could barely pass as a laugh. “I won’t be.”
“Like, for a while?”
“No. Like, ever. I can’t get to you, so you’re gonna have to deal with it.”
“What do you mean, you can’t get to me?” I asked, panic seeping in. “You’re the fucking sheriff, and I’m the most important person in your life!”
Luna laughed in the background, her voice muffled as she said, “Um, excuse me,” sounding more amused than affronted.
“Fine, whatever! Second most important person in your life. You’re my big brother. You’re supposed to be the rescuer!”
“Addison,” he said, exasperation lacing his tone. “You really want me to pull resources away from the hundreds of people down here who need my help so I can rescue your singular ass?”
“Yes, exactly. That is what I’m telling you.”
He blew out a heavy sigh, the I can’t believe I have to put up with this shit silent. “You’re in a literal mansion with, I’m sure, a fully stocked kitchen. You’re not alone. You haven’t lost power. You’re going to be fine.”
“I am definitely not going to be fine.” Ignoring Chase’s questioning gaze, I strode to the entryway, intent on proving Brady wrong. “I can get back down myself. I drive in this stuff all the time. My car will be—” I yanked open the front door and gasped at the sight that greeted me.
In the time I’d been inside arguing with Chase, four inches must’ve fallen. My car was buried, there was no sign of the road anywhere, and everything was a blanket of white as far as I could see. Which, actually, wasn’t far, considering how hard the snow was coming down.
“Just looked outside?” Brady asked.
“Yep.”
“That’s what I thought. Stay inside. Stay safe. I’ll see you in a couple days.”
“If I survive.”
“Don’t be so fucking dramatic,” he grumbled. “Call me if you need anything—and I mean really, actually need it. And don’t die.”
“Love you, too.” The words were barely out of my mouth before the line went dead, and I was officially stuck here with the one man I was trying my hardest to avoid.
“You.” I spun around to face Chase, stalking toward him with as much menace as someone more than a foot shorter than him could exude. “You planned this.”
Chase pointedly looked outside and then back to me, one brow raised. “Damn, the secret’s out. I can control the weather. Just don’t tell anybody else, okay? I don’t want to become a lab rat.”
“This isn’t funny! I have stuff I need to do and a resort to run.” Not to mention an unrelenting pull to ignore and horny memories I needed to forget immediately.
“That may be true, but it’s not happening,” he said. “So you might as well settle in, firefly. From the sounds of it, we’re going to be snowed in and stuck together for a while.”