Page 9 of Never Been Snow Lucky

Iris’s welcoming smile was blinding in its beauty. “Back to check on me already?”

“I wish I could say yes, but I’m actually here to ask for a favor. A big one,” I warned.

“How can I help?”

The swiftness of her reply and the way she didn’t hesitate to offer support only made her more attractive to me. “Raven and Colin are working hard to find spots to put everyone who’s been stranded by the road closure, but there’s only so many places people can comfortably sleep.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that when she asked me about giving up part of my suite.” She tilted her head to the right. “Someone’s already been here to do the beds and freshen up the room since I crashed in there last night.”

“How would you feel about making another sacrifice for the blizzard?”

She stepped aside and waved me into the suite. “Just me that a chicken isn’t involved. I’m not into committing a murder most fowl.”

I snorted. “How punny.”

She shrugged with a giggle. “I’m good like that.”

I wasn’t the guy who normally laughed at puns, but her quirky sense of humor was fucking adorable. “No chickens will be sacrificed. Just your couch.”

She tilted her head to the side, her brows drawing together. “My couch?”

Dropping onto one end of it, I patted the cushion next to me. “I know it’s a big ask because we barely know each other, but I was hoping you’d be cool with me staying here with you.”

“Absolutely.”

I leaned forward, resting my forearms against my thighs. “I want you to really think about your answer, Iris. If having me here will make you uncomfortable?—”

She didn’t let me finish before insisting, “I’m more than happy to have you stay with me. I mean…it’ll give me the chance to return the favor of you rescuing me.”

“All I did was my job.” Except for the fact that I carried Iris as though she was precious cargo and offered her the option of being treated in her room, which didn’t exactly follow protocol.

“But in a way, you’d be doing it again,” she whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her hair as she ducked her head.

“How so?”

She peeked at me through her lashes. “I have all this space, a gorgeous tree, tons of supplies, but nobody to spend Christmas with since my parents didn’t make it.”

I hated the idea of Iris being lonely. Her confession just about broke my heart. “Then let’s make the most of being stranded by the blizzard and spend the holiday together, getting to know each other.”

She flashed me a smile. “Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”

7

IRIS

I’d only been staying in my suite for a day before Jack joined me, but somehow my things were already spread all over the place. So while he left to take care of stuff, I got organized. I also dug through all of the food my mom had ordered and discovered there were lots of dishes I could make. My mom’s relationship with my dad wasn’t all that great, but I still trusted at least one piece of her advice when it came to guys. Only because it was a well-known one—the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.

I wasn’t the best cook in the world, but there were a few recipes I made really well. And my mom must’ve been planning to put me to work in the kitchen because I had all of the ingredients I needed for two of them. Or she figured the odds were good that I’d be on my own for the first part of the trip, even though it was so close to Christmas, but I refused to think about that because it would just bring down my high spirits.

Deciding on spaghetti and meatballs since it made for great leftovers, I pulled everything I needed from the fridge and pantry. By the time Jack returned a little more than an hour later, the meatballs were simmering in the sauce, garlic breadwas ready to pop into the oven, and the noodles just needed to be tossed into the pot of boiling water on the stove.

“Something smells good.” He peeked over my shoulder and hummed in approval. “Looks even better.”

“I made plenty.”

He gently lifted my arm to peer at my wrist. “Hope you didn’t overdo it.”

“I was very careful and even took a break to ice my wrist,” I reassured him with a smile. “I’ve worked with lots of injured athletes, so I understand how important it is to know your limits.”

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