Page 12 of His to Unwrap

I lean down to wipe up the drop and consider their words. It makes sense in a way. Are they right? “What should I do? I mean, do I even bother? I don’t live here.” Plus I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to do now that I quit my job andSpiced.

“You could though. Aside from the fact that your best friend in the entire world would love nothing more for you to be here, close by where we can spend tons and tons of time together, is there really anything holding you in New York?”

“No. There’s nothing holding me anywhere.” That’s the problem.

“Then there’s nothing stopping you from taking a chance. If you don’t, won’t you always wonder if he could have been something more? Someone special to you?”

“You’re right.”

“I know just what to do,” Harmony says. She rummages through the pantry and sets flour, sugar, and cinnamon on the kitchen island. “You’re a chef, right? How are you at baking?”

“Not bad.”

She grins. “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Let’s whip up a batch of my special cupcakes for you to take to him tomorrow.”

“You think I should?” I ask, a tiny flame of excitement beginning to grow within me.

“I think you have to,” Amanda replies. “I’ve never seen you light up this way. Go see if this could be something real.”

The buzzing feeling beneath my skin intensifies, and this time I know it’s anticipation. I’m going to see Ezra again tomorrow. Maybe I’ll discover that he feels the same way.

Harmony grins and squeezes my hand. “Let’s do this.”

“You two start baking,” Amanda says. “I’m going to win a custom mug when I figure out Sasha’s mocha recipe.”

I laugh and reach for the flour. This is the most fun I’ve had in two years. White Falls could definitely become home.

Chapter Seven

Ezra

I’m not great atkeeping track of the days, but I can tell it’s a Monday. It’s been a shitty day, and it’s barely noon.

I woke up with a splitting headache, had to clean up after Cooper because he ate something he shouldn’t have and yakked on the rug, and then realized I received the wrong fixtures for the bathroom. The stress of the morning triggered one of my episodes, which lasted almost an hour. Now I’m out chopping wood in the snow because I spent yesterday moping around the cabin, feeling sorry for myself because I wasn’t with Madison, instead of prepping for the snow storm that was supposed to hit in a few days. The one now settling overhead.

Right before I came outside, the latest weather report stated that not only was the storm early, because it didn’t have theweather front driving it anymore, it could stall and dump up to twenty inches of snow over the next two days.

Just. Fucking. Great.

Coop whines at me from the porch. He can sense my bad mood and has followed me everywhere.

“Not now, boy. I gotta finish splitting this cord of wood so you stay warm.” Me, I’m sweating up a storm even as flakes fall from the sky.

I whip my flannel off and toss it on the wood pile, then grab the ax and take my irritation out on the wood. I’m so focused on the rhythmic thump of the ax strikes that I don’t hear the vehicle until it pulls into the driveway.

Breathing hard, I bury the ax in the stump and remove my gloves, squinting to see the driver as the snowflakes grow bigger. I don’t recognize the little white box masquerading as an SUV.

The door pops open, and to my utter shock, Madison steps out, looking like a New York fashion model on a Montana mountain. She’s wearing a white wool coat and skin-tight jeans that are tucked into boots that come up her calves. I’d be surprised if there were any tread at all on them. Definitely not suitable for the blizzard heading our way.

What the fuck is she doing here, anyway? Didn’t she hear the forecast?

Madison gives me a megawatt smile and pulls an all-too-familiar white box out of her back seat. “Hi! I hope you don’t mind, but I brought you cupcakes.”

Her smile falters as she closes the distance.

I know I’m scowling, but dammit, she shouldn’t be here. The roads are going to be sketchy getting back to town and that car is not made to handle icy mountain roads. I doubt it even has snow chains. It looks like a rental.

“Ezra?”

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