Snow Kissed

Chapter 11

I was in his clothing, again. A pair of large sweat pants and a loose white shirt but I was warm. Bringing my knees to my chest, I leaned back into the couch, watching the fire burn and crack as I listened to the sounds of Ean prepping supper.

I kept telling myself not to think or enjoy too much because it would end.

Ean appeared beside me, mugs in each hand. “Hot chocolate?” Sitting down shoulder to shoulder, he passed me a cup.

“Thanks.” I liked the warmth of the drink.

“Well, Merry Christmas-Eve.”

I smiled, I had forgotten it was Christmas Eve. “You too.”

He was looking at me now and I smiled a bit wider because of it.

“What?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow and sipping my drink. “Mmm. This is so good.”

“How's your sky rise latte now?” he joked.

“Still a latte.”

He smirked, watching the fire and falling silent. Strangely, under the given circumstances, the snowed in house around me felt magical. Ean beside me seemed even crazier. No one in a million years could have convinced me I would have enjoyed such captivity, but I was.

“Supper will be soon,” he told me.

I hadn't eaten anything the entire day, even with the baking. Having been more focused on getting the recipe right, than actually getting food down my throat.

I sipped my hot chocolate and looked at the tree; aside it's odd shape and sparse branches, I liked it.

Ean lifted his arm on the back of the couch and brushed the back of my head as he settled in place.

I smiled, I didn't want to think he was putting any moves on me, but it sure seemed that way.

Sipping my hot drink, his hand stroked a lock of my hair. I buried my nose in the cup from the touch, I wanted to kiss him, involuntarily too.

He leaned closer to whisper, “You have beautiful hair.”

I didn't think my bone straight, red hair was all that pretty, but it was nice to hear.

I swallowed as his palm contacted the back of my neck and massaged. I sighed in reprieve as tingling crawled through my limbs.

His face got a bit closer to mine and I anticipated the kiss I wanted.

His lips contacted and I bit into him, almost spilling my drink all over myself.

He chuckled, “Careful.”

I drew back, but he corrected me against him, kissing me firmly. I suppose the main problem was my lack of self-control around him. He seemed to get the better of me and I didn't know how to deal with it.

The timer in the kitchen went off and our kiss ended.

He got up quick and walked to the kitchen, not looking all the bothered by what was happening between us, not like me at least.

“It's ready.”

I padded across the wood floors to the table as he brought me over a plate of food. “Who taught you to cook?”

He sat down across from me with amusement. “Myself.”

Of course, he had.

I poked my fork into the tender chicken, it's the aroma of rosemary and lemon making my stomach rumble and I started to eat.

“Someone must have taught you,” I pressed, enamoured by the flavours in my mouth.

“I moved out of my house when I was twenty-one and lived by myself till I found a woman who told me I couldn't live alone anymore. She was very convincing.”

It wasn't enough about his ghost fiance and I wished he would say more, but I wasn't going to push that topic.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Me?” I breathed, “What about me?”

“You don't cook. You must always live with someone.”

“No,” I shook my head, “I left home at nineteen and never looked back. I didn't want to stay there. I have three brothers and two sisters. It's a tiny packed house and I hated it. I don’t know how my parents still live there to this day.”

“Where do they live?”

“About an hour and forty minutes from my apartment downtown. Their house is in suburbs. More rural, but still populated... I guess. More populated than here.”

“Hmm,” He smiled, "A lot of places are."

That was more than true.

He continued to eat, sharing another bit of his life with me, “I only have one sister.”

“Older?”

“Older.” He returned my smile. “She's got three kids, they're really cute.”

My heart stopped as I stared at him across from me, he ate more. “Do you see them a lot?”

“More in the summer,” he told me.

“Where are your parents?” I dug for more info.

“They live near my sister, about five hours from here.” He was willingly pouring out information and I drank it up.

“She's married, your sister?”

“Divorced. He's an okay guy, never had a problem with him. Guess she did,” he chuckled.

Finally, the story of his perfect life cracked a bit, but the worse part, for some reason, I wanted to meet his sister, her kids, and even his parents.

He looked up to me, half his meal done while mine had two bites out of it.

“You don't like the chicken?”

“No, it's good. Sorry, I'm just thinking...”

“Thinking, hmm.”

“What?”

He smiled and ate more, shrugging, “So, I guess Vice Presidents don't have a lot of time for boyfriends.”

I stopped my food cutting and looked up to him slowly. “What's that mean?” My heart slammed in my chest.

“You said seven months,” He repeated my earlier words in reminder. “Is there a reason for that?”

“No.”

Yes.

“Hmm.”

“Stop doing that,” I shot at him.

I startled him, making him look up quickly. “What?”

“That 'hmm' thing. It confuses me,” I snapped, getting a bit huffy.

“Sorry.”

“It's okay.” Grumbling, I poked at my food, the thought of my last boyfriend stuck in my mind. He hadn't been anything special and he'd hurt me, even if I hated to admit it. “I went out with this guy for two years and he broke up with me on the night of our anniversary for some slutty secretary. I mean come on! I had so much more than that girl! I was so stupid too.” I shook my head in frustration as the memories flooded back to me.

“Why's that?”

I blinked at him and his calmness at that moment.

“I thought the asshole was going to propose!” I couldn't believe I'd just blurted that out and covered my mouth in the recourse.

“You did?”

I tried to hold it together, dropping my hand from my chapped lips. “We were at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Dinner was five hundred and seven dollars; I figured he was going to propose... Isn't that what people do?”

Ean tilted his head with interest. “Dinner was five hundred bucks? Do you know how many tools you can buy for that? Or records...”

“This isn't a joke, Ean.”

“Well, did you even love him?”

What did that have to do with anything!

I stared at him, wanting to inflict pain on him for being so simple and correct about everything. “I... I don't know.”

“You don't? But you wanted to marry him.” For some reason when Ean Hunter said that to me, it seemed silly and made me feel shallow. He made Richard seem like a waste of two years of my life, which he had been.

I said absolutely nothing back.

“Hmm...”

“Stop doing that!” I pointed at him.

“What?” He laughed.

I got annoyed and stood, taking my plate to the kitchen.

“Amy, come on,” Ean urged, “He was just a dick.”

“I spent two years with that guy and he cheated on me for most of it.”

Ean stood, following me and about to touch me if I hadn't been glaring at him as I was. “You didn't even love him.”

“That has nothing to do with it. You make my life seem like a joke. My life isn't a joke. You live in a fantasy world! Grow up, Ean. Richard and I were perfect together!” Perfect as in our bank accounts were together.

“Really? Perfect? Interesting.”

I swallowed, falling silent. Shit.

He walked to the sink and put his empty plate away. “Amy, I don't live in a fantasy world. I've worked hard for everything I have, just like you. Just because you might have more money, doesn’t make your life above mine, it just makes it different.” He turned to me. “The guy seems like a dick, in my opinion, sorry, if that offended you. I guess those are the only men you attract because you’re so dominant. You got to let this vice president thing go, Amy. Let someone in.”

I hated when people gave me advice and even though I was attempting to swallow his words, I couldn't.

“Says you. You just told me the last person you were with was your fiance three years ago!”

A hardline creased his brow upon his next words to me. “There's a difference, Amy. I loved her. You didn't love this guy and he didn't love you. And not that it's much of your business, but there had been a few girls I've almost slept with and I couldn't do it. No girl has made me feel even remotely close to the way Claire did, what's the point moving forward if there's nothing?”

I paused, getting his undertone and the way the conversation was going.

“I told you, I liked you. Unfortunately, I feel like I may like you more than you will ever like me. Which let me tell you, really sucks for me.” He headed towards the door.

My heart started to pound in my chest, I didn't want him to abandon me for his woodworking again.

“Ean!”

He slipped his coat on as I rushed over.

“You're right. Richard was a dick. A walking dick.”

He listened and I knew I had to say something more.

“Don't leave me,” I begged for the first time in my life.

“I'm only going outside for a few minutes. I made you a Christmas present. I thought it might make you feel better.”

The man continually confused the living crap out of me. I blubbered out my stunned words, “You made me a present?”