Page 52 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

“Well, that remains to be seen,” she said with a twinkle in her eye as I shook my head. That’s another thing we had in common: she too was a hopeless romantic despite being a cynic in so many things. But the difference was she’d found the love of her life, whereas I … well, I wasn’t sure if I ever would.

Chapter 14

Igrinned at my best friend, whose blush always gave her away. “Fine, I’ll give you a pass on sharing the juiciest details but only because you guys are so cute.”

The color in Mariana’s cheeks deepened. “Thanks, I think.” She grinned back at me. “But enough about me. I want to hear about how you’ve been, Haz.”

My smile faltered but only slightly. “I’ve been fine. I’m just so happy for you, Mari. After all this time, you deserve happiness. Cherish it.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” said a male voice just before Terry appeared from the hallway.

“Hey, Pinecone, how are you?”

“Tired but happy,” he said with a grin and tired eyes echoing his statement.

“Still jet-lagged?”

He yawned. “Yes, and my allergies are acting up.”

Mariana rolled her eyes. “Men are such babies about sleep and sniffling.”

I nodded. “True.”

“But women love to complain about men every chance they get,” he said with a smirk.

“Also true.” I laughed and then watched as they smacked lips together.

I averted my eyes, feeling uncomfortable for some reason even though I’d seen them kiss a million times. Terry was all about the PDA, and even Mari had warmed up to it. It usually didn’t bother me, but for some reason, it hit hard today that I was really superfluous here. Mari didn’t need me anymore—not like she did before—and I was basically a third wheel.

“Get a room, newlyweds. You’re so sickeningly sweet,” I said, attempting a playful tone.

“Sorry,” Mari said, swiping at her mouth after pulling away from him.

“I’m only kidding. Mostly.”

She looked at me with concern, and a seed of discomfort grew within my stomach. “Hazel, are you OK? You seem … I don’t know. Something is off.” She looked at Terry, squeezing his hand before letting it go. “Go back to watching the game. Girl talk is coming.”

He put his hands up and laughed. “You don’t need to ask me twice.”

When he’d left the room, I took a deep breath for courage. “Mari, I do want to talk to you about … how I’ve been doing.”

Her expression was patient as she crossed her legs on the sofa. “Sure. We probably have at least twenty minutes before dinner is delivered.”

“I believe I mentioned this when you called, but writing progress is slow. Beyond slow. I was hoping to write the book within six months, but at this rate, it’ll be six years. Maybe more.”

Her face was sympathetic, but her tone was firm. “You can’t rush greatness. Seriously, take your time. I mean, yeah, if certain things are blocking you from writing, address those. You know I’ll do my best to help. But writing a book takestime, I think. And you’re going through a major career and life transition at the same time—it’s only natural this wouldn’t be easy.”

I nodded slowly. “I suppose you’re right. Nora said something similar.”

She bit her lip and shifted her position as worry showed on her face. Finally, she spoke slowly, “I’m more worried about how you’re coping with the bigger change, you know, staying home and not traveling and meeting people all the time.” She paused. “I could see it on your face and hear it in your voice the last few times we talked.”

“Yeah, I think you diagnosed me with cabin fever, and you’d be right,” I said, trying to laugh it off. “I’ll be OK though. I was actually really productive the past couple days and … well, just getting out of the house was nice, especially after the—” I stopped, not wanting to mention being snowed in with Peter and opening that can of worms. “Yeah, it was nice.”

She smiled. “What did you do today?”

“First thing this morning, I called a service tech about fixing or replacing my crappy insulation, and then I went to the store to stock up on flashlights and lanterns. You know, for future preparedness. What else … I worked out at the gym instead of at home, and I stocked up on groceries. I even went to the library to write for a while.”

“That’s awesome! Some people prefer doing solitary work away from home. So it’s solitary but not alone if that makes sense.”

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