Page 63 of Snowed Inn

His head snaps up—surprised—then his expression tightens. “How did you know she was my high school girlfriend?”

Oh, shit. I shift in my seat. “Charlotte kind of told me.”

He shakes his head. “There’s another reason why I don’t like to drink too much. I’m pretty sure she heard that story after some holiday ciders.”

“Seriously, though? You haven’t dated anyone since you were eighteen?”

He gives me an incredulous stare—the kind that comes with his mouth twisted like he’s biting back a sigh, and the faintest flare of amusement in his eyes. “Of course I’ve dated. Just not anyone I thought I’d marry, you know? I really thought Aimee and I would stay together forever. But I was just a young, dumb kid.”

I start chewing on the inside of my cheek, because I feel that familiar, inconvenient pang for him in the middle of my chest. He’s being real. Again. I hate how much I like it and how much I relate to it. “You want to know something?” I ask. “The same thing happened to me except I was a little older.”

“Yeah? Got burned?”

“Yeah,” I admit. “His name was Trevor. I was twenty-two. He was twenty-five. He came on strong . . . really strong. The next thing I know, he was playing ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ into my voicemail and then he ghosted me.”

“What?” Jesse blinks once, slow and sharp, like he’s recalibrating the IQ of the entire male species. “What a douche.”

“An accurate description,” I say, inclining my head. “And sorta the reason why I always end up leaving first these days.”

“Ah.” Jesse nods. “Yeah, well. Aimee’s the reason I’m not quite the poster boy for long-term commitment.”

“Aha! I knew it.” I point at him.

He frowns. “What?”

“Nothing.” I flap my hand back and forth. “Just some science.”

He shakes his head. “Am I supposed to let that go?” He’s so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. I want to kiss him. It’s not the first time I’ve thought this, but I really really want to kiss him right now.

“Yes,” I breathe. “Let it go.”

“Can I ask you one more question?” he nearly whispers.

I’m staring at his lips. “Uh-huh,” I say in a far too dreamy voice.

“If you love your family so much, why do you live so far away?”

I nearly choke on the breath caught in my throat. I fall back into my seat and stare at the wall in front of me like I’m on the witness stand being pummeled by the prosecution. “Can we go back to the OnlyFans question, please?”

He chuckles. “I’m serious. I know why I rarely see my family, but I wonder why someone who seems so close to hers lives across the country from them.”

I have to think about it for a few seconds. I took the first job I was offered after school, but I didn’t have to work in the New York office. I could have stayed in LA. Why didn’t I? If I had I wouldn’t have to worry about flights home for Christmas. “I guess I wanted to spread my wings a little.”

He nods. “I get that.”

I don’t want to talk about uncomfortable things like my well-dressed ex-boyfriends and why I live in New York instead of LA. I want to get back to the potential kissing part.

“Thank you for taking care of Christmas,” I breathe as I kind of lean toward Jesse again. I’m giving every single hint that I want to kiss him here. I even lick my bottom lip. Clearly, it’s not as sexy as I think it is. He doesn’t take the bait.

“You mean Eve?” His mouth quirks into a smile. He moves back slightly.

“No, I—”

“Nope. We’re not arguing about this again. In fact, I don’t want to argue with you about anything again,” he says.

“But I don’t—”

“Listen. Do you want to know why I was in such a shitty mood the day we met?”