Chapter 19
19
D arkness. Pitch-black darkness.
My fingers instantly fumbled on the stone-cold wall, feeling frantically for the light switch, and I gasped with relief when I found it and flipped on the overhead bulb. The lone light was small and illuminated the freezer weakly, but at least we could see. We stared at each other, eyes locked, and for a few seconds, neither one of us said anything.
“Did what I think just happened actually happen?” Connor said, looking back toward the closed door.
I nodded mutely, almost scared to say the truth. Saying it would make it too real.
“I see,” he said, “and you don’t have some trick to make the freezer door open, I take it?” he asked hopefully.
“Nope.” My own words came out flat and emotionless in the icy cold. “The lever to do that fell off a few days ago. The repair guy is supposed to come on Monday and fix it.” I looked up at the lone lightbulb. “Be glad the light still works. I just replaced the bulb yesterday.”
Small miracles. Compared to big issues. We were trapped in a freezer because that was my life right now. I wasn’t sure about him, but I didn’t have my cell phone on me, and since I’d only planned on throwing out the trash, I hadn’t put a coat on, either.
At least he looked ready for the cold outside, bundled in his wool peacoat and gloves, tartan scarf around his neck. Connor carefully set his tray of royal lace on an open shelf and came to stand next to me. “Let’s not panic. When you say the freezer door is broken, do you mean—”
“I mean it’s broken , Connor!” My words turned into a cloud of steam in front of my face. “As in we aren’t getting out of here until morning when Ella comes to work. And by then, we’ll both be popsicles.”
Angus let out a little whimper, and it almost sounded like the dog version of a question. I couldn’t help but glare down at him. It was bad enough he’d broken into my bakery kitchen and destroyed weeks’ worth of hard work, but now he’d gotten us trapped in a below-freezing box. The mental note I’d made earlier to consider making baked dog biscuits for the bakery was now deleted.
“I left my cell phone in my shop,” Connor said as though his mind went where mine had already gone.
“Mine’s on the counter.” I sighed and rubbed at the freezing moisture left behind by my tears, aching all over and so very tired I could barely stand. “I’m not sure I could get reception through the freezer’s thick walls, anyway.” At least being trapped gave me something else to focus on that wasn’t the wreckage of my business and my last chance at redemption. I rubbed my arms to stay warm, taking a moment to examine the trays I’d salvaged. As I wiped the last of my tears away, I tried to console myself that Angus had knocked down the bottom two on the baking rack. They’d been mostly heart-shaped sugar cookies and some of the sugar flowers. While still a huge loss, at least the royal lace decorations had been on an upper tray, and it was still intact.
Small miracles, remember? At this point, I’d take anything positive I could get.
Being stuck in a freezer on a good day was unnerving. Being stuck in one with the man who’d become my rival was even worse. We stood apart, arms wrapped around ourselves, trying not to talk.
It wasn’t keeping out the cold, and it wasn’t making things any easier.
I tried stamping my feet and moving around a bit, but the biting cold was still overwhelming. I could feel it creeping in and now fear replaced my broken-hearted devastation. All despair over my business was being pushed aside, because this was much more dangerous.
Without a doubt, I wouldn’t make it until morning. And death was a lot more permanent than losing Bell’s Bakery to the tall Scotsman. In fact, everything else suddenly felt unimportant in comparison.
Connor seemed to come to the same conclusion. “You’re shivering, Ivy. Come stand next to me so I can keep you warm.”
I turned woodenly to look at him. He bent down and gathered Angus in his arms, trying to protect the dog as best he could, brown eyes locking on mine with an appeal that surprised me.
I tried to look unconcerned, despite the terror that had just woken at the realization that slowly freezing to death was in my very near future. “I’m fine.”
Connor shook his head slowly. “No, you’re not. You’re a bad liar, lass.” He lowered himself to sit on a box of frozen butter, then patted the case next to it. “Come sit. Please. I found a tea towel in here, not that it’ll do much good. But you can sit on that while we put our heads together and think of a way out.”
I pondered his offer. I could be stubborn and be found as a frozen statue whenever the door opened to my grieving friends and family, or I could do the practical thing and sit next to him and try to keep from losing it completely while his body heat warmed me.
Saying nothing, I walked over to Connor and sat down on the tea towel he had spread over the box of frozen butter next to him. When I started to shiver again, he drew back just a bit and unbuttoned his peacoat, then slowly pulled one arm out of a sleeve, then the other.
Alarm bells rang in my head. “You’re not going to…”
My voice trailed off, and he seemed to ignore my nearly unspoken question.
“Come here,” he said, his voice kind as he settled the delicious warmth of his coat over my shoulders. I sighed in bliss from the incredible sensation of his heat sliding over my chilled skin. He pulled the front of the coat together at my neck, and I caught the faint scent of a woodsy, masculine aftershave lingering on the material.
Or maybe it was just him.
He put an arm around me and pulled me toward the heat of his chest, then wrapped both of his massive arms around me as we drew closer.
I could feel him heave a deep, soundless sigh as I settled against his chest. Competitor or not, this was nice, and I instantly felt better. Maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was the timeless emotion of being wrapped in a handsome man’s arms, but regardless of the cause, I accepted my fate and leaned into him. Sighing, I burrowed down and rested my head on his chest, his strong heartbeat in my ear.
“I want you to know I’m sorry about everything, Ivy.” His voice rumbled while I held still and listened. “Your decorations. Angus. The way I made you feel. The bet. All of it.” He hesitated before finishing in a rush. “I don’t know what got into me, lass. You’ve only seen the worst of me I fear, and I…”
I blew out a deep breath, part in wonder and part in relief. “Yeah, we seemed to start off on the wrong foot right away, didn’t we? From the first time I saw you across the street.”
He pulled his head back and looked at me quizzically. “From the first time…? What do you mean? I didn’t meet you until you showed up in my shop with your basket.”
I gave a huff of dismay and stared back at him, trying to not be mesmerized by how handsome he was. “That first day, when you were unloading the big van, and I was across the street?” When he still seemed confused, I added, “You know, when I waved at you, and you scowled at me?”
Finally, he chuckled, which rumbled against my body.
I didn’t hate the sensation.
“Lass, I had taken out my contacts because I’d gotten something in my eye when I’d been unloading. I wear contacts most of the time, so if it looked like I was scowling at you, it was because I couldn’t see you clearly enough to know when to wave back.”
“You mean you couldn’t see me waving?”
He pulled me closer. “Not a bit of it. You could’ve been the Easter Bunny himself and I wouldn’t have recognized you from that far away.”
Well, that explained the scowl I’d gotten, but it was my turn to chuckle now. “Why is the Easter Bunny always a boy? I mean, where does he get all those eggs from?”
“You think he’s actually a girl?” He closed one eye and looked down at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Maybe he just has a lot of chicken friends who give him the eggs. Did you ever think about that ?”
I suppressed a smile. “Chicken friends. Gotcha,” I mumbled into his chest, surprised at the weird little side trip our conversation had taken. Maybe the cold was starting to affect us more than I thought.
The silence drew out between us again, until I felt his arms briefly squeeze me tighter, then release a bit.
“We’ve had a tough time of it, haven’t we?” he said. “I don’t normally tick people off until they’ve gotten to know me much more than you have.”
“Well, well. Lucky me.”
Another long pause, and then he said, “I’m sorry for how things started out for us.” He reached down and pulled Angus up on his lap, and I let the little dog burrow into the warmth under Connor’s jacket. For once, Angus the Terrible seemed perfectly content to not cause chaos.
I ran my fingers through the little dog’s fur, then angled my head a bit to look up at Connor. “It’s okay.”
Connor chuckled. “Are you back to just saying what you’re supposed to instead of what you really mean?”
“Shut up, you,” I mumbled against his chest.
My legs were so cold they felt like they’d been dunked in a frozen pond, but the rest of me was toasty warm.
And comfortable. At least, for now.
But I knew he wasn’t. Even as muscular as he was, he’d only be able to stand the bitter cold for a short while.
For a few seconds, we sat there in silence.
“Angus isn’t very well trained,” he said, breaking the silence. He sounded apologetic. “He’s not even my dog, really. My wife brought him home one day out of the blue.”
I stiffened in sudden shock and felt very guilty for how much I was enjoying being held in this man’s arms. “You’re married ?” I hadn’t heard anything about him having a wife. Obviously, the town gossips weren’t doing their job.
“Well, I was married, a while back.” He shifted a bit. “She died in an accident about four years ago.”
A wave of sympathy washed over me. “Oh, Connor. I’m sorry.” I thought through his answer for a moment. “No children?”
He shook his head, then softly said, “She couldn’t have children.”
Tears tingled in the corners of my eyes at the wistful sadness in his voice. “I’m so sorry, Connor.” I looked up and studied the man inches from me. A muscle jumped in his jaw, and I reached up to soothe him with my fingertips. The minute my hand touched his face, he closed his eyes and leaned into my palm. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. He was so beautiful, even in his grief.
“Angus is all I have left of Sarah,” he whispered. “It’s also why the little beast growls at all females, I’m convinced. He’s never liked anyone since she passed. He was kind of her spoiled baby.” He released a clipped laugh. “I’m not sure what I’d do if he ever did give his approval.”
At that moment, Angus lifted his head and wiggled his way out from between Connor and me. I giggled at his antics, but then stilled as he yipped and then stretched up to lick my cheek.
Maybe it was an apology, or maybe it was surrender, but whatever it was, I was ready to accept it.
While wondering at the odd look that suddenly passed through Connor’s eyes.