Page 16 of Snowbound

“Had?” he echoes, raising an eyebrow.

He looks away. “I… oh my god. I haven’t seen you in five years.”

“Why would you need to see me?” he asks. “You were married.”

I look away. “It feels surreal having you here.”

“Aye,” he mutters.

I swallow hard, glancing at my boots drying by the fire. “You’re right. I took the safe route,” I say. “Jake felt… dependable, you know? He wasn’t scary.”

Owen holds my gaze.

He doesn’t say it, but I hear it anyway. Yes.Scary like him.

It wasn’t just Owen’s presence—it was everything. His strength, the people he knew, his fearlessness. His father tried to rein him in, but it was pointless. Owen had ties back in Ireland that ran deeper than blood.

“Safe doesn’t keep you warm at night, Emma. Does it?”

I swallow again. “No.”

He leans in slightly. “Truth is—I own the cabin up in the woods. I oversee the rental of this one. When I saw your name, I checked into it. I saw your socials. Noticed you weren’t posting about Jake anymore. I made up my mind about him.”

He looks away, as if he’s hiding something from me.

I listen as he continues.

“So I came. Made sure the cabin was ready for you. And I’ve been watching you since you got here.”

“Why didn’t you just say hello like a normal person?” I ask, stunned. “You didn’t come here just to see me, did you?”

“No,” he admits. “Didn’t want to scare you.”

I look out the window. “Right.”

“Are you?” he asks, his voice a low growl.

I look at him. “Am I what?”

“Are you scared?”

I lick my lips, then swallow hard.

“Out of my damn mind,” I whisper. “Yes.”

CHAPTER SIX

Owen

I stare at the gorgeous,vulnerable woman I’m madly in love with and can’t look away from.

“Remember that night?” I ask.

She tilts her head. “Which one? There were… a lot of them.”

“That night you got feckin’ plastered at the grad party. And then decided to take a goddamn edible on top of it.”

“Oh my god,” she says, her pretty cheeks flushing a delicate pink.