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“Are you alone?” Winnie sounded panicked, and I had no doubts that she would come and get me herself.
“No,” I said, and she blew out a breath of relief. “Worse. Alden is also stuck here.”
“Wait a second,Alden?As in Nick’s Alden? How the fuck did that happen?”
“Amma wanted more help.”
“That’sbad.”
“I can’t do this. This stupid storm is going to last past Christmas with my family, and then on top of that, I’m trapped with the first man in a long line of them who freaking hates me.”
“He only hates youromantically.”
“That doesn’t help!”
“Sorry,” she said. “I know it doesn’t. But think about it this way—he knows you. It’s not a stranger. Let’s try to see the positives.”
“Would you be able to see the positives if you were stuck with Nick, of all people?”
“Okay . . . no. I wouldn’t.”
“And it sounds like a fucking horror movie here. I’m literally losing my mind.”
“First of all, take a breath.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Youneedto.”
Against my wishes, I sucked in a breath, if only toprove her wrong. But then I felt a tiny bit better, and I knew she’d been right.
“What now?”
“Have you eaten?”
“Just a McMuffin a few hours ago.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t cut it. What are your options there?”
“Amma made me meal prep some soup. She has this stack of muffins too. What are those even for?”
“Probably to live off of if the power goes out.”
Oh,God.“I can’t even think about that.”
“So, soup?” she asked, getting me back on track.
“Yeah. I have soup. It was the only thing I didn’t burn. I’m throwing some in the microwave now.”
“All right, see? Things are a little better.”
“What do I do for the next few days?”
“Survive.”
“Is there really a chance the power will go out?”
“Yes. This is going to behardon our electric grid. The city is talking about rolling blackouts, and people in rural areas are already losing power.”