Page 62 of My Vampire Plus-One

AMELIA:Glad you checked the weather.

AMELIA:Yes, you probably should stay home.

AMELIA:Will Gretchen still be coming?

DAD:She and Josh apparently left Chicago an hour ago but are turning around.

This was fine.

Everything was going to befine.

DAD:I guess that cold front moved down from Canada more quickly than they expected, huh?

I was going to be snowed in at my family’s cabin,alone, with my uncomfortably attractive fake boyfriend.

But it wastotallyfine.

DAD:You two going to be okay up there all alone?

AMELIA:Yep. Don’t worry about us.

AMELIA:We’re at the cabin now

As I texted my dad, Reggie was walking around the house, surveying the landscaping. The temperature had to have been in the single digits out there but the goofball was walking around without a jacket.

He had to be freezing.

Why didn’t he get Old Fuzzy out of his bag?

DAD:Glad to hear it hon

DAD:Well I’d been looking forward to a nice long weekend with the family

DAD:And I know mom was looking forward to spending more time with Reginald

AMELIA:I know Dad

DAD:We’ll just have to get together once we’re all back in Chicago

AMELIA:Of course

AMELIA:Love you. Say hi to Mom for me.

I put my phone back into my purse and stepped out of the car. My feet sank into the several inches of snow that had fallen in what was probably just the past hour. Ignoring the icy wet that was seeping into my sneakers and soaking my socks, I made my way to where Reggie was exploring the yard with the enthusiasm of a golden retriever puppy.

“This is fantastic,” he said, with wide-eyed wonder. “Who cares for the plants while you’re away? I’ve never seen such sound winterization techniques.”

It was hard for me to see this yard with even a fraction of the appreciation he had for it. When I was young, I was always excited about the exploring I could do here that I couldn’t back in Chicago. But I’d never given much thought to the cabin’s landscaping.

“I’m not sure who takes care of the yard,” I admitted. “My parents handle that. I just come up here once a year.” I paused, trying to work up the courage to let him know what Dad had just texted. “They’re not coming, by the way.”

His eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Your parents aren’t coming?”

I shook my head. “Nope. No one is. The roads are unsafe, apparently. It’ll just be the two of us until the snowplows come.”

Reggie stared at me wide-eyed, the panic that had beengripping me since realizing we’d be here alone hitting him, too. “I see,” he said.

“I’m heading inside,” I said, pointing to my shoes. “My feet are freezing.”