Page 39 of Cabin Mate

Madden: Okay. What’s really happening?

Madden: *gif of Sebastian the crab tapping his claw and glaring*

I knew Madden would be the toughest to convince, seeing as he’s the only one who knows about my feelings for Molly.

Brooks: What do you mean? We’re on a business trip.

Madden: Tell me or I’ll rat you out to David.

Brooks: Rat me out for what? Being a responsible business owner?

Madden: I’ll figure out what’s really going on. I have my ways. #CongressmanPerks

Brooks: Fine. She wanted someone to pose as her new boyfriend at her sister’s wedding so Todd would leave her alone.

Madden: Wow, I totally thought it was just a business trip. That was too easy.

Brooks: Whatever! Anyway, we won’t be kissing or even really dating. So, technically I’m not breaking the rules.

Madden: You think people are going to be convinced she’s dating you without you two even kissing?

Madden: *gif of Jim from The Office staring into the camera*

Brooks: Not everything is about sexual attraction. How does Odette put up with you?

Madden: She puts up with me because our sexual attraction is on point.

With a roll of my eyes, I toss my phone onto the bed. Molly finally emerges from the bathroom. She’s still in those hideous flannel pajamas, but now her hair is down and curled at the ends, and she has just enough makeup on to enhance her already beautiful features.

“Well, good morning, Mr. Sleepy,” she says cheerfully before heading to her closet.

“Morning people are annoying.”

She giggles and closes her closet door. She’s in there for maybe ten minutes before stepping back out in black leggings and a fitted black sweater. There’s a white puffer coat draped over her arm, and her feet look ready for a blizzard in tan snow boots. The brown fur peeking out the top of the boots is begging me to pay attention to her very sexy calves. The snow-bunny look is completed with a white snow hat. A color that contrasts nicely with her dark hair.

“Let me see if Mildred responded about today’s schedule,” she says, walking to her nightstand and grabbing her phone off of it. She taps the screen a few times then smiles. “Okay, she doesn’t need me until two for dress fittings. So we’re free to spend the morning antiquing!” Molly looks at me with barely contaminated excitement in her wide blue eyes and I can’t help but smile back at her.

I jump up off the bed and rub my hands together. “Then let’s go! Plus, I’m starving.”

She smirks and shakes her head slightly. “Are you ever not hungry?”

Chuckling at her comment, I take her coat from her and hold it up so she can slide her arms inside of it. She shrugs the coat on then zips it up. She smells heavenly, her usual scent of Chanel No. 5 and that special Molly scent no one else has. I want to wrap my arms around her waist, pull her into me and burrow my nose into her hair. Thankfully, my stomach growls loudly before I can actually put that thought into action.

Molly turns to look at me, her eyes widening when she realizes I literally just rolled out of bed and am still in my briefs. “Hurry up and get dressed! Before you die of starvation!”

“Okay, okay!” I hold my hands up, urging her to calm down.

She rolls her eyes. “I’ll wait for you outside. No lollygagging!”

“So bossy,” I mutter under my breath. But knowing I’m the only one she’s comfortable being bossy with brings me joy. Bossy Molly is also kind of hot.

Molly shoots me a stern look before opening the bedroom door and stepping outside.

After eating at a little cafe that had the most amazing maple syrup I’ve ever tasted, we walk back into the cold December air. The trees and cars in the small town are covered with snow, but the sidewalks and roads have been cleared. It’s a picturesque little village with brick buildings and glass front shops, all featuring Christmas-themed displays.

Molly has coffee from the cafe in one hand—which she swears is almost as good as the coffee she makes—and loops her other arm through mine as we walk down the sidewalk. She must be worried she’ll see someone she knows. Either that or she’s freezing.

“I feel like any moment we’re going to meet a woman named Holly who’s trying to save the town’s Christmas tree farm, just for some big-city schmuck to barge in and try to buy the property from under her so he can build condos on it.”