Page 33 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
JJ shifted so he could peer through the half-open doorway.
Dahlia slumped against the desk with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. She hadn’t heard him, and he just stood there watching her. His chest felt too tight at the sight of strong, fierce Dahlia looking defeated.
For a second he wished he could call Rose, Emma, and Nash in here to take a look for themselves. To see that Dahlia wasn’t impervious to their judgments and that she wasn’t the enemy here.
She definitely wasn’t some dragon. She was human, and flawed, and vulnerable, and complicated, and…
And loving.
She had a sensitive heart beneath that thick armor, and JJ had no doubt that if she ever let her sisters see this side of her—the part that wasn’t bullheaded and self-assured all the time—they’d see what he saw.
But she’d hate it if anyone spotted her like this, so defeated and downtrodden.
So, even though he itched to go to her, to give her a hug and tell her those jerks didn’t deserve her, he didn’t. Instead, he turned to give her some space.
But the floorboards didn’t play fair.
They creaked, and her head popped up.
“Is someone there?”
He winced and wondered if he should just walk away. Homesteads like this made funny noises all the time.
But he just couldn’t do it.
He opened the door with a grin. “Good morning.”
“Oh. Hi.” She looked a little confused to see him, but her lips twitched with the onset of a smile before she could catch it.
She looked gorgeous. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she wasn’t nearly as put together as he was used to seeing her. She was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt instead of her usual chic attire. Plus, she had no makeup on. There were shadows under eyes that said she hadn’t gotten enough sleep, but still…
She was gorgeous.
More gorgeous than ever, actually.
For a second, he forgot how to breathe.
“What are you doing here? Did you need to see me?”
“Uh.” He scrambled for a decent excuse, figuringI just wanted to see your pretty facewouldn’t fly. Glimpsing the mug in his hand, he took it as inspiration and held it out to her. “Brought you a morning pick-me-up.”
“Thanks.” She took the mug and blinked with surprise. “How’d you know I like my coffee black?”
A ray of sunlight burst through him.
It was silly. Knowing they drank their coffee the same way should not have made him feel this giddy.
He fought a grin and shrugged. “That’s how all the cool people drink it.”
Her soft chuckle made the sun inside him burn a little brighter.
He dipped his head with a rueful grin.
“I’ll see you around, Dahlia.”
“Yeah. And… thanks.” She held up the mug and smiled at him.
He smiled back and was still grinning like a fool when he walked outside and spotted the sun rising in the east.
