Page 88 of Snowed In

Fuck, this was so embarrassing. Not only did the man I liked not want me, but I was making him uncomfortable. It was time to retreat to lick my wounds and give myself a very stern talking to.

“What?” Rory looked at me, dumbfounded. “I don’t?—”

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, picking up my toolbox. I didn’t want him trying to make me feel better, that wasn’t why I’d said it. “Everything is fixed. If you’re paying the bill, it’s on me. But if it’s on your landlord, just text me his number after Christmas.”

“Owen, wait?—”

I was already at the door, pulling it open, but the sight that greeted me had me freezing. Ironic, given what was happening outside the front door.

“Oh.” Rory’s voice drifted over my shoulder, filled with wonder. “It’s snowing.”

Indeed it was. Wales didn’t often get snow—nothing worth writing home about, anyway. This storm had been talked about for days, but none of the weather people had been able to agree on where we would see snow or how much.

The answer was, right here, and alot, apparently.

I braced myself for the drive back down the mountain. Given how rarely we saw this weather, it was safe to say I didn’t have winter tyres on the van. Nor was it likely the road had been gritted since it wasn’t a main one. Still, I’d take it slow and steady, and hopefully get back in one piece. “I’ll be off now, before it gets any worse.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait it out here? There’s probably a shit-tonne of black ice everywhere now too.”

“It’s fine.” There was no way I was forcing my company on him a moment longer. “I’ll take it steady.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Rory biting his lip, arms folded over his chest. I nodded curtly in farewell before carefully making my way to my van. I put the tools securely inside, then climbed into the front seat and turned over the engine. It made a whirring noise before shutting off with a loudclunk.From the doorstep, Rory winced.

Why hadn’t he gone inside? The man was going to catch his death.

Inhaling deeply, I tried again. Once more, the engine struggled before turning off.

The third time, nothing happened at all.

There was a gentle tapping on my window. “Um, Owen? I think you should come back inside.”

I pulled the key out with a sigh. What was the likelihood of getting RAC up a mountain on Christmas Eve during a snowstorm?

Probably as likely as you being close to Rory and not getting turned on.

Well, fuck.

Chapter Five

Rory

Icouldn’t decide if the snow and Owen’s van refusing to start was a good thing. On the one hand, I got him in my house a little longer, but on the other hand, I couldn’t forget how he’d looked when he’d realised he was trapped here. It was obvious he’d been hoping to make a speedy getaway. I couldn’t blame him—tomorrow was Christmas, after all. He probably wanted to be in his own space.

Away from me.

He was pacing my small living room, phone pressed firmly to his ear. From what I could hear of his side of the call, the RAC was swamped.

Sure enough, he hung up and let out a defeated sigh. “They can’t make it out today. The storm has hit all of Wales and they have more calls than they can deal with.”

“Makes sense.” I peered out the window at the rapidly growing mounds of snow. “I’ve never seen snow like this. It rarely even sticks. It’s okay though. You can stay here until the snow clears or RAC can come.”

“No, I can’t do that.” Owen joined me at the window, his expression bleak. “I could walk it, I guess. It’s only a few miles.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you insane? It’s five miles down a mountain in the dark. Oh, and it’ssnowing.You’re not even wearing a waterproof coat, for fuck’s sake.”

Owen’s lips thinned into a tight line. “It’s okay, I’m a big boy. I’ll make it back in one piece. This isn’t your problem.”

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