Page 11 of When It Snows

“You’re sweet.”

I sigh. He thinks I’m sweet now. The question is what does he think of me when he’s not delirious from a fever.

I force the thought out of my mind. It doesn’t matter what Weston thinks of me. I don’t live on Smuggler’s Hideaway anymore and I have no plans of returning for good.

I get back to work. I’d rather stream a show but with the Internet out, it’s work for me.

“Hey,” Weston speaks and I squeak in surprise. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. You seem better.”

He sits up and threads a hand through his hair. It’s sticking up every which way. I want to thread my hands through those blond locks. Are they as soft as they appear? Will he growl if I tug on the ends?

I mentally slap myself upside the head. What is up with you, Scarlett? Weston isn’t interested. And he’s sick.

“How long was I out?” He rubs a hand over his throat. “Did I swallow a frog?”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t feed you any frogs. They need to be fresh to taste any good, and all the croaking before you hack them up drives me bananas.”

“Scarlett Harris, you’re a surprise.”

“No surprise here.” I stand. “What you see is what you get.”

“A cute girl who loves kitties?”

I scowl. “I’ll have you know this isn’t any old kitty. This is Hello Kitty. And she’s not a kitty. She’s a little girl.”

“A little girl? She has whiskers and kitty ears.”

I’m not arguing with him about Hello Kitty. I start toward the kitchen. “Do you want tea or broth?”

“Broth?”

“Tea it is.” I quickly make him a cup of tea and bring it to him.

He takes a sip and winces. “What is this?”

“It’s tea.”

“I’ve never tasted tea like this before.”

“It’s green tea from Japan.”

“Japan?”

I sit on the chair facing the sofa. “You have heard of Japan, haven’t you? The land of the rising sun. Sushi. Anime. Geishas. Sumo wrestling. Any of these ringing a bell?”

“Smart ass. I know the country of Japan. I was surprised you had tea from there is all.”

I shrug. “I travel there often for my work.”

“Wow. Cool.”

Cool? I nearly fall off my chair in surprise. My family doesn’t think my traveling is cool. They think I’m putting on airs and should remember where I come from. Can’t I remember where I come fromandenjoy travelling? The two aren’t mutually exclusive. But try convincing my mom and dad.

“What do you do for work?”

“I’m a translator. I translate Japanese into English.”

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