Snowed In (20 page)

It was a weird thought: Mom with a guy who wasn’t my dad.

His arms tightened around me. “Want to hear something silly?”

“Yeah, I could use a laugh.”

“I’ve never asked a girl out.”

Okay, I didn’t laugh. Not even a snicker.

“I don’t know how to do it,” Josh continued.

“I’ve spent the past two days trying to figure out what to say.”

I shifted around slightly. “You and Nathalie didn’t date?”

“We went out, but I never really asked her if she wanted to. I mean, there was never any question that she’d say yes. We were ‘together,’ so if one of us wanted to do something, the other went along.”

I thought of Tara just handing Shaun her fudge or dragging him through a bunch of little shops when he had no interest in them. Or maybe he had. Again, with him it was hard to tell. But she never actually asked him if he wanted to go. She wanted to go, so he went along.

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“Did Nathalie ever call you by your name?” He chuckled quietly and the sound vibrated near my ear. “You know, I never noticed until you pointed it out how she always referred to me as her boyfriend. I know I’m not arm candy or anything, but I think she liked the idea of having a boyfriend more than she liked me personally.” After seeing how quickly she hooked up with Chase, I’d come to the same conclusion. Maybe she’d just been afraid not to have someone.

“Why did you go with her for so long, if you didn’t want to be her boyfriend?”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t
want
to be her boyfriend. Just never really planned to be.”

“Chase is her boyfriend now,” I said.

“Yeah, I heard. There aren’t many secrets on this island.”

Leaning back, I nestled my head into the nook of his shoulder.

“The heater’s not running,” he said quietly.

“We should probably go downstairs where you’ve got the fire going in the fireplace.”

“Probably. Or we could get the blankets off the bed.”

But we didn’t do either. I could hear the candle crackling. It was romantic.

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“So you’ve dated a lot,” he said. “What did the guys say when they asked you out?”

“They all said different things. You should say your words, not theirs.”

“But the first time I ask a girl out, if she says no, I might be scarred for life.” His voice held a hint of teasing. But I thought maybe he was really nervous. As nervous as I was about where we might be heading.

“Why would she say no?” I asked.

“Why would she say yes? She’s been avoiding me lately.”

“You’ll never know her answer unless you ask.”

He kissed the soft spot just below my ear. It tickled and I curled my shoulder inward, which brought my mouth closer to his.

And then he was kissing me. It was so wonderful.

He pressed his palm against my cheek, turning my face for a better angle. I shifted around until I was sitting across his lap. I burrowed more closely against him so his jacket almost formed a cocoon around me.

He deepened the kiss. A little dab. A lot of swirl.

Drawing back slightly, he said, “Will you go out 252

with me tomorrow night?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, nodding quickly. “Oh, yeah.”

And then he was kissing me again.

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22

For our first date, we didn’t exactly “go out.” Technically, we were snowed in.

The storm had continued through the night.

Eventually we moved down to the parlor so we could snuggle on the couch in front of the fire with several blankets tucked in around us.

And we talked. About everything and nothing.

What school on the island was like, with all the grades in one building, the lilac festival, the fudgies, what it was like to be the rock-skipping champ, our favorites on everything . . . And we ended and started each new topic with a kiss. I didn’t think I’d ever kissed any of my dates as much as I kissed Josh.

But then, I hadn’t wanted to.

Being with Josh was so different from being with any other guy I’d ever dated. It was more than the fact that we had so much in common. I just liked being with him. I liked looking at him. I 254

enjoyed talking with him. I wanted to know what he thought about things. And I wanted to share what I thought.

And the kissing. Oh my gosh, the kissing. My feet were in danger of cramping because my toes were curling so much, but I didn’t care. Cramp, cramp away. It was worth it to kiss Josh.

He served me breakfast—another grilled cheese sandwich—in bed. Or I should say breakfast in couch, since the parlor was the warmest room in the house, and it was where I planned to stay for the duration of the storm.

I fixed him lunch.

And we made supper together.

Even though the electricity had come back on by then, we still ate by candlelight. But at least we could eat in the kitchen because the heater was running again.

We’d just settled on the couch to watch a horror movie—with a bowl of buttery popcorn between us—when Josh’s cell phone rang. He looked at it. “My dad.”

He answered. “Hey, Dad . . . no, I’m fine. After you called last night, I, uh, I actually came over to Ashleigh’s to make sure she was okay and the weather was so bad that I ended up staying.” He grimaced. “Yes, sir, I know. I behaved.” He rolled 255

his eyes. “When will you be back?” He mouthed,

“Tomorrow” and then said, “That’s what I figured.

Snow has us packed in, so I’ll dig us out tomorrow.” He winked at me.

We’d been talking about staying snowed in through the winter. And that was such a strange thing for me, to want to spend that much time with a guy. I usually got bored so quickly, was ready to move on so soon. Everything was different with Josh. It was comfortable, but scary.

And I didn’t know how it could be both, but it was.

I wondered if Tara was going to be surprised when I finally called her, or if she’d known all along that I’d feel this way if I gave Josh a chance.

“Your mom wants to talk to you,” Josh said, handing me the phone.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Ashleigh, Josh’s dad told me that Josh is there with you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“I expect you two to behave yourselves.”

“We will. I promise.”

“I wish we could get back today.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be okay, and you can trust me.”

“I know I can,” Mom said. “Hopefully, we’ll see 256

you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I handed the phone back to Josh and he talked to his dad a little longer. Then he hung up and picked up the remote.

“You ready?” he asked.

It was a horror movie I’d never seen. Before he’d headed over here, he’d stuffed it into his jacket pocket just in case we got snowed in and needed something to watch. I liked a guy who came prepared.

“I’m ready,” I said.

“I’m gonna be watching you.”

“Why watch me? Watch the movie.”

“I need proof that you watch horror movies with your eyes wide open.”

“Proof? Why would you need proof?”

“Because my first girlfriend was a girly-girl when we watched horror. I don’t want my next girlfriend to be.”

My heart thumped in my chest—thumped from excitement, not fear. I snuggled up against him, reached for the remote, and punched play.

I didn’t close my eyes once.

It was almost a week before we had our official first date. Mom and Mr. Wynter had finally 257

returned to the island, well and happy. With lots of new wallpaper.

Mom didn’t seem surprised that I had a date.

She seemed really glad. Turns out my attitude about never having a boyfriend worried her. Here I’d thought Tara was weird for hooking up with Shaun of the Dead, and Mom had thought I was weird for not hooking up with anyone.

“I knew it! I knew it!” Tara had shouted when I’d finally told her that Josh and I were going on an official date. And she immediately started talking about all the things that the four of us would do when she and Shaun came back to the island in the summer.

“I can’t confirm,” I told her. “I can’t think that far ahead.”

“Okay, okay, but just consider it a possibility that you’ll still be with him come summer.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

We might still be dating then. If I survived tonight.

I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect.

Josh hadn’t told me anything, except to dress warmly.

I went with my usual jeans tucked into boots.

I was wearing an emerald green cowl-necked 258

sweater. It was really soft. I didn’t think it would keep me terribly warm, but I just couldn’t go the whole bundled-up-like-an-Eskimo route. I wanted to look a little sexy. Okay, I wanted to look a lot sexy. I wanted Josh to be amazed.

Strange that after spending so much time together during the last week, we were still learn-ing so much about each other. And I loved every minute that I discovered something new about him.

I was pacing in the parlor when I heard the sleigh bells.

I pulled back the curtain and looked outside.

Josh was climbing out of a sleigh.

I wanted to believe it was because he was a romantic, but I knew he saw it as just a mode of travel. So now I was left to wonder where we were going.

Mom was looking over my shoulder. “Isn’t that sweet?”

I didn’t want to disappoint Mom the romantic, so I just said, “Very.”

I gave her a big hug and was out the door before Josh got to the porch.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. I can’t believe you hired a sleigh.”

“Someone I know told me that chicks think 259

sleigh rides are romantic. And if I’m only going to get a couple of dates, I want to make them count.”

“What makes you think you’re going to get only a couple?” I asked.

“How many do you think I’m good for?” I studied him, then gave him a big smile.

“Definitely more than a couple.” Probably a hundred. A thousand even.

He helped me climb into the sleigh, behind the driver, who was sitting on a seat in front of us. Josh got in and tucked a blanket around our laps and our legs.

He told the driver we were ready. The driver slapped the reins and the horses took off.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“Just around the island for a while, then we’ll go to V.P. and grab something to eat. And there’s a movie showing at one of the smaller hotels that I thought we’d catch.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You know what I figured out during the last week?” he asked.

“What?”

“Snow and winter, they go together.” I snuggled more closely against him. “Yeah, we do.”

Sneaux and Wynter—we definitely go together
.

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“I need to ask you something,” he said.

He sounded so serious. It made me nervous. I moved back slightly and studied him. For the first time in days, I couldn’t read his thoughts. “Okay.

Go ahead.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sheet of paper and a tiny flashlight. As I unfolded the paper, he shone the flashlight on it.

Will you be my girlfriend?

Check yes or no.

[] YES [] NO

I laughed. “Is this really the way you want to do it?”

“It’ll leave no doubts. I’ll know exactly where I stand. And if you check no, it’s okay. I know you don’t want a boyfriend, and I can respect that. But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep asking or hoping to change your mind. Especially if I get some bonus dates.”

“I don’t have a pen.”

He did. He handed it to me.

I checked the box. Then I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

Because I had, of course, checked yes.

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About the Author

RACHEL HAWTHORNE

is the author of CARIBBEAN CRUISING, ISLAND GIRLS (AND BOYS), LOVE ON THE LIFTS, THRILL RIDE, and THE BOYFRIEND LEAGUE. She lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two dogs—a Golden Retriever and a Chow mix. Before writ-ing full-time she was a programmer, but quickly discovered that creating stories was more fun than creating code. To learn more about Rachel and her books, visit her online at www.rachelhawthorne.net.

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Also by Rachel Hawthorne

Caribbean Cruising

Island Girls (and Boys)

Love on the Lifts

Thrill Ride

The Boyfriend League

Credits

Cover art © 2008 by Sasha Illingworth Cover design by Jennifer Heuer

Copyright

SNOWED IN. Copyright © 2008 by Rachel Hawthorne. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen.

No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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ISBN 978-0-06-155742-2

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