Page 7 of Snowed in with the Enemy

Instead, I slammed straight into something solid.

Not wall-solid. Person-solid.

Hard, warm, and unmistakably muscular.

I shoved what I belatedly recognized as a shirtless man away from me and screamed, even though the closest neighbor was a quarter mile up the road. "Let me go!" I pushed so hard I nearly toppled backward, but large, warm hands caught me moments before disaster. "Stop!" I shouted.

"Nix, it's Lee."

My body went rigid as I opened my eyes. Sure enough, the hot, shirtless creature in my house was Lee Lancaster. Reality crashed back. "I think the furnace is out."

He steadied me on my feet, managing not to grunt at the effort—mentally awarded him points for that. "The furnace is fine. We lost power."

My shoulders slumped. No power was far worse. "Furnace expert too?" The snark emerged automatically.

"My uncle Ty made sure my brother and I could handle basic home repairs."

"Good for Uncle Ty." I retraced my steps to the kitchen, where my heart sank at the view outside. Snow hadn't let up for hours, piling waist-high, and the power outage wasn't just us—the street lights leading into town were dark. "Well, this just got serious," I muttered, shoving my feet into the giant rubber boots in the mudroom.

"Where are you going?" Panic threaded through Lee's voice. "Nix, you can't go out there!"

A smile tugged at my lips. "Worried about me, Lee? Don't worry, if anything happens to me you can still ride out the storm here."

"Not. Funny."

"It was a little funny." I held my thumb and forefinger a hair's width apart. "Since we have no power until who knows when, we need heat. There's plenty of wood outside. I should've brought it in earlier but someone—" I shot him a pointed look "—distracted me."

"I can do that," he offered, sincerity in his tone.

The genuine offer was unsettling. "Thanks, but I'll be faster."

"Because I'm such a pansy ass city boy?"

I wrapped myself in a scarf and heavy work jacket, turning to him with a smile. "So sensitive. But no—Ryan's feet are twice your size, and those dress shoes would just get you hurt." And probably lead to a lawsuit.

"Oh. Right."

I yanked open the door, winter's icy fingers slapping my face. "Also, wouldn't want to mess up your expensive manicure." I slammed the door, his warm laughter following me into the bitter cold.

The wind howled around me as I trudged to the shed and made several trips with armloads of firewood. Sweat gatheredunder my layers despite the cold, and I grumbled about handsome, soulless green-eyed billionaires determined to ruin my town. But even I had to admit my heart wasn't in it anymore. Sure, he wanted to build his resort that would change everything, but he wasn't quite the devil I'd imagined these past months.

"Wow, that's a lot of wood."

"That's what she said," I quipped automatically—a running joke with Torey that probably sailed over Mr. Corporate's head.

Lee's half-hearted smile made it easier to remember he was the enemy. "Where should I put them?"

"There's a big rack over there." I pointed across the mudroom.

"Wow, thatisa big rack," he said, stacking the first few pieces.

"That's what he said.” I darted back outside for another load, enough to last through tomorrow, though I prayed the storm would end before then. When I returned, Lee had organized the wood and took my final bundle. "Thanks."

"Thank you." He grabbed the basket beside the rack and followed me inside. "Mock me all you want, but the last time I started a fire was as a ten-year-old in Eagle Scouts."

The urge to mock him mercilessly rose, but something held me back. "Around here, it's a necessity when winter storms hit. Sometimes spring storms too."

He blinked, surprise flickering across his features before settling into seriousness. "We're stuck here together until the storm ends, Nix. I know you hate me, but since you're too kind to kick me out, how about we try to get along?"

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