Page 2 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

I moaned, loving the sweetness on my tongue. “Just what I needed.”

Peter finally looked over at me then, but only briefly, his lips tight and eyes revealing nothing.

Screw this. “Um, hello?” Facing him, I took another sip.

A lengthy sigh escaped his mouth as he turned toward me, still leaning against the bar. “Hello,” he said in his deep baritone.

“Do you remember me? I’m—”

“I do.”

I cracked a real smile. “We’re not getting married, man. I’m just saying hello.”

His brows were furrowed as he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came for a long moment. Finally, his mask of indifference returned. “Excuse me?”

My smile faltered. “You said, ‘I do’—you know, like in a wedding …” I trailed off, seeing that he didn’t find this amusing at all. It was funny, wasn’t it? Or was I already drunk? “Never mind.”

He said nothing but held eye contact for a long time. Finally, he spoke again. “Can I help you with something—”

I put my hands up in the universal symbol forstopas I winced. “Please don’t ma’am me. Once was enough. My vanity is already crushed. I’m not even thirty yet, or at least not until New Year's Eve. Yeah, would you believe I was born on that day, of all days? But I didn’t even get the honor of being the last baby born in the hospital that day. It was some jerk named Preston.” I shook my head. “Can you believe it?”

His brows furrowed again, but only for a split second. “I do believe you just called ababya jerk.”

“Well, he was! I mean, with a name like Preston, he has to be, right?”

His face was devoid of expression as he shook his head. “If you say so.”

“Well, I do.” I giggled. “There, now I did it too. I said, ‘I do.’ Well, good thing that boy over there’s just a bartender and not an ordained minister. Or else you’d have just found yourself married to this hot mess.” I waved my hand up and down once with a self-deprecating smile.

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

I stared ahead at the gleaming countertop. “So, you want to know why I’m a hot mess?” I didn’t turn to look, afraid he’d be shaking his head no. Because I needed to vent. He was probably the worst choice in terms of people to vent to, but, well, he was here. Alone, just like me. Well, presumably alone. I didn’t see anyone with him earlier, and he wasn’t wearing a wedding band.

“Well, where do I even begin?” I sighed. “My best friend—my only close friend, really—just got married today, and don’t get me wrong … it was a beautiful ceremony, and she was gorgeous. I’m super happy for her, but I’m going to miss the two-single-ladies thing we had going on. Well, maybe we never had that going on exactly—she never liked to party. But anyway, yeah. Pinecone’s a good guy. You know that, I guess, since you’re his BFF. I didn’t know that at first. You see, he had ghosted her like a decade ago, and when they met up again, he was kind of an ass. No, not kind of. He was awful. But it turns out hedidn’tghost her, and his evil sister—you know what, never mind. That part’s not important.” I paused, taking a sip of the newly filled shot placed in front of me. Then I narrowed my eyes while scanning his face. “Or wait, maybe you knew all that? You guys are close, I suppose.”

His nod was barely perceptible, but I took it as fuel to keep going.

“But I’m happy for them because I’m all about romance, happily ever afters—there’s not a rom-com you could name that I wouldn’t have seen already.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “But you probably can’t name a lot of rom-coms, can you, Pete?You’re not that kind of guy.” I downed the rest of the shot and waved at the bartender again.

“It’s Peter.”

“What—oh. Not Pete. Got it. That’s too bad, as I like the name Pete.” It was my maternal grandfather’s name, after all. He was my favorite person, and he’d died when I was in high school. I felt my throat get tight while thinking of the only grandfather I’d ever known. The best one a girl could have. Well, I met my Japanese grandfather as a toddler, but I can’t muster any memory of it. Dad said it was probably for the best. I sighed, thinking of how much I missed my family this year.

“Do you have family you usually celebrate Christmas with?” I looked at him closely, but he only shook his head quickly. “Ah, that’s … well, I guess it’s sad for most people, but you don’t look sad.” I thought I detected a tightening of his jaw then, but it came and went so fast that I couldn’t be sure. “Well, I usuallydosee my family, but this year I can’t. Do you want to know why?” I didn’t wait for an answer, knowing he likely wouldn’t give one anyway. “BecauseI’malways visitingthem. I always travel to see my mom in Paris or wherever she is, or I go to Japan to see Dad, sometimes my sister. Theone timeI couldn’t travel, I hoped they’d come visit. But did they? Nope.”

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I willed them to not fall. I never trusted waterproof mascara. “It’s fine. I mean, it sucks. But I’m used to it. Used to being alone. So it’s weird, right? I’m the biggest romantic I know. Like, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays; I’m basically in love with love. Yet my love life is so bad. Either the dates are bad, or the relationships don’t last long. Don’t get me wrong, I date a lot.A lot. But I can’t find someone who—” I stopped, seeing his face. This time his jaw definitely tightened, and the muscle in his cheek contracted. “OK, I’ll stop. I don’t mind being single that much, but it’s harder around the holidays, you know?” I eyed him again. He probablydidn’tknow. A guy that attractive would have an active dating lifeifhe wasn’t already in a serious relationship. My throat tightened as I considered that. What if he was?

Beyond awkward, that’s what.

Change the subject, Hazel.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder. I’d planned to wear an updo, but Mari had reminded me my long, silky black hair was one of my best assets, so I went with a natural look. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this because I haven’t told anyone else yet, but … I need to change careers. I’m tired of doing what I’m doing. Tired of … being tired. From work. From the emotional labor I draw upon day in and day out as I travel around the country, sometimes around the world.” I paused, frowning when I noticed my shot glass was still empty. “If they didn’t tell you, I’m sort of a motivational speaker. I do a lot of events at Mari’s resort, but I also travel and do events all over. I’m good at it, but … I want something else. I want to spend more time writing, maybe helping people one on one. The constant travel … well, let’s just say I’ve had a lifetime of it already, and it’s enough. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want to settle down. Stay in one place. Maybe? It’s such a foreign idea to me. I spent so many years—”

He cleared his throat, and I gazed at him in confusion.

I’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Sorry, was I rambling?” I laughed nervously. “I tend to do that. At least when I’ve had alcohol.” I sighed, seeing no response on his beautiful face. “That’s probably something I should change too. No more drinking.”

---