Page 26 of Silent Snowfall

I couldn’t help laughing roughly under my breath. That woman was going to be the death of me.

Chapter 9 – Rosetta

Iwas possessed.

There was no other word for it. Sitting on the kitchen chair, I tapped my heel against the floor. It had to be some strange, yuletide curse that grabbed hold of me. Why else would a thirty-something-year-old mother of two be in a dress from her early twenties—a dress that by some miracle still fit after having twins—and waiting for a man in a mask to break into her grandmother’s house.

It was ridiculous.

If I hadn’t drunk those two shots of tequila, my courage would have worn out, and I would have slipped upstairs, locked my door, and hid under the covers. And if he took any longer, I was going to need another shot.

I was attracted to the stranger. There was no other way to put it. Yes, he was ridiculously extravagant with the gifts to my family. But the whole setup—him helping my grandmother bring Christmas cheer—was kind of sweet. He didn’t grumble once about the chore to stage the elves but rather made it exciting and put care into the details.

And the way he talked….

The way he looked at me.

The last few years of my marriage had been strained. I knew my late husband was keeping secrets. Our fights became frequent. But when Andy started working late, when his clothes had crimson stains and his fists were bloody, I knew he was in too deep. Instead of talking to me about it, instead of calming my fears, he’d brushed me aside. Or worse, got angry and made condescending comments.

We weren’t in love when he died.

I just hadn’t expected myself to find someone I was attracted to ever again.

And after the insanity of moving to this town, I needed to forget. I just needed to be a woman that felt wanted by a man. The escape promised relief from the endless strain of being a mother…and the added madness at realizing my grandmother was an adorable lady on the outside and a complete psycho on the inside.

Nope, I didn’t want to think about that. Neither did I want to dwell on the chaos that was my life. I just wanted to play the game the masked man proposed and enjoy the anonymity of not knowing under the protection of night.

The front doorknob jiggled.

I shot to my feet, heart in my throat. I couldn’t breathe. What if he thought this was dumb? I mean, the dress wasn’t that scandalous. Maybe he would tease me for bothering to dress up. The lump in my throat fell to my chest and settled with a vise grip. Jeers from the past, before I stopped making an effort to be romantic, hissed in the back of my mind.

I tiptoed to the stairs, ready to make my escape.

A voice the texture of gravel rumbled under the kitchen arch. “Well, well, well…. What do we have here?”

The light above the sink flicked on.

I squeaked, whirling around. “Hi!”

The masked man stalked to the counter and set his bag down. Those dark eyes watched me through the slit in his face covering. “My sweet Rose, did you dress up for me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I gulped.

“Now that is a blatant lie,” he rasped, pulling the fingers off his leather glove and dropping it on the counter. The other followed a moment later. “Maybe I should punish you. Lying is a sin.”

A needy little buzz thrummed between my legs.

“Maybe I dressed up for me,” I countered, sounding braver than I felt.

He cocked his head. “And sat alone, in the dark? I don’t think so, Rose.”

Tossing my head, I answered flippantly as my heart shuddered with a healthy burst of fear. “For your information, I came down for a drink of water.”

His tongue tsked. “Didn’t make one for me?”

“Nope.”

He took a step forward. “That wasn’t very nice. I’ll have to teach you a lesson.”