Snowbound Sweetheart

“Warm is more than I expected. With the coffee, they might even taste hot.” She set his cup on the lamp table, then moved down the length of the bed and sat down.

Neither bothered with conversation while they ate. By the time Gil took the last bite of his hamburger, it was cold, but the coffee was still warm. And the egg salad sandwich helped satisfy his hunger.

Lindsay handed him the second half of hers. “I’m saving room for the chocolate. You finish mine off.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said with a grin. Before he ate any of it, however, he added, “Thanks for being such a good sport about all this, Lindsay.”

She looked surprised. “Why not be a good sport? None of it is your fault. In fact, if I’d stopped when you first suggested it, our accommodations might be a little more…spacious.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You’re the one who should be complaining.”

Rather than argue about who was responsible for their situation, he smiled and finished off her sandwich.

“Do you think we’ll be able to get any reception on the television?” she asked, eyeing the set against the wall.

“Maybe. It looks remarkably new compared to everything else in the room.” He set down his coffee cup and crossed over to the television. When he turned it on, Lindsay cheered as a clear picture filled the screen.

“All right! My favorite show comes on tonight,” she said.

Gil changed the channel, only to discover that only one station got reception. “Then I hope it’s on this channel.”

“Me, too. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a turn in the bathroom.”

With a nod, he watched her grab her suitcase and open it, extracting several articles. Then she tucked it away and disappeared into the bath.

All he could think about was Lindsay emerging in something from Victoria Secret. A man could dream, couldn’t he?

When Lindsay finally opened the door, she was completely dressed in a velour warm-up suit, with thick socks on her feet. She sent him a nervous grin. “Not the latest style in pj’s, but this is the warmest I have.”

“I think you look very stylish,” he assured her. When she frowned at him, he asked, “What?”

“Is that a slam?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You said your ex-wife always had to be in style.”

Gil was at a loss at what to say. His first reaction was to tell her his wife wouldn’t have been caught dead in a sweat suit—unless she was modeling it in a fashion show. But that response wouldn’t do. The alternative was to tell her that he thought she’d look stylish in a trash bag, because all he’d be able to think about was what was underneath.

That definitely wouldn’t do.

“Uh, I was teasing you. Being warm is a lot more important than being stylish.”

She smiled and picked up two of the candy bars. Then she returned to the side of the bed closest to the bathroom and pulled down the covers. “I’m getting under the covers to watch television.”

He stood and moved his candy bars to the lamp table. “Good idea. Want a refill on the coffee? I think there’s just enough for both of us.”

“Sure, thanks.”

After filling their cups, he gathered his duffel bag and, with a nod of his head in the direction of the bathroom, he walked past her, closing the door behind him.

Lindsay drew a deep breath when she was finally alone. The man, with his sexy grin, was tough to resist. She couldn’t even suggest he sleep in the tub tonight, because there wasn’t one.

Oh, well. She could share the bed with him. After all, he’d brought her chocolate. She unwrapped the candy and took a big bite. Then she turned her pillow on end and sank into it, focusing her gaze on the television.

If there had been more covers, so she could really get warm, Lindsay thought she might’ve even drifted off to sleep, though it was barely eight o’clock. But the two thin blankets on the bed didn’t provide much warmth.

When the bathroom door swung open and Gil came back into her view, she felt the room get suddenly a little warmer. He was still dressed in jeans, but he’d changed his cotton shirt to a flannel one, left open over a white T-shirt.

“You’re going to sleep in jeans?” she asked, frowning.

He cocked one eyebrow at her. “I only brought jeans.”

She thought about his words as he pulled back the covers on his side of the bed. She knew he’d be uncomfortable, but he could sleep if he was really tired. She’d done it before when she’d been camping out with the family.

“You’ll probably need them. These blankets aren’t much help.”

He snapped his fingers. “I forgot about the ones I borrowed from Kathy.” He reached for the blankets that he’d dumped in a corner of the room and spread them out over the bed.

Lindsay immediately felt the difference. “Oh, thank you for thinking of them. That helps a lot.”

Even more effective at raising her temperature was Gil’s entry into the bed. His body heat was like a personal furnace, even though he maintained the foot of distance that the size of the bed allowed.

Twelve inches. And those twelve inches were possible only because she’d scooted to the edge of the bed. Gil’s broad shoulders took up more than his half of the bed. The temptation to press her body against his, resting her head on his shoulder, was almost overpowering.