Page 21 of Stuck Together

I looked up and met his eyes. His deep blue gaze said so much more than I was willing to accept. I saw heat and attraction and desire.

I tore my eyes away from his and made the mistake of letting them drift down to his chest. His breathing was heavy. His chest slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. I could have sworn I saw a twitch in his hands. I quickly turned back into my room and grabbed my purse.

“Dinner would be great. Let's go get some dinner.” The words came tumbling out too quick and I practically ran past him and into the living space.God, I must look like a babbling idiot.

He shook his head with a light chuckle, and he followed me into the living room.

“It looks like the restaurant has a decent menu,” he said. “At least we’ll eat well while we're trapped here.”

“Trapped!” I spun around a little too quickly and wobbled, but I caught myself before I fell. I always was a bit of klutz. Add in awkward situations and I was sure to fall flat on my face at some point.

He looked over his shoulder at me with a devious grin. “Have you looked outside? It hasn’t stopped snowing since we got here.”

I shook my head and walked over to the window. The six inches that covered the ground when we arrive looked to have doubled, maybe more.

“But we’ve only been here an hour,” I whispered.

“I guess the storm is a lot worse than the weatherman predicted.” Logan was standing right behind me. So close that if I turned around, we’d touch. The very idea of that possibility sent a shiver through my body. His hand reached around me and pushed the curtain further back from the window so he could lean in to see better. His face was inches from mine. My heart rate kicked up a notch and I had to focus on keeping my breathing slow and even.

He shifted his eyes to mine, catching me staring at him. Our eyes locked and the deep blue irises of his eyes turned almost black. A fire pooled in my belly and an ache settled between my legs. He looked at my mouth and I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth. He slowly leaned closer to me, pulling me in.Shit, are we going to kiss? I can’t kiss him.

My brain finally kicked in, telling me to step away. I jerked back, breaking the spell that drew us together. He turned around and ran his hands through his hair. “We better head over to the restaurant before we get snowed in without dinner.”

I nodded and grabbed my purse. “I hope it stops soon. I hate to be stuck here longer than necessary.”

“Yeah, if it keeps coming down like this tomorrow, we might not get out of here on Friday. I hope you’re prepared for a longer stay.” Logan slipped on his coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck. I was still standing in the middle of the living room trying to calm myself down after almost kissing him. Seven hours in a car with this man and discovering he not only had a daughter, but was also a great father, had my willpower all jumbled up and out of control. Fuck, this had to stop.

“Are you coming?” His words dragged me out of my thoughts.

I grabbed my coat off the chair and headed for the door. “Yep, let’s go.”

I walked past him and started up the path, not bothering to wait for him. Being stuck here, alone with him, should have sounded like the worst thing that could ever happen to me. But it didn’t. I found myself hoping it would snow more so we’d be forced to work through this and put the past behind us. Maybe we could giveusanother chance.

Would that be such a bad idea?Yes, Madison. It would.

I wasn't prepared for this. Hell, I wasn't prepared forhim. I never wanted to see him again and now that I was here with him, every past feeling, desire, want, and need for him come flooding back to me.

I’m seriously in trouble.

***

THE RESORT RESTAURANTwas busy, but we managed to snag one of the only empty tables in the place. Our small table for two was tucked into an alcove by the window. If the sun were up, I was sure we’d have a magnificent view of the mountains. It was cozy, quaint, and romantic. Not exactly the kind of dinner, I was prepared to have with Logan.

We ordered our drinks and sat in silence while we studied the menu. We avoided making eye contact and behaved like two strangers forced to sit together rather than two people who grew up together. It was exactly the kind of awkwardness I had hoped to avoid during this trip.

The server returned with our drinks, took our orders, and left us alone in our private alcove once again.

Logan took a drink of his beer before leaned forward with a tight smile on his face. I thought he was going to speak, but nothing came out. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, but I was currently at a loss of words. I couldn't tell what he was thinking as he stared at me. The silence between us was already bad enough and he was making it worse. The way he looked at me weighed me down like a heavy rain.

His eyes darted back and forth between me and the table. Dammit, why was this so hard? I turned away from him, unable to watch his struggle.

If this were how the next two days went, I wouldn't survive this trip.

Ready to put an end to our uncomfortable silence, I asked, “What's on your mind, Logan?”

He narrowed his eyes and studied me for a moment before he leaned back in his chair with his arm draped across the back of it. “Just trying to figure you out, Madison.”

“I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other, but I’m not all that different from when we were kids. A little older, and a little wiser, but otherwise, I’m still Madison.”