Page 19 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty

Mia shakes her head and reaches for the zipper of her jacket. “I’m fine.”

I nod and head back outside, shutting the door behind me and taking the sled to gather firewood from the shed around theback. I stack it high, not wanting to have to go back out if the storm gets worse.

When I come back inside, Mia is out of her boots and coat, wearing nothing but a tight long-sleeve and some leggings. Her hair hangs loose around her face, and she runs her fingers absentmindedly through Honey’s fur.

Honey wags her tail when she sees me, her gear already off and stacked on the coffee table.

I work on bringing the firewood inside, lighting it up in the fireplace before rummaging through the small kitchen and finding a pot to warm up some canned ravioli on top of the wood stove.

When I finally turn to Mia, she’s watching me like she’s not sure what to think of me. I sigh and take off my coat and boots, leaving them by the door. I slide out of the ski pants before running a hand through my hair.

Mia looks away. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she says. “I didn’t know what was going to happen when I was out there, and I was worried about maybe not coming home.”

My eyebrows arch as I cross over to her and sit on the little coffee table in front of her, the glow from the lanterns around the room lighting us up. “Nobody was going to let you die out here. As soon as I found out that you hadn’t come home, I went out and looked for you.”

She runs a hand through her hair, staring past me at the flickering wood stove. “I didn’t think you cared that much since I’m a vapid party girl.”

I wince, my gaze finding hers. “I said some things I didn’t mean. I’m sorry. I’m not good at getting to know people.”

Mia scoffs. “That’s putting it lightly. There’s not a chance in hell that any of your elementary school report cards hadplays well with otherswritten on them.”

The corner of my mouth twitches as I get up to check on dinner. “Not even a little bit.”

Her laughter fills the room. “I’m sorry too. I know I get under your skin, and I exploit that at times. I mean, you do make it easy, but I shouldn’t be taking advantage of that.”

I dish out the food and bring a bowl over to her. “Well, maybe we can work on being friends.”

Even though I’m sure it’s a terrible idea. I don’t know how to be just friends with someone. Not when I spend most of my life moving around the world. People tend to like someone they can count on to be there when they need them.

I can’t promise to be that person for her.

But perhaps, for the rest of the season, at least, I can stop worrying about whether she wants to be friends or not. We could just be.

We finish our dinner in silence, the crackle of the fire and the scent of burning wood wrapping around us. I make sure to sit in the solo chair beside the couch — not that I could sit on the couch even if I wanted to. Honey seems to have taken up her place beside Mia, and there’s no separating the two based on the side-eye the dog keeps giving me.

And then before I know it, Mia is yawning and looking like she’s seconds away from falling asleep on the couch. I get up and take the bowls into the little kitchenette to wash in the morning.

When I turn around, her head is dropping toward the pillow, her injured foot up on the arm of the couch and Honey sleeping beside her.

I sigh and pick up Mia, carrying her to one of the two doors on the right side of the cabin. She looks up at me, and for a moment I consider leaning in and kissing her. It would be easy to do, but I don’t know if I would want to stop.

Mia shifts in my arms, tilting her head back more like she’s giving me the perfect angle to claim her.

I stare at her for so long that my heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest, and then I push open the door, ready to go to bed before I do something that’s going to change the rest of the season.

But, instead of the two twin beds that were here the last time I came by, there’s only one queen-sized bed.

CHAPTER 9

MIA

Iroll over, wincing when my ankle tightens. It feels worse than it did yesterday. As I groan, Honey shifts beside me, yawning and shuffling closer, her tail wagging.

With a grin I run my fingers through her fur. I could get used to waking up with a dog in the bed. I always wanted one when I was younger, but Mom said it would be too much work. She never wanted to deal with a dog when she was the only one trying to provide for our small little family.

“Hey, girl,” I murmur, laughing when she stretches and crawls closer. Her tongue drags over the side of my face. “Yeah, good morning to you too. Why don’t we go see what there is for food for you?”

Honey’s ears perk up and she bounds out of bed, pawing at the closed door. I stare at it for a moment, not sure I want to go out there and face Aiden. Yesterday was humiliating beyond all reason.

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