Page 80 of Out of the Cold

So she did, after cleaning the counter where she’d been ravished. And while she would never turn down the chance to see him naked, watching Gabriel cook was mesmerizing in its own way. And it was all for her.

After dinner, they ate her cookies and played Scrabble, which was curiously romantic by candlelight, and though she considered herself something of a wordsmith, they were pretty evenly matched.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she totaled up the score. “I win,” she said, sitting back in the chair.

Gabriel smiled, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “I didn’t realize how competitive you are. I’ve never seen that look in your eyes before.”

“I don’t like to lose at things I should win.” She swiped the tiles off the board. “Should we play again?”

“You bet.”

She won the second game by an even bigger margin. He didn’t seem to care.

The storm was over by morning. Lucy stood at the kitchen window and stared at the six-foot drifts glistening beneath the cloudless sky. Her car lay under so much snow, only the antenna was visible.

Gabriel handed her a cup of coffee and stood next to her. “It’s going to take a while to clean this up.”

“It’ll be nice to get out of the house again, anyway.”

He frowned at her. “You don’t need to go out there. I’ll take care of it. Len’s got a snowblower and a plow I can attach to my truck.”

“You can’t use both of them at the same time, so why not teach me how to use the snowblower?”

“You’re sure?”

“I need to do something. I’ve been stuck inside too long.”

“It hasn’t beenthatbad, has it?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

She laughed and bumped her hip into him. “No. I’ve been rather pleasantly occupied."

A little while later, bundled up in her silk underwear, wool socks, and outer layers, she followed Gabriel out to the shed for a snowblower lesson. It was harder than it looked, but also kind of fun. Even better, she liked knowing she was making a contribution. She especially enjoyed the symbolism of clearing a path between their cabins.

With the two of them working, it only took a few hours to clean the necessary areas. They spent a little more time picking up the worst of the fallen branches before heading back to her cabin for leftover shepherd’s pie and some fudge. Afterwards, they lay down together on the pallet she’d left on the floor by the fire.

“I don’t think I ever want to go back to my bed,” she said. “This is perfect.”

He rolled to his side and pulled her tight against his body. “It really is.”

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