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“Forgiveness. Understanding. Commonality. Grief. And you. I see you. When I look into your eyes, I see peace.”

The moment the last word left her lips, his were on hers, teasing them into a kiss of warmth and understanding beneath the white lights of peace and forgiveness.

27

#Isthereonlyonebed?!

Parking under the portico, Kian jumped out of the SUV and jogged around to open the door for Joy. They’d stayed at the park too long, and she’d grown too cold. She hadn’t stopped shivering since they got back in the car. Thankfully, the Saffron Hotel, where he’d reserved a room, had a warm shower waiting.

Handing the keys to the concierge, he motioned toward the back. “Would you bring our bags up after you park?”

“They’ll be in your rooms shortly,” the attendant promised. Kian opened the door and helped Joy out. She hadn’t let go of her crutches since they left the park. It made him wonder if she was worried the car would crash and she’d need them to get out. Not that he could blame her. The roads had gone from bad to terrible in the short time they were sneaking kisses beside the festively lit tree. Kian made a mental note to text Marci. She would need to open the mall, since he had no hope of getting Joy back by then.

“Let’s check in while they park the car. I booked you an accessible room so you can sit in the shower to warm up.”

“Really?” Joy asked, glancing at him. “That was thoughtful.”

“It was easy to tell you weren’t sure about this meeting, so I just wanted you to feel comfortable once we finished.”

Approaching the desk, Kian pulled his wallet from his pocket and addressed the woman at the counter, who wore a friendly yet slightly frazzled smile. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

“Yes, yes, of course. I’m sorry. The storm has stranded so many people in town, and I’ve spent all night rebooking reservations. Are you checking in?”

“Yes,” Kian said. “Reservations should appear under Van Adler.”

The woman, Nancy, according to her name tag, typed the name into the computer. “Of course. We have you in a king room on the third floor. Should I use the card on file for incidentals?”

“Wait,” he said, waving his hand. “I booked two rooms. One should be a king room, and the other an accessible queen room.”

Typing more, she frowned. “I only see the reservation for a king room. It’s possible that since you were late for check-in, the other room was given to someone else.”

Joy gasped and turned to him with a frown. “We can’t share a room.”

“It’s not a problem. Just book me a second room,” he told Nancy, handing over his credit card. “We will need one with an accessible shower.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have any left.”

“That’s okay,” Joy said quickly. “I can shower while standing.”

“No, I mean I don’t have any rooms left. The hotel is full. All the hotels in town are full. There’s a note here saying they tried to call you to find out when you’d be arriving.”

Kian grabbed his phone and checked for missed calls, but there were none. Then he remembered. “You probably had my office number on file.” When Nancy repeated the number, he nodded. Joy had walked away and sat on a bench by the door. “Give me a second?”

After Nancy nodded, Kian walked over and sat down next to Joy. “Let’s just head home. We can make it if we take it slow.”

Joy never looked up; she just stared at her hands in her lap. “That’s dangerous and puts our lives and the rescuers' lives at risk if something happens on the road. It’s not worth it.”

“Okay, I’ll call around to find a place with a room. Oh, I’ll call Mark to see if he has space for us tonight.”

“He’s gone, remember? He was heading to the airport after our meeting. Hopefully, he got out before the storm hit. He could be stranded as well.”

“True,” Kian agreed, rubbing his face. “Okay, I’ll call around to make sure a room hasn’t opened up.”

Joy turned and stuck her finger in his chest. “We’ll share the room, but this is not a one-bed trope situation. Do you understand me?”

“Not even a little bit. What on earth is a one-bed trope situation?” Kian worried the cold had frozen her brain.

“You know,” she said, leaning in close. “Where the two characters in a romance novel have to share a bed, usually enemies, I might add, and they manage to put aside their differences long enough to, you know.” She wagged her brows in a way that would have made him laugh out loud, but he was smart enough to know that wasn’t a good idea. “Don’t you read?”