by Diane Kelly
He narrowed his eyes back at her. “What are you smiling about?”
Busted. “Enjoying the hot chocolate,” she said. “That’s all.”
He arched a brow. “You haven’t had any yet.”
“Um . . . it’s always good.” She took a big sip. “Yum. See?”
The grin tugging at his lips told her he might not be buying her story. It also drew her attention to his oh-so-kissable mouth. If she kissed him right now he’d taste like chocolate and rum. Mmm.
Whoosh! The wind blew fiercely outside, rattling the kitchen windows. Zamboni, being the wimp that he was, issued a pitiful whimper.
Jeremy reached down to scratch behind the dog’s ears. “Don’t worry, boy. It’s only the wind.”
“I bet Zam’s going to climb into bed with you tonight.” Lucky dog.
“I wouldn’t mind,” Jeremy said. “He keeps my feet warm.”
“Dibs on Flurry.”
“You’ll have to take that up with her,” he replied with a grin. “She and Zamboni are usually inseparable.”
In that case, maybe I could sleep in your bed, too . . .
They took their cocoa into the living room. The dogs plopped down on the braided rug in front of the fireplace.
Jeremy picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the television. “Better check the weather report.”
On the TV screen, the regular program had been interrupted by a special news broadcast. “Several inches have already fallen in Duluth,” the female forecaster told viewers as she gestured at a map. “More is expected overnight. A travel advisory has been issued and sources from the Minnesota Department of Transportation tell us that highways and interstates will soon be closed.”
It was a good thing her parents had flown out when they did.
Another whoosh sounded as wind blew by outside, followed by the sound of tree limbs creaking. She took her cocoa and stepped up to the window to look out. Snow swirled around the house, so thick she could barely see the birdbath that sat only a few feet from the porch. It felt as if she, Jeremy, and the dogs were inside a life-size snow globe. She could definitely think of worse places to be.
While Jeremy stacked logs in the fireplace, she went about the room, closing the interior shutters on the windows to help keep out the cold. She did the same in the kitchen, baths, and bedrooms before returning to the living room.
The fire blazing, Jeremy plopped down on one end on the sofa. Afraid she’d appear eager or presumptuous, Annalise took a seat in one of the recliners. She still didn’t know for certain how Jeremy felt about her, but that banter earlier had been flirtation, right? Sure it was. Except maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was just a friendly exchange between long-time friends. Arghhh!
The weather report ended and the station returned to its usual Friday night program, a family-friendly sitcom. The show had been on for mere seconds when the TV screen, and everything else in the house, went dark.
“We’ve lost electricity,” Jeremy said. “Of course I suppose that’s obvious, huh?”
She cut a smile his way. “Little bit.”
Thank goodness they’d still have heat, courtesy of the propane tank outside.
“Stay put,” Jeremy said. “I’ll get some candles.”
The fire provided sufficient light in the living room, but they’d be out of luck in the bedrooms later. Using the flashlight app on his phone, he lit his way into the kitchen. She heard him rummaging around in drawers and cabinets. He returned a moment later with a couple of candles in glass jars, as well as two matchbooks and flashlights. “This ought to do us.” He placed the items on the coffee table for later.
With no television for entertainment, they’d have to come up with something else to keep themselves occupied until bedtime. Annalise knew just the thing. She stepped over to the end table and rummaged around in the drawer for a deck of cards. “You up for a game or two?”
“Poker?” Jeremy asked.
“I was thinking more along the lines of crazy eights.”
The grin played about his mouth again. “You know you’re not twelve anymore, right?”
She knew it. Still, when she was with Pappy, she’d still felt like his special girl. Even at twenty-five. “Poker, then,” she agreed. “Prepare to have your wallet emptied.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – JEREMY
He almost suggested they play strip poker, but despite the buzz he was feeling from the rum he wasn’t brazen enough to suggest it. At least not yet. He was still trying to work up the nerve. Nonetheless, he couldn’t let her trash talk go unaddressed, could he? “Prepare to have your pants beat off.”
Annalise tossed her head. “Oh, yeah, tough guy? I’ve got thermals on under my pants, so there.”
It was a lame comeback, but he laughed anyway. So did she.
His first hand stank, but he decided to bluff and tossed fifty cents onto the table.
Annalise eyed him from the end of the couch where she now sat. If nothing else, this game had brought her closer. She squinted, as if trying to get a read on him. “You’re bluffing.”
He responded with a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.” She seemed to see right through him. Could she tell what other thoughts he’d had tonight, how her talk about her thermal underwear made him think about the bare skin that lay beneath them?
She tossed a handful of quarters onto the pile of coins. “I see your fifty cents and raise a dollar.”
They went around a few more hands before she called it. She laughed again when he displayed his sorry hand on the table. “I knew it! You can’t bluff. You’re a no-bullshit kind of guy. That’s one of the things I’ve always liked about you.”
Wait. She’d just said she liked him. But did she like him like him? Or just like him like him? Sheesh, he admonished himself. It’s not like we’re in second grade. He should just man up and make a move, right? After all, she seemed to be blushing a little now, as if she hadn’t meant to reveal her feelings. On the other hand, it had been a long, emotional day. Both of them were feeling a little loose thanks to the generous amount of rum he’d laced their hot chocolate with. As much as he’d like to get physical with her—hell, he’d be thrilled with just a kiss!—he didn’t want them to do anything Annalise might regret in the morning. The risk was just too great. He was determined to make a move, but he’d take it slowly, carefully.
Still, he could return the compliment. No harm in that, right? “I’ve always liked that you’re close to your family. That you’re reliable.” Unlike his mother had been. Perhaps that’s why he valued the trait so much in Annalise.
“Reliable?” Annalise snorted, but it was with mirth, not derision. “Just what a woman wants to hear.”
“I could go on if you’d like.” Uh-oh. He was putting his toe in some dangerous waters here. But it was long past time to dip those toes, right?
“Don’t let me stop you.” She picked up the deck of cards and began to shuffle them.
“You’re smart,” he added. “You’re loyal. You’re level-headed.”
Annalise sighed.
“You’re flexible,” he said, thinking back on her yoga practices that he’d surreptitiously witnessed.
She looked his way now, her chin lifted as if she were trying to discern whether he meant flexible in the mental sense or the physical sense.
He went on. “You’ve also got a very nice smile and eyes.”
“Nice,” she repeated flatly.
“Pretty,” he clarified.
Her voice and expression sounded more hopeful now, and her eyes sparked. “Pretty?”
He wasn’t sure what made him say what he said next. Maybe it was the rum. Maybe it was the romantic fire burning. Or maybe it was that fruity smell of her shampoo. But whatever the reason, he let his feelings fly. “Your eyes are gorgeous. And you’ve had a great ass since you turned fifteen. Your hair is wild and sexy and all I want to do right now is pick you up, carry you to my bedroom, and bury my face in it.”
He felt his heart race in panic. So much for moving slowly and cautiously, huh? He turned to look at the fire. “I guess I took that no-bullshit thing too far, huh?”
“No,” she replied breathily, her gaze locked on his. “I’m just wondering what you’re waiting for.”
That was all the encouragement he needed. In one swift motion he scooped her up off the couch and carried her down the hall.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – ANNALISE
Flurry nudged her hand at first light the next morning. It took Annalise a moment to get her bearings.
She was naked. In Jeremy’s bed. In the home they now owned together.
And she’d never felt happier in her entire life.
He lay beside her, dead to the world. She wondered if he’d feel happy when he woke, too, or whether he’d think they’d made a big mistake. Was last night real? Or was it simply the result of too much rum?
She slipped as quietly as she could out of bed and scurried across the hall to get her robe. She let the dogs out to relieve themselves, glad to see the worst of the storm was over. Though snow blanketed the yard and continued to fall, at least the winds had died down.
When the dogs returned, she fed them breakfast, then showered, dressed, and fixed her hair and makeup. She returned to the kitchen and whipped up a batch of pancakes, made to Pappy’s exact specifications.
As she used a spatula to maneuver the last of the pancakes onto a plate, Jeremy’s voice came from behind her. “You made breakfast again? I could get used to this.”
So could I, though Annalise. That was the problem. Or was it the solution?
She placed the plates on the table and poured them each a cup of coffee, avoiding Jeremy’s gaze. She could feel his eyes boring into her.
“About last night,” he began.
Oh, Lord. She looked down at her plate, not daring to look at his face.
“Was it just me?” he asked. “Or was it freaking awesome?”
A laugh burst from her lips, and she looked up into his warm, brown eyes. “It wasn’t just you. It was great for me, too.”
He took a sip of his coffee and stretched out a leg, affectionately encircling her ankle with his. “Let’s call the attorney Monday and tell him we’re going with option three. Then you can call your boss in California and put in your resignation. We can drive one of the delivery trucks out to California to get your things and move them here.”
Annalise wasn’t surprised at all when she heard herself say, “Okay.” She might not have family in Thief River Falls, but she had Jeremy, and he was all she really needed. Besides, they could fly out to California on occasion to see her mom and dad, or her parents could come to visit them here in Minnesota. Pappy’s legacy would live on.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – JEREMY
On Valentine’s Day, he took Annalise to the fanciest restaurant in Grand Forks. She deserved it. The last three weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. They’d made the cross-country trip to get her moved to Thief River Falls, and she’d assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Sappy Pappy’s.
But now, there was another role he’d like her to take on. The role of his wife.
The waiter brought a bottle of champagne to the table and poured them each a glass. He set the flutes before them.
“Thank you,” Annalise said, looking up at the waiter.
“My pleasure,” the waiter said before turning to Jeremy and giving him a surreptitious wink.
Jeremy eyed Annalise over his glass as she raised her own to her lips. Her eyes popped wide when she saw the satin ribbon tied to the stem, a diamond ring dangling from it.
“Jeremy!” she cried breathlessly, setting the flute down on the tablecloth.
He reached over and tugged on the ribbon until the ring came loose. Taking the ring in his hand, he got down on one knee next to the table. “I’ve loved you for years, Annalise. I think we should spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes gleamed with joyful tears, and she covered her mouth with her hand as her head nodded. “Yes!” she cried when she was able to compose herself. “I’ve loved you, too! Of course it’s a yes!”
He slid the ring onto her finger and pulled her into his arms. A sticky situation had brought them together, and now they’d be stuck with each other forever. That was just the way he wanted it.
EPILOGUE
Jeremy and Annalise were married in a small summer wedding outdoors at the cabin. After a honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls, they returned to Minnesota and embarked on a new venture, developing Sappy Pappy’s Pure Bliss Pancake Mix.
The pancake mix proved to be just as popular as the syrup, and had an even higher profit margin. It wasn’t long before they had the funds to update the cabin’s kitchen and baths and paint the small bedroom that had once belonged to both Annalise and Jeremy. Just in time, too, what with a little one on the way. They looked forward to the years ahead, when their child’s face would be sticky with Sappy Pappy’s Pure Maple Syrup. And they owed it all to the old man with the big heart who’d made sure they’d stick together.
Dear Reader,
I hope this story warmed your heart!
Be the first to receive exciting book news by signing up for my newsletter at: Diane Kelly
Check out excerpts from my other works on the following pages, and visit these websites for other Stolen Hearts Stories:
Hearts, Howls and Heroes by Trinity Blake
The Trouble with Larry by Angela Harris
Heart's Desire by Cadia Cox Cadia Cox
My New Girl Fiend by Hadley Holt
Stolen Memories by Sherrel Lee
Happy reading!
Diane Kelly
Enjoy these other books and novellas by Diane Kelly!
Full-length novels (available in both print and digital formats):
Love, Luck, and Little Green Men
Paw Enforcement
Paw and Order
Laying Down the Paw
Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure
Death, Taxes, and a Skinny No-Whip Latte
Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray
Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria
Death, Taxes, and Hot Pink Legwarmers
Death, Taxes, and Green Tea Ice Cream
Novellas and short stories (available in digital formats formats):
One Magical Night
Five Gold Smuggling Rings
Death, Taxes, and a Sequined Clutch
Death, Taxes, and Mistletoe Mayhem
EXCERPT FROM LOVE, LUCK, & LITTLE GREEN MEN
Love, Luck, and Little Green Men
CHAPTER ONE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH
MIXED BOUQUETS, MIXED MESSAGES
Another Valentine’s Day and here I was again.
Lonely.
Loveless.
Lover-less.
Yep, I’m unlucky in love. Unlucky in just about everything else, too. Life tried, and time again, to kick my ass. But, you know what? Life could piss off. I, Erin Flaherty, would not go down without a fight.