Page 63 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
She nodded and turned to look out at the view as they rounded the next bend in the road.
“Wow,” she whispered as the trees opened up to reveal the snowy valley below. “So beautiful.”
His gaze caught on her profile, and he murmured his agreement. “So beautiful.”
21
Dahlia wasn’t sure what she expected to find at a rustic cabin, but it wasn’t this.
She stopped breathing the moment the trees gave way to the clearing. The small, snow-covered log cabin sat in the center of a clearing—a little plateau in the midst of the mountainside.
Her breath came out in a long sigh as she opened the truck door and slid down.
The cabin looked ancient, the trees and shrubbery overgrown and unmanicured. It looked wild and free. Even with snow covering the trees, the dark green was visible, and the smell of evergreens filled her veins with a fizzy sensation like she might float away. Blue sky could be seen through the clearing overhead, and the treetops swayed gently with the breeze.
There was nothing fancy about the rustic cabin or the setting, but all together it was… perfect.
It was so utterly perfect despite its imperfections—or maybe because of them—that she couldn’t seem to breathe properly. It was as if some part of her was afraid if she moved too quickly, she’d wake up from this dream.
And the best part of the dream?
JJ.
She swallowed hard as he moved toward her. He looked exactly the same as he had when he’d strode through the ranch house’s back door not even an hour earlier. But in this setting, with the trees overhead and the cabin at his back…
Dahlia tried to swallow again and ended up choking on her own saliva.
This was JJ in his natural habitat. He belonged here in this setting in a way she could never explain but that was so clear.
She imagined it was what one would feel seeing a lion in the plains of Africa after only ever seeing the creature in a zoo.
This was JJ in his element, and the sight was… stunning. He wasn’t any more handsome than usual, but she’d also never been so painfully aware of his masculinity.
As he strode toward her now, her belly fluttered, and her blood turned to lava.
She had to force an exhale.
One corner of his mouth tugged up, and she wondered if he could see the effect he had on her.
Goodness, she hoped not. Her palms were clammy as she tucked them into her pockets, but she couldn’t stop her imagination from running wild. She pictured JJ heading off to hunt for his dinner, JJ felling a tree with an ax, JJ making a fire…
She wet her lips. Oh dear. Her imagination had never been so vivid in all her life.
“This won’t take long.” JJ reached for her hand. “It’s a little warmer inside, or you can stay in the truck if you want.”
She shook her head. “I’d love to see your cabin, if you don’t mind.”
His smile warmed her better than any fire. “’Course not. Come on in.” He paused and took her hand, helping her through the thick snow. “I should warn you, there’s nothing pretty about it.”
“It’s a cabin,” she said. “It’s not supposed to be pretty, is it?”
He chuckled. “A woman after my own heart.”
Her heart did a wild flip in her chest, and she looked up to the heavens, exasperated by her body’s foolish reactions. She’d managed to go her whole life immune from the giggly, inane stupidity that had afflicted her sisters and their friends when they developed crushes. She wasn’t about to start now.
He unlocked the door and threw it open. “Here it is. Home sweet home.”
She walked in first, and she had to bite her lip to hold back another goofy grin.
