Page 9

“He's a close family friend. He's going to stay with me.”

For the first time in years, I'm speechless.

Grace is willingly offering to let me stay in her house, something I’ve never seen, for obvious reasons.

I make quick eye contact with Grace again, but she rolls those big blue eyes of hers and looks away.

Shit, she's probably just saying it so this lady can stay at the lodge, and I’m really going to be out on my ass. That seems more Grace’s style. I was relieved for a second, but I’m going to have to text one of her brothers.

“Are you sure?” the woman asks.

“Positive.” Grace smiles at her. She turns to Mason, “Let's get this woman and her children into a room where it's nice and cozy, and we'll have some dinner sent up to them, courtesy of the lodge.”

Grace glares at me after that one. Oh, she did not enjoy my remarks about putting expenses on my card. It’s a competition for her. That’s fine.

As soon as the woman heads up to one of the lodge's suites with her key card, I take her spot in front of Mason.

Grace's ocean-blue eyes track my movement.

“You can go right ahead and text one of my brothers for a place to stay tonight.”

I nod. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that, so I sent a text while they were getting that woman squared away with my room.”

“Good,” is all she says before she walks away. I watch every step she takes until she turns the corner.

My phone dings with an incoming text.

Dutton

I have a loveseat. The guest room is torn apart since Brooke wanted to remodel it, and the other spare room is basically a warehouse for the online bakery. But as I said, the couch is nice.

I sigh and look around the lobby. Have all of these people checked in already, or are some of them also looking for places to stay? And, if that woman is correct, it sounds like the closest hotel in this town is also booked. I could search for an Airbnb here in Lovers, but that would still mean I need to drive again, and truth be told, I was about ready to pull over and let fate take its course when the whiteout hit.

I spot an open seat on one of the couches and gravitate toward it. I plop down, making myself comfortable as I prepare to call Grace's other brother, Gavin.

I feel bad contacting him for a favor, because he’s got a teenage daughter and his hands are already full being a single dad, but I’m about to be out of a place to stay, and knowing Grace, she’ll kick me out of the lobby as soon as the rest of the guests clear out.

I put the phone to my ear, but all it does is ring.

Gavin’s voicemail picks up. I don’t bother leaving a message.

Clicking heels snag my attention, and I see Grace return to the front desk with a notebook in her hand.

I try not to watch her, but I can’t fucking help it.

No woman in the world compares to Grace, and judging by the other fools in the lobby who can’t stop staring, I’m not the only one who feels that way. My fists clench. I can’t do a goddamn thing about it, and she’d never let me.

“You’re still here?” Her voice wraps around me like a hug.

I nod.

“Just waiting to see what my options are.”

She opens her mouth to reply, but then the main door blows open, a howl of the night sneaking in with a lot of snow.

Eddy rushes in, searching the room until he finds Grace.

“Miss Richford, I think we should advise guests not to leave the lodge. The roads in town might not be closed, but the snow isn’t letting up, and visibility is almost nonexistent.”