Page 95 of Stormswept Colorado

But my new album was actually taking shape. I couldn’t remember another time that I’d been this happy, even though I longed to see Teller again with every fiber of my being.

He kept insisting that he didn’t want any definitive answers from me. Teller said he only wanted a chance to prove himself. I already thought he was worthy. I definitely didn’t want to see anyone else.

How a relationship between us was supposed to work logistically, though? I still didn’t know.

When I was home one afternoon, a call came in from Bryan. “Hey, we have a delivery here. Something perishable. Delivery guy says it’s…ice cream?”

Bryan and the other security guys knew about my possible stalker, though not all the gritty details. But the stalker hadn’t bothered me once in the five weeks or so since Emma and Ashford’s wedding. As if he’d vanished from the face of the Earth, and I was all for it.

I set my songwriting notebook on the coffee table, jumping up from my seat on the couch. “That must be from Teller.” His text that morning had said,Expect a surprise today.Sending some cold to you since there’s no real winter in LA.

“Yep, just checked,” Bryan said. “Delivery sent by Teller Landry. We’ll bring it in.”

“Thanks.” I ended the call and hurried to the front door.

Two minutes later, Bryan and the other security guy on duty carried two boxes inside. Frost dotted the tops of the cardboard. They set them on my kitchen island. When we opened the boxes and saw what was inside, the guys looked confused.

But my heart was bursting.

“Mint chocolate chip,” I said. “He remembered.”

Teller had sent me two cases of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. While we were stuck in the snow, I’d told him how my sister bought these when we were kids.

“That mean something to you?” Bryan asked.

“It does.” It meant Teller was incredibly sweet.

I gave the guys a couple of ice cream sandwiches, then stacked the rest in my freezer. When that was finished, I unwrapped one and video-called Teller.

“Hi.” He was in his office. He grinned when he saw me on the screen, but his expression turned to pure lust when I licked along the edge of the ice cream sandwich.

“Delicious. This is an amazing present. Thank you.”

Eyes heated, he got up from his desk and went to close his office door. “You’re welcome. But you better stop licking your treat so suggestively or I’m going to get hard at work.”

“Should’ve thought of that beforehand, Chief Landry. I have enough ice cream sandwiches to send you a sexy dessert video every day for the next month.”

He laughed. I loved it when his face lit up that way. “I miss you, Troublemaker.”

“Miss you too.”

My heart ached. This was getting dire. If we both didn’t have work responsibilities, I would’ve been on a plane already to see him.

How could I miss someone this much when, overall, we’d spent only a few days together in person? I didn’t get it.

I also still didn’t know the endgame that Teller had in mind. But he was winning me over more and more every day.

Making me want to fall for him.

During one of our nightly conversations, I told him I didn’t like watching TV, but I was a huge fan of reading. Sometimes Hayleigh and I cruised the shelves of our local bookshop and left with a haul. I secretly kept a Little Free Library by the Santa Monica Pier stocked with my old books.

But what I really wished I could do was while away an afternoon at a bookstore myself without being recognized. Without having to go after hours or ask the owner to keep people away from me.

A few days later, Teller wrote me to expect another delivery. It arrived while Ricky was doing my makeup for that night’s event.

Hayleigh dashed into my spacious bathroom, where Ricky had spread his supplies over the vanity counter. “You’re not going to believe what just got here,” she squealed. “I saw the truck drive past my house and hurried over as quick as I could.”

We all went out to my living room, where Bryan was wheeling boxes inside with a dolly. “Landry strikes again. Warn him we’re going to need hazard pay for carrying all these delivery boxes. Geez.” Bryan grinned.

---