Page 95 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
And that was the truth. Daisy was fun to be around. Lively, vivacious, and comical—basically everything Dahlia was not.
JJ leaned forward, his eyes sparking with a heat that burned away any of the resentment and hurt that always came up when she thought about Daisy. “Well, if she’s anything like her sister, I’m sure I’ll love her.”
Dahlia’s chest lit up like he’d set off fireworks. But she couldn’t help a snort. “She’s nothing like me. But I guarantee you’ll still love her.”
His sexy lopsided smile and that heat in his eyes made her forget everything but him and this cabin and this perfect day. “I’ll take your word for it.”
For a long moment, they went back to the goofy grins and swoony gazes. All thoughts of sisters and families and responsibilities and jobs were out the window.
Tomorrow she could think about all that. For today…
Today she’d rack up the memories. “So, how do you think we should entertain ourselves this evening?” She arched a brow, shifting her gaze to the abandoned deck of cards.
JJ chuckled as he slid his empty bowl to the edge of the table and reached for the cards.
“Want to let me beat you at cards again?” JJ asked with a cheeky grin.
She tilted her head to the side as if to think it over. “Or I could beat you.”
His eyebrow arched. “Well, you couldtry.”
“Challenge accepted, sir.” She burst out laughing.
And as JJ dealt her a hand, she found herself wondering how she could make this night last. Preferably forever.
34
JJ shifted on the couch, rolling onto his left side as if maybe by some magic, he would fit better on this dang lumpy sofa.
Not that he really minded that so much. He was used to sleeping in tents and campers. He didn’t need more than a pillow under his head to find sleep.
Typically.
But he didn’t typically have a heart-achingly beautiful woman lying just across the room when he was trying to drift off.
She’d been quiet in the bed for so long he was sure she must be asleep. He flipped onto his back and folded his arms beneath his head.
Good. She needed her sleep. That was why when she’d tried to insist on taking the couch, he wouldn’t hear of it.
She’d had a scare today, which must have wiped her out. Not to mention the emotional upheaval and her sore ankle. It’d seemed better by the end of the evening, but when she pulled back her sock to examine the bruising, it still looked kind of nasty. But at least it wasn’t swollen or immobile. She’d no doubt be walking on it normally by the time the snowstorm had blown through.
His heart slammed against his rib cage just thinking about it all. How close he’d come to losing her if that limb had fallen just a second earlier or if she hadn’t thrown herself back to try and avoid it. Then how much she’d let him in by opening up about her parents.
Even the way he’d spilled his own secrets. He kept waiting for some sort of repercussion. Some guilt or weirdness over the woman he liked finding out about his past after he’d held it close to his chest for so long.
But that never happened. If anything, he felt… relief.
Her acceptance of his story, and the way she’d somehow managed to ease some of the guilt he felt toward his sisters…
All in all, today felt like some sort of miracle.
And while he wasn’t sure he deserved it, he treasured it all the same.
The wind howled fiercely outside the window, so harsh it shook the cabin’s frame. The sound of it made him smile. Maybe it was wrong, but he was grateful the storm still raged outside.
Oh, he knew it couldn’t last forever. And he shouldn’t want it to.
He glanced toward Dahlia’s still form. The fire lit the lump in the bed with a soft glow. She was curled under the covers, hopefully snug, warm, and dancing through dreamland.
