Page 10 of Taylor

She just shrugged.

The fact he remembered she liked art made her smile, but it didn’t matter. What was the point of even talking about it? No amount of dreaming was going to help her magically get herself put together. And that’s what this week was for. This week was for finally getting her shit together, not dreaming up another scheme to fail at.

The look on Taylor’s face confused her. She was looking for the familiar judgment when people realized she was a fuck-up, but she didn’t find it there. Just curiosity. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Emotions weren’t far behind, and she didn’t want to be dealing with that while sitting next to one of the most attractive, best smelling men she had ever been this close to.

“What about you? What are you hiding away from?”

He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean, hiding away from?”

“I mean we’re both here at what we thought would be an empty cabin for Christmas.”

“Well, to be fair, I was on my way home until all this started,” he said, pointing to the snow.

The snow was really coming down. She caught sight of his car, which seemed to already be covered in a good inch of snow as it was.

“Oh, right... I guess I’m the only one hiding away on Christmas,” she said, shifting away from him and pulling the blanket around her.

She had forgotten he was here because his flight got canceled. She turned her attention back to the movie. Sipping her hot chocolate, she settled into the corner of the couch, trying to get lost in the comfort of the glow of the Christmas tree and the movie.

5

Taylor

He watched her. Something happened. He thought he knew Alice Wagner, had always been captivated by her. So clearly, he remembered their dance at the gala, the way she lit up when she talked about her volunteer program. This was why he’d chosen that charity that night.

She seemed so effervescent, full of joy and energy. But maybe something else was there because he felt like he was seeing beneath the bubbly surface into something deeper. Maybe he could give her a deeper look, too.

“Well, in the name of honesty, I’m also kind of hiding away on Christmas,” he said slowly.

“What do you mean?” she asked, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

“I called my mom to tell her that my flight got canceled, and she told me to get on a plane to Florida because her new husband was taking us and his kids to Disney.”

“Disney at Christmas could be fun.” She smiled.

He leveled her with a look.

“What?” she chuckled. “It could be.”

“It would also be busy and loud and so many people,” he said, trying not to wince at the thought of being there.

“Wow, I didn’t see you as a hater of fun.”

Her face lit up as she gave him a hard time. The captivating woman he was used to had returned, the one he had danced with at the gala. This was the dangerous woman who pulled him in.

“Hey, now, I love to have fun. Just quiet, one-on-one fun.”

Her mouth fell open, and a blush covered her cheeks. Only then did he hear what he had just said,Quiet one-on-one time... Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“No. No, not like that?—”

“No,” she said, still laughing. “One-on-one fun is great... but does even that have to be quiet?”

“No, I just meant I don’t like crowds,” he said, shaking his head.

He had a feeling his cheeks matched her blush but from embarrassment.

“Yeah, it’s hard to have one-on-one fun in a crowd. People shouldn’t kink in public,” she said, still laughing.

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