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Don't panic!
It's just a little snow, and Google Maps did say my destination is just half an hour away. I'm probably just worrying over nothing.
Right?
Chapter Two
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, and not only do I now know I'm absolutely wrong...but I'm also absolutely certain I'mthisclose to freezing to death. My rental is stuck one foot deep in the snow, my cellphone can't catch even the faintest signal to save my life, and...this is all my fault because I thought I could pull anEat Pray Lovemovea laJulia Roberts.
Oh, Raffi, you're smart nine times out of ten, but when you choose to be dumb...
I take a deep breath in an effort to stay calm. Blaming myself is pointless. My time is better spent figuring things out, and first things first:survival rate.
The thought has my fingers involuntarily curling around the steering wheel, and I draw another deep breath. Outside, there's the risk of dying of hypothermia, but if I stay inside my car with the heater on, there's also a chance I'd die of carbon monoxide poisoning.
I know those are worst case scenarios, but I also think—-
Oh my God, hallelujah, God is good!
I'm out of my rental as soon as I catch sight of a pick-up through my rearview mirror, and I jump and wave my hands wildly in the air like a cheerleader on championship night. "Hey! Hey! Help please!"
My heart leaps in relief when the driver pulls up behind my car. Something about the pick-up seems awfully familiar, but things only click when I see the guy stepping out, and of course...it has to be him.
Wyoming Keanu.
A shiver runs down my spine, but it has more to do with an almost forbidden sense of excitement rather than the bitingly cold winds currently stinging my cheeks.
"You alright, ma'am?"
Ma'am.I've never been called that before. Also, how perfect is that voice? Think strong, deep, and authoritative but at the same time reassuringly gentle andwonderfully precise, like Superman meets Professor X, and...oh my God, is that a badge he's showing me?
I squint hard, just to make sure I'm seeing things right. Itisa badge, and next to it is his I.D., which tells me his name isAidan Blackwood,and he's the...Chief of Police of Hartland, Wyoming?
I'm beyond stunned, and when I lift my gaze up to his, I see a smile curving over his lips, and oh my freaking God, but the sight is just so dazzling my lips start moving on its own.
"You're handsome."
Aidan's smile turns into a grin, and my mood switches from dazzled to completely enthralled.
"Thank you, ma'am."
His tone is polite enough, but it's the glint in his dark eyes that brings me back to my senses.
What the hell?
While I've never been the shy and awkward type, neither have I ever been the type to just go up to a man and start flirting, and I have no idea -absolutely no idea -how in the world I ended up saying such words.
Get! A! Grip! Raffi!
I give myself one last mental shake while Aidan starts talking about snow tires and engines and batteries. He gestures to my tires and bends down as he speaks, and I'm immediately distracted by the way his pants stretch across his behind.
Oh my God,I'm such a perv.
But...
That ass of his is seriously sexy. Just perfectly muscled, and—-
"Ma'am?"