Snowed In Read online

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” I didn’t look at him. I was pretending to be dazzled by the fire, because I didn’t want him to see the lie in my eyes.

  “I don’t know. You just looked…surprised out there when…uh…Nathalie and I…you know.”

  Where had the smooth-talking lumberjack gone? He seemed to be as awkward as I felt.

  “You never said you had a girlfriend, so yeah, I was a little surprised.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to be totally honest about how it had stunned me, because he might correctly read that I was beginning to have an interest in him that went beyond painting walls.

  “But you and Nathalie are friends. Didn’t she tell—”

  “That she had a boyfriend, yeah, but she never told me who he was.” I did look at him then. He looked as confused as I probably had out at the volleyball net.

  “So, what? She never mentioned me by name?”

  “Right. She just said ‘my boyfriend.’ My boyfriend this. My boyfriend that. My boyfriend, my boyfriend, my boyfriend.”

  He furrowed his brow deeply. “Huh.”

  “Yeah,” I said. I almost added that it was like he was a trophy, but I had a feeling he was already thinking that.

  “So, when you and I were talking…you didn’t think I was coming on to you, did you?”

  “Oh, no, of course not,” I lied.

  He seemed to think about that.

  “I was just being friendly,” he finally said.

  “Me too. Totally.”

  “I mean, I have a girlfriend.”

  “Which I now know.”

  “What if I didn’t?”

  I went completely still. Not even breathing. I seemed to do that a lot when he was around. “What if you didn’t what?”

  “Would it make a difference if I didn’t have a girlfriend?”

  “I don’t believe in playing what-if games.”

  “It’s not a game.”

  “It’s not reality, either.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “Hey, you two,” Nathalie said, dropping down to the floor so she was sorta wedged between us, and almost sitting in Josh’s lap. “What are you doing?”

  “Just trying to get warm,” Josh and I said at the same time.

  Weird. Great minds and all that. So if we both thought alike, why didn’t I realize he had a girlfriend? Why hadn’t he figured out that I didn’t know? And why hadn’t Nathalie ever said anything? She had to know he was working at my house.

  Nathalie took Josh’s hand and began rubbing it. “His hands stay cold for so long after he plays volleyball. It’s insane, isn’t it? That the guys play winter volleyball half dressed?”

  “Totally,” I agreed.

  “Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  “Nope. This much snow and this much cold is a totally new experience.”

  “You know what? You should go cross-country skiing with us tomorrow. It’s the best way to get up close and personal with the island.” She rubbed her shoulder against Josh’s. “That would be okay, wouldn’t it? To have Ashleigh come along?”

  “Sure,” Josh said with as much enthusiasm as a senior being told he was being demoted to freshman.

  “I’ve never skied,” I said, trying to find a diplomatic way to say no-way-no-how was I going on an outing with Nathalie and “her boyfriend.”

  “Oh, it’s easy,” Nathalie assured me. “Toddlers can do it. You can use Chase’s skis. He lives next door, so it won’t be a problem to get them, and he’s working at the fudge shop tomorrow, so he won’t need them.”

  “I don’t want to butt in…”

  She snuggled against Josh. “No problem. Think of us as the welcome committee. Really, it’ll be loads of fun.”

  Before I could offer another protest, Chase dropped down beside me. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

  “Just getting warm,” I said.

  “Ashleigh’s going cross-country skiing with me and Josh tomorrow. She’s going to use your skis.”

  “And what if I want to use them?” Chase asked.

  “You’re working. You can’t use them.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “If you don’t want—”

  “It’s fine,” Chase said. “You can use them. We’ll work out payment Friday night. We’re still going out, right?”

  “You two are going out?” Josh asked before I could respond.

  “Yeah,” Chase said. “Is that a problem?”

  “Not at all. I just didn’t realize—”

  “No reason you should, dude. I don’t run my social calendar by you.”

  Was I sensing a little tension here?

  “I’ll walk you home,” Chase said to me.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said.

  “It’s no trouble.”

  “All right.” I pushed myself to my feet.

  “So my boyfriend and I will see you tomorrow, right after lunch,” Nathalie said.

  I almost asked if she knew her boyfriend had a name, and if she knew what it was.

  Josh looked at her funny, like maybe he was just realizing that she had this strange habit of never, and I do mean never, referring to him by name.

  “Sounds good,” I said.

  “Hey, are you guys leaving?” Shanna asked. Before we could answer, she added, “Don’t forget the hayride Thursday night. We’ll be by to pick up everyone around seven. Are you in, Ashleigh?”

  “Yeah, she’s in,” Chase said, winking at me.

  “Guess I’m in.”

  Everything was happening so fast, just when I was getting used to everything happening so slowly.

  I bundled myself up and followed Chase outside. I’d forgotten how cold it was. Especially when we turned the corner and the wind from off the lake hit us. I was thinking that buying fur-lined boots wasn’t enough. Finding some fur-lined underwear might not be a bad idea.

  “Was something going on between you and Josh back there?” I finally asked.

  Chase gave me a crooked smile. “Nah. Not really. Just…you know.”

  Actually I didn’t know, which was why I’d asked. But it seemed rude to pester him about something he obviously didn’t want to talk about.

  “I mean, couples hook up when they’re kids, and then no one else gets a chance to date,” he said. “That’s all.”

  Was he saying that he wanted to date Nathalie?

  “But you didn’t hook up with anyone. I thought it was because you like fudgies.”

  He shrugged. “That’s what Nathalie thinks.”

  Did that mean it wasn’t true?

  “So, what do you think of island life so far?” he asked. I guess he could see that I was trying to figure out what he was really saying—and he didn’t want me thinking about it.

  “Love the fudge,” I said, grinning.

  He grinned back. “Yeah, it’s hard to beat.”

  “Everything seems to move slower here.”

  “You should see it during the summer.”

  “Do things speed up then?”

  “No, not really, but you can find more things to do. Horseback riding. Bicycling. Hiking. Lots of good hiking trails and caves to explore.”

  “I guess there’s more to this island than I realized. So about this hayride…”

  “Shanna’s dad owns one of the freight companies, so they have these big old wagons. Every year they load hay onto a couple of them, and we ride over the island, stopping at houses along the way for apple cider. It’s fun. Did you not want to do it?”

  “Oh, no, I’d love to. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

  “Great. And don’t worry. We haven’t even had our date yet, so we won’t kiss if you don’t want to.”

  I released a slight laugh. “Excuse me, but this city girl has never been on a hayride. Is there something special I need to know?”

  He grinned. “Hayrides are good for kissing. A natural way to keep warm.”

  “Ah,