Page 9 of Snow More Secrets

I wasn’t even sure if I could trust my instincts, not when they were so clouded with sexual hunger.

Mentally shaking my head at myself, I turned my attention back to Hannah. She ordered a brownie, and the clerk added it to the box of my cookies. Then she filled two to-go cups with hot chocolate and added whipped cream. If I hadn’t known it would melt before we got back to my hotel room, I would have asked her for a container of that, too.

I paid for everything, ignoring Hannah’s protests and insistence that she pay for some of it.

With our drinks and bags of goodies in hand, we headed back out into the chilly night air.

“My hotel is just up there,” I informed her, lifting my chin in that direction. Then I grinned. “I know it sounds like a cheesy line, but my room has a spectacular city view.”

Hannah’s brow furrowed as she glanced that way but didn’t say no.

“It has a kitchen and a big living room. So we can store the food and make more drinks if we want.”

“It sounds great,” she mumbled, her tone hesitant.

A gust of wind swept down the road, and she shivered. “There is also a giant fireplace to warm us up,” I added with a grin.

She laughed and shrugged. “Okay. As long as you play some Christmas carols, I’m in.”

“Deal.”

The temperature had continued to drop, so we hurried down the block to the Lennox Hotel and Casino. Once we were in the opulent lobby, I heard someone call out my name.

Looking toward the voice, I spotted a young couple—friends from home. We hadn’t seen each other since he and his wife moved away a couple of years ago. “Hey, Keen,” I said with a smile.

“I grew up with Keen and his wife, Meena,” I told Hannah as they approached.

When they were close enough, I introduced Hannah. Meena had a thoughtful expression and greeted my girl, but she said nothing other than hello. Meena loved figure skating, so I guessed she probably recognized Hannah but couldn’t remember from where.

“Hannah is a champion figure skater and will be competing in the games,” I boasted.

Hannah rolled her eyes and nudged my arm with her elbow. “You’re going to jinx it!”

Keen laughed. “Jake’s never been superstitious. Even when the universe told him he should be.”

“Keen,” I growled in warning. I knew what story he was warming up to tell.

Hannah’s face brightened. “Oh, do tell.”

“How about we all go get a drink?” Meena suggested. “If you aren’t in a hurry?”

“As long as Keen wants to tell me embarrassing stories about Jake.” Hannah giggled.

I opened my mouth to protest, but they were already walking toward a small lounge area with a bar. Grumbling about interfering friends and silently vowing to kill Keen for interrupting my time with Hannah, I followed them to a table.

After setting down our boxes of treats and drinks that were quickly becoming cold, Keen took drink orders, and we went to the bar.

“You are in serious jeopardy of losing your balls tonight, Keen,” I snarled. “You’re not dumb enough to miss the fact that Hannah and I were on our way up to my room.”

He grinned unrepentantly. “Just a little payback.”

“Payback?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

“You don’t remember?” He looked insulted, then laughed. “When you ditched your date to the prom during senior year? Meena and I were supposed to go to a hotel that night. But when you cancelled on her best friend, Meena felt guilty about having fun when Christy was miserable. So she asked me to take her home early.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re paying me back for a case of blue balls when we were eighteen?”

Keen laughed. “Hey, Meena and I didn’t get a chance to be ‘alone’ again until after graduation.”

---