Page 65 of Curvy Cabin Fever
Her cheeks flush darker. “Good. Really good.”
Rhett takes a long sip of his coffee, eyes fixed on the mug like it holds the secrets of the universe.
The morning moves slowly,thick with tension. The kind you could cut with a butter knife if you weren’t too afraid to be the first one to speak.
Damien’s the only one who seems chill, eating his breakfast like he didn’t just live through a live porno at 8 a.m.
I pretend to focus on my food, but I can feel Aria’s eyes on me. There’s a question there, unspoken but heavy in the air between us.
Does she know?
Does she know about Rhett and me and our complicated feelings?
Our eyes meet, and she chews on her lip, her head tilting as she gazes at me. Something shifts in her expression—a realization, maybe, or a decision. She takes a bite of toast, but her eyes don’t leave mine, and I feel naked under her gaze, like she’s peeling back every layer I’ve carefully constructed.
“So what’s everyone’s plans for the day?” Damien questions, breaking the silence. “Since we’re not fighting for survival anymore.”
Rhett shrugs. “Thought I’d check the generator. Make sure we’re good if the power goes out again.”
“Need any help with that?” I offer, knowing he’ll refuse but asking anyway.
He shakes his head. “I got it.”
Of course he does. Rhett’s always been self-sufficient to a fault. Never asking for help or admitting when he needs someone. It must be exhausting being him.
“I might read,” Aria replies. “Maybe take a walk if it’s not too cold.”
I look at her then, really look at her, and see everything I’ve been missing. The way her eyes linger on Rhett with newfound familiarity. The way she looks at me with curiosity and something else—something that makes my heart race.
And I decide right there, over cooling eggs and coffee: I’m not hiding anymore. Not from her, him, or from whatIwant.
Life’s too short, and if this cabin’s taught me anything, it’s that waiting for the perfect moment means you might never get one at all.
Later,when the others are distracted—Rhett disappearing outside to “check the generator” and Damien taking a shower—I find Aria by the window in the sunlight, watching the icicles drip like they’re melting hourglasses.
I step up behind her, my chest nearly touching her back. I can smell her shampoo—something fruity and light—mixed with the lingering scent of Rhett.
“You look like you could use some fresh air,” I murmur.
She glances over her shoulder, lips twitching. “Is that your way of asking me on a date?”
I grin. “You wanna call it a date, sugar, then hell yeah. Put on a coat. I’ve got something to show you.”
23
ARIA
Snow crunches under my boots as I step out onto the porch, the cold air biting at my skin and stealing my breath in the best way. Everything is white and glittering, untouched except for the single trail of footprints Morgan left ahead of me. The storm may have passed, but its beauty lingers—soft, powdery layers coating the world in silence.
“Keep up, darling,” Morgan calls over his shoulder, flashing that wicked grin that makes my stomach tighten.
I roll my eyes but hurry after him, hugging Rhett’s borrowed coat tighter around me. “This better be good. I left coffee and central heating for this.”
He slows his pace so I can walk beside him. Our arms brush, and the heat of his body feels like a furnace in the middle of all this chill. He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, just walks in comfortable silence while our breaths fog in the air.
The snow sparkles like crushed sugar, and for a moment, everything is still.
“I like it when it’s quiet,” Morgan says softly. “Like this.”
