Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Simon

T his is so not happening. I’m not about to spend the night alone with Hunter. This cannot be happening. I climb out of the truck and nearly slip and fall because the ground is covered in snow and ice, but thankfully, I recover.

“Careful,” Hunter states the obvious after I already almost fell, but I’m trying not to be too much of a dick.

“Never thought of that.” Okay, so not being a dick isn’t really working, but he started it.

Kind of.

He really is loud and obnoxious. Comes into rooms shouting for absolutely no reason at all. Usually pumped about some sports ball thing I never pay attention to. He takes it in stride though, grabbing our bags from the truck. I try to take mine from him, but he waves me off and nods toward the cabin.

Cabin—most people think of them as small, wooden things out in the forest. This? Is not that. I mean, it appears to be made out of a dark wood of some type, but the thing is massive. It’s two stories with a large deck which seems to wrap all the way around.

I quirk an eyebrow at him, and he actually looks a little sheepish as he shrugs. “Come on. The snow’s falling way too hard now, and I’m freezing my balls off.”

Lovely.

I follow him up the snowy path covered by at least a foot of snow. It gets into my shoes, and my feet are soaked and freezing by the time we make it to the front door.

He unlocks it and pushes what looks to be a heavy door open, allowing both of us to get inside before he closes and locks it again. He flicks on the light switch, and if I thought the outside was extravagant, I don’t really know how to describe the inside.

It’s beautifully decorated and immaculate with expensive furniture and wood floors throughout. At least what I can see. “Wow.”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Hunter says as he places the bags down by the door and walks further into the living room. He actually seems a little ashamed by the place, but that can’t be right.

“We should just go to sleep, so we can get an early start tomorrow,” I say, annoyed by the whole thing.

“It’s five o’clock.” He looks amused, and I kind of want to kick him.

“So?”

He snorts and then flops down on the couch but doesn’t bother to remove his coat or shoes. I’m freezing, but I don’t want to show it. I don’t want to be here, and maybe that makes me a spoiled brat or a shithead, but I really don’t care.

I quickly shoot a text to my brother, trying to keep the snark out of it, but letting him know I’m stuck here for the night.

“You might want to get comfortable,” Hunter says, his eyes looking out the window. It’s already dark. I kind of hate this time of year. I mean—I love Christmas. It’s my favorite, but it getting dark so damn early and the unexpected blizzards? Not my thing.

“Why’s that?” I ask, not liking his tone.

“Because it’s snowing like a motherfucker, and the ice is going to take a long time to melt away. You know these roads don’t get much attention. They’ll get to it when they get to it. ”

I scrunch up my face, not liking the sound of that at all. “They have to do it. It’s their job.”

“The roads out here can be rough on a normal day. They’ll do it, but it might take time.” He hops up off the couch like he’s not bothered at all. “Better turn on the heat before the power goes out.”

“W-what?” I stutter. “The power?”

Again. Not bothered. He doesn’t look bothered in the slightest. What is it with this guy? He just shrugs before going over to a thermostat and pushing buttons. “Power goes out when the ice piles up on the lines. It’s no big deal.” He looks over to where I see an elegant grand fireplace. “We at least have a heat alternative, and each bedroom has one.”

I think I’m sweating now. I’m still freezing, don’t get me wrong. Being snowed in, in a cabin alone with Hunter is bad enough. But no electricity? No, thank you. I might not survive.

“Don’t worry, Little Sharpe. I’ll keep you warm.” He waggles his eyebrows at me just as he removes his coat and shoes, flopping back down on the couch.

Or he might not survive.

I glare at him, but he’s totally unbothered as he picks up the remote control and turns on the huge television that’s mounted above the fireplace, flipping through channels without a care in the world.

“You really might want to get out of your wet shoes and settle in.” I frown at him, but then I really don’t want my feet to fall off, so I do what he suggests. I slip out of my shoes and my wet socks, leaving them by the door. Thankfully, it does feel a lot warmer in here already, so I strip out of my coat.

But I don’t want to just accept this, damn it. I want to go home. I want to decorate the Christmas tree with my family and have hot chocolate and talk about the wedding. I don’t want to be stuck here.

“I know what will cheer you up.” He definitely doesn’t, but he hops up from the couch again, leaving the remote control behind. “Come on. ”

I begrudgingly follow him into the large, stainless-steel, immaculate kitchen, and he points to a row of wooden stools at a bar.

“Take a seat.”

I listen to him, but I’m wary about what he has planned. I watch as he shuffles around the kitchen, placing two large red mugs in front of me and opening the fridge before frowning, looking pretty disappointed by what he finds in there, which appears to be a whole lot of empty.

“Damn. No milk.”

I raise an eyebrow but don’t say anything as he searches through the cabinets and gets pretty excited when he finds a couple of packets, which I now see are hot chocolate. He places them in front of me and then goes to the stove, grabbing a kettle and filling it with water before turning the stove on and placing the kettle on the burner.

He walks to stand in front of me across the bar. “It’ll only be a moment.”

“Hot chocolate?”

He looks behind me, I’m assuming out the large windows. “Yup. What else could you want on a night like tonight?”

I feel a strong urge to be a dick and remind him that all I really want is to be home with my family, but he’s trying really hard here.

And he really doesn’t have to do that.

So I think I can be civil for one night, at least.