Page 118 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
She instantly wished she hadn’t. Her insides sank at the sight before her—so familiar, and yet right now it felt like she was seeing it for the first time.
Since she didn’t own it, she hadn’t done much to the place, just a few cheap framed pictures she’d found at a secondhand shop. A few fake plants because she worked too much to keep even a cactus alive. The furniture was all serviceable… and beige.
Everything in her apartment was a neutral color, a fact that had never bothered her before. Neutral was easy to match and could easily be replaced. But she found herself frowning as she stepped in front of him to give him the quick tour, ending with her tiny closet of a bedroom.
They both stared at the bed for far too long before awkwardly backing out.
“I didn’t come here expecting…” He winced and scrubbed the back of his neck. “I came here so we could figure things out. I don’t want to make the situation more complicated for you.”
She nodded, swallowing hard. There was nothing to figure out. Nothing had changed. He might think he could leave Aspire behind for her, but she knew without a doubt that by the end of this weekend he’d realize how wrong he was.
“I appreciate that,” she managed.
He grinned. “So I guess what I’m saying is I’ll take the couch.”
She nodded, swallowing a laugh at his ease with all this while she felt like a kid who’d never been on a single date. Clearing her throat, she glanced toward her closet. “If you want to freshen up in the bathroom first, I’ll get changed.”
“Sounds good.” He leaned over and pecked her cheek as he squeezed her hands in his. “Thank you for letting me stay.”
Her throat was too tight to respond.It’s fine. You won’t be here long.
She hated that she knew that.
Hated it even more that it fell to her to prove it to him.
A little while later, they were both cleaned up and looking nice.
Correction: she looked nice. He looked… edible.
She kept casting glances his way, unable to stop herself from admiring how he looked with his beard trimmed and his hair tied back in a neat, stubby ponytail. He still wore jeans and boots, but the boots were polished, and the button-down shirt wasn’t a flannel. It wasn’t even checkered.
“What?” he teased when he caught her looking. “Did you think I was raised by wolves?”
She started to laugh. “As a matter of fact…”
He reached for her hand and tugged her against his side, feigning indignation. “I’ll have you know I can get gussied up with the best of ’em.”
“Gussied, huh?” she teased. “Sometimes I forget you’re from the South, and then you go and say something like that.”
He chuckled, reaching for the door of the restaurant and pulling it open for her with a little bow that cracked her up. “After you, ma’am.”
The restaurant was dark, intimate… and fancy as all get-out. JJ was the first to point it out.
Truthfully, Dahlia was a little on edge in this place. She’d been in this world long enough to know the proper etiquette, but she still felt like a fraud when she ordered wine, which she didn’t actually enjoy, or tried to pronounce the French dishes without sounding ridiculous.
Meanwhile, JJ looked to be doing just fine.
She frowned a bit as she watched him converse with the sommelier about what wine would pair well with their meal.
She’d chosen this place to try and show him just how out of place he was. So why was he the one who seemed at ease and she felt like a kid playing grown-ups?
He caught her frown when the sommelier walked away. “What’s that frown for?” He arched a brow. “Are you impressed by my knowledge of wines?”
He waggled his brows, and she burst out in a laugh.
“I am, a little.”
“You forget I was raised by rich folks?”
