Page 96 of Snowbound

The final chapter’s clear.

I turn to him, bury my face in his barrel of a chest, and let out a long, shaky breath.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

I don’t know if it’s over. Not really. But I know I’m safe now, wrapped in Owen’s arms. Jake is decidedly not in my life anymore.

I’m back where I swore I’d never be… and maybe exactly where I belong.

My phone ringsat the same time as Owen’s.

Mine says:Mom.

His:Dad

It’s not a coincidence, of course. Jake called them, the fucking loser.

“I’ll go first, Emma.” I nod, grateful he’s willing to lead this. I want this bullshit over, and Owen never backed down in the face of tension.

He answers my phone and puts it on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Who is that? Emma? Are you there?”

“Yeah, Mom, I’m here. That was Owen.”

She doesn’t answer at first, then says in a shaky voice, “So what Jake said is true.”

“Depends,” Owen finishes. “What did he say?”

“That you two are… together. Acouple.”

“Is that why you didn’t answer the feckin’ phone?” his dad snarls in the background. “Are you with Emma?”

Owen meets my eyes. Our breath mingles. “I am. Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

I grin at him, even as my heart beats so fast I’m feeling a little dizzy.

They both speak at once.

“You can’t do that!”

“Emma, I thought Iknewyou!”

“How could you cheat on your husband withyour brother?”

My blood boils. I hold a hand up to Owen to let me talk, and he nods, shaking his head, his gorgeous green eyes narrowed.

“Wait. First of all,Jakecheated onme,” I say, my hands shaking. “Second of all,Owen isn’t my goddamn brother!”

“Emma!” For once in her life, my mother’s without words. Owen grins at me.

“She’s right,” Owen says, his voice deep and certain. Claiming. “She’s mine, and no one has to approve or give their blessing or even know what the fuck we’re doing together. Jake cheated on her. You want to tear someone a new one, callhim.”

I nod at him. And on that note, he hangs up the phone. I take it from his hands, open the door, and fling it as far as I can into the melting slushy snow. I shut the door and see him blink in surprise.