Page 38 of Winning Bid

I groan happily at the thought. “That really does sound perfect. Okay, I guess I could use the nap.” I was right. The moment I close my eyes, I'm out. The next thing I know, he's shaking my thigh. “Hmm? What?”

“We're here.”

I glance out the window. Moonlight glitters on the snow. Trees stand like sentries to guard the A-frame log cabin. It's a little place tucked in the middle of the woods with no visible neighbors anywhere. A deck wraps around, and I can see the hot tub from here. Perfect for just the two of us.

“Wow.”

“I hoped you'd like it.”

“I didn't bring a bathing suit.”

He grins. “Neither did I. Come on.” Anderson bolts out of the car and around to the back for our luggage.

As soon as the door opens, I'm hit with a blast of frosty air. I'm not sure I'm getting naked for the hot tub in this. But looking at my handsome fiancé, it might be worth it. I've never had sex in a hot tub.

Once I'm out of the car, the cold really hits. I dash through the snow, straight to the front door, right behind him. My teeth chatter as I rattle, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

He laughs while he gets the door open. Thankfully, the code worked. He turns on the lights after I've run in. It is a beautiful cabin inside. Walking in, we're in the living room, where there's an enormous tan stone fireplace and a few loveseats. A small but efficient kitchen sits off to the right. And to the left, a master bedroom that takes my breath away.

The first thing that catches my eye is the enormous A-frame-shaped windows. They have a view deep into the forest. Then there's the bedroom’s fireplace. It looms near the foot of the bed, perfect for keeping our feet warm. Plush navy blue throws sit across the bed on crisp white sheets.

“It’s perfect here, baby,” I gush.

“I hoped you'd like it.” He sets our luggage near the dresser. “How about we unpack, and then we’ll bundle up; I will get us some wine and start a fire in the fire pit outside.”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

The firepit is on the deck and lined by comfy loungers. Once we're settled in at the fire, I feel the knots of tension begin to release. It’s a good start to our little vacation.

Anderson says, “This is living.”

“I could not agree more.”

“You know, I'd always thought that I might retire to the Maldives or someplace tropical like that, but I could get used to this.”

“You think about retirement?”

“Of course. Don't you?”

I sip my wine and sort of laugh. “It used to be all I thought about. That was what got me through my days at my old firm.”

“I get that. But if you hated it so much, why did you stay?”

“You know how it goes. You start making good money, and then you don't ever want to stop.” I pause. “Wait, maybe you don't know how that goes.”

He laughs. “Not really, but I understand the idea of it. It's hard to imagine going backward once you're used to a certain level of wealth.”

“Exactly.” Even with our completely different socioeconomic backgrounds, it’s nice that we have some common ground. “So you're slated to become CEO at West Media, but you still think about retirement? And I get the impression that your dad would never even consider retirement if you weren't around. Why is retirement on your mind when it would never cross his?”

“Once I'm in the CEO seat, I plan on doing things very differently than he does. He always works too hard. And he uses work to avoid the family. I'm never going to do that. Honestly, I can't imagine not racing to come home to you every night.”

That might be the sweetest thing he's ever said to me. He's so getting rewarded for that one. “I know what you mean. Like I'll never understand the people who text on their phone on their whole commute home. It slows them down. I always want to ask them, don't you want to get home? Why would you rather sit in traffic and text versus being home? But I assume that those people are going home to something that they don't want to go home to. And I can't imagine that being the case with you ever. I always want to come home to you. You’re what makes it home.”

He warmly smiles, and I think I've touched him. “That's very good to hear. So, what about kids? We haven't had a chance to talk about any of that in any real way.”

“I'd like a few, I think. But also, the thought of being pregnant scares the bejesus out of me.”

He laughs. “It would scare the bejesus out of me too.”

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