Page 19 of Snowed In with Benefits

She takes another bite and pulls her cardigan more tightly around her. Now that we’re away from the warmth of the stove, she’s shivering slightly. We don’t have central heating, just a few old radiators and the fireplaces, and it’s cooler in here than her clothes are suited for.

“Are all of your clothes summer clothes? They don’t look very warm,” I comment casually. I don’t want her to feel bad about it or anything.

She looks embarrassed, damn it. “Yeah. I wasn’t prepared for the snow, I was packed for an island getaway.”

“Got it.” I take another big bite of the sandwich—it’s too damn good—and dust off my hands. After chewing, savoring, and swallowing, I stand up. “Let me get you something warmer.”

“Oh no, that’s okay. I’m fine, really.” She shivers slightly, then rolls her eyes at herself. She composes herself, then smiles at me. “Honestly, I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t. You can’t enjoy the meal properly if you’re shivering like that. I’ll be right back.”

“But your food⁠—”

“Just don’t eat it while I’m gone,” I joke. But seriously, though, nobody better touch my dinner while I’m doing this. I head upstairs to my room. Second on the right, next to Beau’s. It strikes me that she’s going to be sleeping right next door to me. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’m definitely not unhappy about it.

After grabbing a thick red flannel, a long-sleeved black t-shirt, and some black sweatpants, I head back downstairs. She’s eaten more, but I can tell she’s struggling with the cold.

“Here, go put these on. You’ll be more comfortable.”

“Thank you. Don’t eat my food while I’m gone.”

I grin at her as she departs, appreciating the banter. There isn’t always a lot of banter around here. I pick at the salad while I wait for her. I was going to wait to eat entirely, but it’s just too fucking good to resist.

She comes back wearing my clothes. They’re oversized on her and she looks adorable. Really adorable. A shock of arousal shoots through me and I’m glad I’m sitting down. God, she looks good.

It’s probably just because she’s a woman. Living with two guys doesn’t exactly lend itself to a lot of moments of attraction. We’ve been up here off-grid for so long, I’m sure the sight of any woman wearing my clothes would have the same effect on me.

Okay, maybe not any woman. It’s not like I’ve been a celibate monk this whole time, I go down the mountain into the city for the occasional night out. Sometimes those nights out lead to hookups, sometimes they don’t, but there are always beautiful women to look at. None of them have ever had this kind of immediate effect on me.

I take a bite of my sandwich and shake off the feelings. She’s cute, that’s all. Cute and vulnerable, and I need to keep that second part at the forefront of my mind. She’s not here for me, after all.

She sits back down and gives me a smile. “I’m much more comfortable,” she says. “Thanks again.”

“Of course,” I mumble around the bite in my mouth.

She eats, looking around the kitchen. Her eyes land on the shelves behind me.

“Are those carved bowls?”

I turn around to see what she’s looking at, then nod. “Yeah. Emmett made those.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. She clearly wasn’t expecting that.

“They’re beautiful.” Her eyes wander over the various bowls.

I swallow my food and nod. “He’s really good at it. He does it to relax.”

“Wow. Hm.” She eats, contemplating the bowls.

Beau and Emmett wander in, clearly drawn by the smell of food. Beau immediately comes over to my plate and tries to grab the other half of my sandwich. I smack his hand with the fork.

“Get your own! Josie made this for me.”

Beau shoots Josie a look and she blushes. I grin at her.

“I didn’t make it for you,” she objects. “I made it for me, you just bribed me to trade.”

“Bribed you? It was a straight trade, no bribing involved.”