Chapter 4
“Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean, he was hot,” Rosie asked over the phone.
“You know, hot. He was all tall, with dark hair and a little bit of a mysterious but bossy vibe to him.” I winced. I knew I’d given too much away.
“Mysterious but bossy?” Rosie questioned. I could imagine her green eyes flaring to life.
“Yeah.” I shrugged pointlessly. It wasn’t like she could see me.
“Like he wouldn’t be afraid to tell you how and where, if you know what I mean.
” We laughed even though the connection kept crackling between us.
Being on different continents would do that normally, but with the storm about to hit, I had a feeling it would only get worse.
“Age?” she asked, and I stopped. My hand on the neck of the wine bottle in my hand I had just started to take out of the bag as I thought about Asher.
Asher. Even his name fit him.
“I’d guess older than us,” I muttered. “He was in seriously great shape,” I added, thinking about his broad shoulders and the way his chest seemed to look bigger than life as I’d stood in front of him, the white dress shirt slightly wrinkled yet somehow stretched far to fit the wide expanse of the slab of muscle I was almost positive lay beneath.
“Dressed like he worked with you on a Ralph Lauren shoot. But with a little gray at his temples of his brown hair.” I kept working on the groceries.
“Gray at his temples, huh?”
“Mhm.” I held a can of whipped cream. “And on the scruff of his jaw,” I mentioned, unable to hold back the wistfulness in my voice as I spoke to Rosie, almost done with the groceries.
She’d called to check in just as I’d walked in, and we’d stayed on the phone as I got settled and put everything away.
“It sounds like you noticed a lot about him.” I knew that tone. I wasn’t stupid.
“Rosie,” I groaned. “It wasn’t like that. It was just a cute… coincidence. We like the same cookies.”
“Same gross cookies,” she mumbled, and my lips twitched. “All I am saying is, I know you, Em. You hardly notice anything about anyone, unless you’re working.”
“It’s my job to notice things when I’m at work,” I argued, not touching the other thing she had said because she wasn’t wrong. “If I don’t notice things at work, people could die.”
“I know that but…” She sighed, and I could tell by her tone that she was more than likely grinning from ear to ear. “And you didn’t get his number? Or a last name?”
“What would I want a last name for?”
“Uh, hello! That way, we could look him up on social media.” I rolled my eyes. Rosie could give the FBI a lesson or two on finding stuff out online.
“I doubt I’ll have reception or Wi-Fi for that within the next hour,” I joked.
“Plus, it wasn’t even like that. We just met in passing.
He probably has a wife and a house full of kids,” I mumbled.
I wasn’t sure why, but the thought of Asher with someone made something in my stomach dip. And not in a good way.
“You said he wasn’t wearing a ring,” She pointed out.
“True, but nowadays, you never know.”
“I guess. Hey, so talking seriously, are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Worry laced her voice.
“Rosie—“
“I just mean, from what I’m reading, it sounds like this storm is a lot bigger than they first thought. I looked up the weather in Moonlit and—”
“I’ll be fine. And you know Tabitha and Abby are totally okay. If, and that’s a HUGE if, this storm is bigger than they think, it’s going to be okay. Born and raised mountain girl, remember?”
“I know. I just… you’re all alone in a town where you know absolutely no one with a blizzard about to hit.”
“Rosie, why did I come here?”
“For a break,” she muttered.
“And what had I planned on doing in the first place?”
“Hunkering down and not moving a muscle until next week,” she mumbled.
“Exactly.” I grinned. “I’m okay. I promise. Totally prepared. I have more than enough food, and the cabin has two back-up generators and a lot of wood stocked and ready to go.”
“And you’re sure you’re safe?”
“Yes.” I looked around the place. “The cabin is even nicer than the pictures. It even has a security system,” I said. “I wish you had better connection, too, so we could FaceTime so you could see this place. It’s… perfect.”
“Me, too, but if you didn’t have a bad connection, I’d have a worse one,” she muttered.
“How’s London?” I asked.
“Rainy. I have one more shoot, and then I’m leaving to Dubai day after next.”
“And then?”
“Then I have a quick shoot in Turks and Caicos.”
“That will be nice. Bring me a magnet?” She chuckled softly
“Only you would ask for magnets.”
“Hey, don’t knock my collection. Thanks to you, I have some from almost all over the world. How about you bring me some chocolate from every place you go, too?”
“Deal!” I could hear the smile in her voice, so I wanted to make it brighter. This was the first time the four of us hadn’t spent all the holidays together, including New Year’s, for the first time since the first year of college for me.
“Speaking of deals, I saw a speed dating thing taking place mid-January at the resort,” I brought up.
“If you’re still single by the fourth, I’ll sign us both up,” she said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “And if you’re not, you’re paying the fee for me to do it on my own.”
“Okay, deal, crazy girl! I love you. Be safe and text when you land?”
“I promise. You keep in touch and let me know you’re okay, too.”
“Promise.”
“Maybe the four of us can Zoom for New Year’s?” I could hear the loneliness in her voice. Part of me wished I had cancelled the reservation and headed off with her. At least that way, she’d have someone with her. But you needed a break, too.
“Maybe. Worst case, we can text.”
“Cool. Love you, Em.”
“Love you, too, Rosie. Be safe.” And with that, the call ended.
I looked around feeling slightly accomplished that everything was put away before I went into the main room and changed into something more comfortable, ready to snuggle up with some cookies, a fuzzy blanket, and a seriously smutty book.