Snowbound Kisses

by Julia Imari

  She leaned deeper into the sofa. “I write screenplays. I dabble in writing short stories, too. But my passion is writing for film.”

  “What genre?” he asked. His gaze filled with curiosity, probing her for an answer.

  “Romantic comedy,” she said and felt her face warming, then continued, “Right now I’m stuck, though. Writer's block. Too many distractions. What with the waitressing job. But I’m sure I can finish my current project.”

  He held her gaze for a long moment, as if he was trying to digest what she had said. Or possibly he was trying to analyze her decision to be a writer. Then, without warning, he scooted closer. Their shoulders touched. His spicy cologne and pure male scent wrapped around her, warming her entire body.

  “You can do it, Thea. Personally, I don’t believe in writer’s block, but I’m sure you can break away and continue to write.”

  “Thanks,” she said. Sitting next to him made her heart beat faster and her blood rush through her veins at lightning speed. She wondered how it would feel to run her fingers through his hair. His chiseled face was peppered with stubble, and she itched to trace his jawline with her finger.

  “So, what do you think about my suggestion?” he asked, propping his head on his palm. His other hand stroked the cat on his lap.

  “What suggestion?” she asked, jerking her head because her mind failed to process what he said.

  He looked deep into her eyes before his gaze slid down to her lips. “This,” he said, and lowered his face to brush his lips over hers. He pulled back, waiting for her reaction. She couldn’t respond fast enough, and he slanted his head and planted his lips on hers. His kiss said that he wanted to know her. His kisses mixed with smiles, and she closed her eyes and followed his lead. No longer smiling, he deepened the kiss, and she linked her arms around his neck to get even closer to him.

  She was attracted to him. Very much so. Her mind turned to mush with his skilled kissing. And she wanted more, but they were in the living room. And she didn’t want to face her grandma in the morning when they got caught making out in the open. Realizing her response had been less intense now, Max trailed his kisses along her jawline and toward her earlobe. She giggled when he nipped on the sensitive skin behind her ear.

  “Say it, Dorothea.” His eyes smiled. “Don’t deny it.”

  “Okay. I’m attracted to you. Satisfied now?” She crossed her arms over her breasts.

  “What are you going to do about it?” he asked, provoking her to make a decision. “Because I’m attracted to you, too. Especially when I learned your full name.”

  She pursed her lips. “You’re mocking my name. I'm used to it. Even when I was in kindergarten, teachers laughed at my name. But all my friends thought it was cool.”

  Max’s gaze softened and he reached to touch the side of her face with the back of his hand. He rubbed his knuckles gently on her skin. “I'm glad you're not traumatized for not having a sophisticated name.”

  “Oh, I’m fine with my traditional name. But sometimes I do feel self-conscious about it. That’s why I introduced myself as Thea.”

  “I thought Thea stands for Theodora. The name suits you well. And to be honest, every time I say your name, it makes me smile. Dorothea.” He burst into laughter.

  He was so cute; she felt such a sense of adoration toward him that she wanted to kiss the laughter out of him. Or even bite him for laughing at her name. Instead, she thinned her lips and rolled her eyes. He shifted in his seat and Tommy jumped down to the floor.

  “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.” And he started to laugh again. “I’ve never laughed this often for so long. You make me feel free to be myself and you don’t judge me either.”

  “That’s because I don’t know you enough to nag you. Yet.”

  “Do you do this often?” he asked.

  She frowned. “Do what often?”

  “Easily invite a man here like you did for me?” He turned serious. There was no trace of laughter visible on his face.

  “Never. This was the first time I made this stupid mistake. I’m glad you’re who you said you are, though.”

  “And yet it never changed you when I told you who I am. That’s the reason I'm attracted to you, Thea.”

  “Well, true to my traditional name, my taste in music is also in line with the 60s and 70s. I don’t like modern music and I don’t like rock either.”

  “Oh Lord. What am I going to do now? When you hear my song, you’ll turn the radio off.” He tilted his head back on the sofa. “You’re an old soul, Thea.” Glancing at her, he asked, “What are your favorite movies?”

  She sighed. “Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, It Hap—”

  “—that’s it. We’re done here. We have nothing in common.” He raked his hair with his fingers. “I like all superhero movies, Star Wars. Everything that doesn't deal with romance.”

  “Not even a romantic comedy?” she asked, smiling.

  He winced. “Especially romantic comedy.” Looking hopelessly at her, he closed his eyes. “But, I find I’m extremely attracted to you now.”

  “Why is that?” she asked, genuinely wanting to find out why he had such feelings when he had just claimed they had nothing in common.

  “It’s in the way you treat me. You haven't put pressure on me by asking me a million questions. You've let me rest, and what got to me is you let me sleep in your own bed. While you slept in the guest room downstairs.”

  She couldn’t answer because her voice decided to shut down. Never in her wildest fantasy had a man given her that kind of praise. And here was this guy she barely knew, complimenting her about how she treated him. Apparently, to him, her treatment was rare and when she thought about his career, it made sense. He stayed mostly in hotels when he was on tour. “Well, Grandma treats people that way. I learned it from her.”

  His gaze softened. “I love that about you. And I’d love to learn more about you while I’m here.”

  She never lost her words in any conversation, but with this one she couldn’t find an answer. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and pushed himself up from the sofa. Extending his hand to her, he lifted her off the seat. Instead of releasing her, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Good night, Max,” she said, pushing herself away from his embrace.

  “Good night, Dorothea.”

  “Take the candle with you. I’ve got one in my bedroom.”

  He sighed and picked up his phone. “Show me your room.”

  When she didn’t budge, he pushed her forward and she had no choice but to walk with him to the hallway. “Here’s the room. The one next to it is my home office.”

  He looked inside before turning to her. “I can sleep here tonight.”

  “No. You go to your room upstairs. Too many boxes in the corner.”

  “Thea….” He cupped the back of her head gently and brought her face closer to his. His lips touched hers and she closed her eyes.

  The gesture overwhelmed her. “Go,” she whispered and went inside and closed the door. She then realized how her whole body trembled with desire.

  Chapter Four

  BRIGHT LIGHT LEAKED into the room through the gap between the curtains. Thea shielded her gritty eyes with the back of her hand. Then she heard a scratching sound at the door. Tommy. Since she’d adopted him, the cat religiously woke her up every morning. How did he even know she’d slept downstairs in this room?

  She yawned and glanced at the side table. Suddenly she was wide awake when the clock showed 10:00 a.m. She had overslept. Sliding down from her bed, she opened the door, and Tommy proceeded to walk inside with his tail straight up. He sat next to her feet and looked at her with eyes half-closed. He was purring.

  “You can’t go outside, Tommy,” she said, crossing the room to the window to draw the curtain to the side. The blizzard had dumped tons of snow, and the window was half-covered with fresh and fluffy
flakes overnight. Mother Nature certainly never failed to do as promised.

  She went to the bathroom and changed into sweatpants and a sweater before padding to the kitchen. The house was awfully quiet. Hot coffee sat on the table. She decided to make a cup of peppermint tea. Tommy was circling her legs and head butting her ankle. She picked him up and the cat gave her an ecstatic look. He purred so loudly that she couldn’t help but smile. Did the poor feline need more heat to keep his body warm? Maybe she could buy a doggy sweater for him. But Tommy was a Maine Coon cat with long fur. “Maybe you're just flirty, Tommy,” she said, lowering the cat to the floor.

  The kitchen door suddenly burst open, and there stood Max all covered in snow. “Hey! Good morning,” he said, removing his knitted cap. His eyes were as green as a deep forest. “Did you sleep well?”

  She pressed both palms around the cup to warm her hands. “I did,” she said. “How about you?” Seeing a man in the morning in her grandmother’s house brought a new feeling to her insides. Butterflies flew all over her stomach—something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  “I was wide awake for an hour. I guess I ate too much last night.” His lopsided grin appeared. “But today I’m ready for adventure.”

  She was on high alert. “What adventure? Where’s Grandma?”

  “We were shoveling the driveway earlier and then she went to the backyard to feed her feathered friends.”

  “She shouldn’t go out there all by herself,” she said, putting the mug into the sink. “I’m going out to see her.”

  “Thea, there’s no need. She’s coming inside soon.”

  “Grandma's using her delay tactic again. Wanna come with me?” she asked. Being alone with Max in the kitchen didn’t help her to stay calm. For whatever reason, she wanted to avoid him. Or maybe he caused so much confusion in her mind that her body heated up too fast. She bent down to scratch Tommy's head.

  “Sure,” he said, as if he was also aware of the change in her behavior. If he noticed it, though, he didn’t show it. He was relaxed and agreeable. Maybe he was assessing her reaction after their kiss last night.

  She dashed to the mudroom to get her jacket, put her winter boots on and together they went out. She stood on the stoop to survey the yard. There was at least two feet of snow, judging from what she saw. Turning to Max, she asked, “You cleared the snow all by yourself?”

  “Together with Grandma,” he admitted. "I was born and raised in San Diego. So I rarely see snow. Except when I go north.”

  “Wait a little longer and you'll start to feel the pain in and around your lower spine.”

  He passed her on the path leading toward the backyard. “You’re no fun.” He picked up a clump of fresh snow and balled it his palms. She knew what he was up to and before she was ready to duck, the snow exploded on her back. The fight had begun.

  She chased him all the way to the backyard with a big snowball in her hands. The chickadees and dark-eyed juncos scattered into the air when snowballs began flying all over the place. Their laughter added to the scene—and that attracted the attention of her grandma.

  Thea stopped her attack. “Grandma, you need to go inside. It’s too cold over there in the barn." She continued, "Grandma makes birdhouses.” Max didn’t react, meaning he already knew. Or he even went inside to see evidence of her grandma's pastime.

  “All right. You two go first. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Let’s go inside, Thea. I'm starting to feel cold.” Max grabbed her hand and dragged her to the front of the house. They stomped their shoes on the mat to remove the snow before they went inside. Tommy poked his head out and jumped back into the living room, licking a few flakes of snow off his fur.

  “I guess the electricity is still out,” Max said, removing his parka. She did the same.

  “Did you check your cell phone?” she asked. “Maybe the signal has returned to normal.”

  He climbed the stairs. “Let me get my phone. I'll be with you in a minute.”

  While waiting for him to come down, she peered outside through the big living room window. Grandma was coming up the walk and she felt relieved. She didn’t want her out there alone, but the old lady didn’t want to listen to her advice. This gave her more reason to get her out of this house as soon as possible. And she had been thinking about Max’s suggestion to help her.

  Grandma appeared in the living room. In her hand hung a small birdhouse made from pieces of wood and painted in purple and white. Not even a finch could fit inside the miniature house the size of a square tissue box with its slanted roof. “I gave him one like this.”

  “Grandma, I don’t think Max has the time to appreciate it. I don’t even know about his background, his parents. Does he have any siblings?”

  “Well, isn’t it about time you ask?” She sauntered toward her room as Tommy chased after her, leaving Thea to wonder about her grandma’s trick.

  While Thea was sitting on the sofa, Max came down and sat next to her. His phone screen blared with texts. “The line is back to normal. But we still don't have electricity.”

  She studied Max’s features. He was truly a gorgeous man. Anyone could fall in love with him, within an hour of meeting him. He had charisma, charm and a smile that could melt a lot of women’s hearts.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked. “I don’t regret kissing you last night, if that's what you’re thinking.” He leaned forward and whispered, “In fact, I’d love to kiss you right now.”

  “You need to set the facts straight, not mislead my grandmother, Max.”

  “What do you want me to say?” He acted as if he didn’t do anything wrong at all. “I told her that I’m very attracted to you, and that’s the truth.”

  She exhaled. “That’s not going to help. At all.”

  He scooted closer as he thumbed his photo gallery. She glanced at what he was searching for. “Here. Let’s me show you something.” He tapped the screen to enlarge the image. “Here are my parents. Me and my sister, Amy. My sister's currently enrolled in law school and my parents are involved in the restaurant business.”

  She forgot about wanting to dismiss Max’s suggestion to help her to find a man she could have as a boyfriend and potential husband. “What a lovely family. You’re so lucky you’ve got a great support system.”

  “Well, I haven't seen them for three months now. I wish I could get back before the holidays, but they’ll understand if I don't.”

  Thea’s empathy for Max deepened, and without thinking she pecked his check to show she understood how he felt about being away from the people he loved the most.

  He gave her a surprised look. “You don’t want me to kiss you, and yet....” A smile bloomed on his face. “I think I know how to get you to agree to my plan.”

  ***

  MAX CONTINUED THUMBING his phone to locate a nice picture of his band members to show Thea. He wanted her to know as much as possible about him and what he was doing. Talking to her grandmother earlier had revealed a lot of interesting facts about her. For instance, Thea was a hard-working type of girl, and very independent. He liked this quality in a woman because he could do his job without worrying about her. Since Thea had never put any pressure on him, he was more than eager to share his background with her.

  “Here are my band members. We were ready to perform in The Garden when the photo was taken.” He handed her the phone and she stared at it, then smiled. “Pick which one you like and I’ll introduce you to him,” he teased.

  Thea shoved the phone back to him with a sour face. “I’m not something you can just pass around.”

  “I'd rather you pick me over them, but it's up to you.”

  “You’re insane. What about your girlfriend?” she asked.

  Yeah, what about that? Amazingly, he hadn’t thought about other women since last night. After their kiss, all he had on his mind was her. He wanted to repeat what they’d done last night, but Thea seemed prickly. What made her less friendl
y? “I broke up with my girlfriend about six months ago. So, I’m not ready for a serious relationship.” Not when Christina was still thinking they could get back together and forget about what she’d done to him. She’d cheated on him, and yet she blamed him for it.

  “I’m sorry, Max. I know how it feels. Been there, done that.”

  He took her hand and held it in his. “What happened?” he asked. “If you don’t mind sharing.”

  “We’d been dating for six years and he didn’t want to commit. I was tired of waiting. So, I left.”

  He inhaled deeply. “So, what’s your plan now?”

  “I want to find a man who agrees to Forever. We could date later, if he wants.”

  He studied her slim fingers. Rubbing her knuckles, wishing he could be the man for her. Unfortunately, he didn’t do Forever. But he didn’t mind being a fake boyfriend, if that would help persuade her grandma to change her mind. When her grandmother settled into her new living arrangement, they could go their separate ways. Or they could remain friends.

  Looking deep into her eyes, he said, “Like I said before, I can help.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. My grandma shouldn’t blackmail me this way. This isn’t fair.”

  “She wants you to have someone when she moves into assisted living. She doesn’t want you to live alone.”

  She looked away. “I’m young and strong. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know. But, from her point of view? Nah.”

  “All right. Show me one of your bandmates. The most gorgeous one,” she said. And her sudden decision surprised him so that he couldn’t do anything but stare at her.

  She nudged him with her elbow. “Max?”

  His heart suddenly lurched, refusing to submit to her request. As far as he was concerned, Thea was someone he wanted to know more about. Her grandma had told him that Thea was adopted by her only daughter. On the way to the adoption agency, her daughter was involved in a car crash and killed. So, her grandma had adopted and raised Thea by herself. And she turned out to be a beautiful, intelligent young lady. That was what her grandma had said. He agreed because he saw it in Thea’s personality. Focusing on her goal, she pursued it without hesitation.