Page 71 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

“I can’t let you do that,” I said, feeling grateful, relieved, happy … but it was too much. I couldn’t ask him to do this. Could I? Then again, I hadn’t asked. He’d just gone and done it.

A shadow of doubt passed over his features. “Why not?”

“It could fail.”

He smiled then, and I was undone. I forced myself to look at his eyes, full of intensity as he replied, “You could never fail.And I need something to do anyway. I can’t think of anything better to do with my money than investing in your business. Inyou.”

I smiled back at him. I couldn’t say no … I didn’t want to.

Somewhat shyly, he added, “Can I be your part-time finance guy? Or number cruncher? I already offered myself up as a financial advisor to Terry and Mari, but they declined since they’ve already got some guy named Jeff.”

I pretended to think about this for a while. “What about the animal shelter?”

“It’s only a few hours a week. And my regular cardiologist agreed I could work if the hours are reasonable and the stress relatively low. I can’t be a CEO anymore, but I—I don’t think I want to anyway.” He stepped closer to me. “Please give me a job and put me out of my misery. And … will you be my Valentine?”

Instead of answering him, I pulled him forward, grasping the sleeves of his shirt as our lips met. “Only if you’ll be mine,” I whispered against his lips before we both laughed.

“Done,” he agreed, pulling me closer. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Hazel.”

Epilogue

“So, I know you don’t like being called Pete, but what about Petey? Petrov? Or—”

“No nicknames,” he said gruffly as he whirled me around the dance floor.

At least some things never change. Well, I couldn’t exactly say he was still my grumpy neighbor, as I’d moved into his massive house just before Christmas. Neighbors no more. My grumpy boyfriend, then. But I couldn’t even saythatanymore either.

Because he was now my grumpy fiancé. He’d asked me to marry him last night, and I was giddy with excitement trying to keep it a secret until midnight, when we’d decided to announce to everyone.

Because it was New Year’s Eve and I was turning thirty, and it just felt like the right time. Everything about him felt right, and I couldn’t believe I’d wasted years of my life doing anythingbutbeing with this man. I was over-the-top madly in love with him. And judging by the way his eyes devoured me tonight, I knew he adored me too.

“I can’t help but think back to a year ago. Remember when we met? You were so rude.”

“Hey, I was not—”

“Come on, you were terrible.”

The corners of his mouth curved upward slightly. “Fine, I wasn’t the friendliest. But I was trying to keep my distance. I had to.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“I knew you were dangerous.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous? Me?”

“Yeah, you. You unsettled me. I knew I could fall for you.” He paused, spinning me around. “And it was terrifying.”

I smiled. “So, instead of letting yourself bask in the glory of all things Hazel, you chose to keep me at a distance by being a total jerk?”

He made a face. “Well, when you put it like that—maybe I was an idiot.”

“Oh, you definitely were,” I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. “But so was I. I spent weeks trying to forget about that maddening guy I met at a wedding on Christmas Eve. Months, actually.”

“Well, that was your first mistake.”

I smiled wryly. “Was it, though? It brought you to me, didn’t it?”

“And here we are. Dancing on New Year’s Eve.”

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