Mina was about halfway down the road when she realized it wasn’t the one she’d pictured. This one didn’t lead to the main Wells homestead. It was a totally different spot. She’d been here maybe once before, driving around to relax after a visit with Grandma Aileen. It looked different in the dark. Mina rolled by a little cabin with smoke puffing merrily out of a chimney on one end. It was cute. A cute little cabin, out here in the middle of nowhere. Light from a picture window in the front spilled out onto a flashy Chevy. Even from here, she could tell the paint job was nice. Liam’s truck? He always liked to keep his trucks in perfect condition. If it was, and this was where he was staying—
The wheel moved under her hand before she could process what was happening. She snapped her eyes back onto the road. The only problem was that her car had gone in the wrong direction. Mina cursed. Not here not here not here. She jerked the wheel in the other direction, but the snow had fallen fast and slick beneath her tires and now the car was spinning out. She reached the edge of the road. Bump. Mina hit a small embankment, her tires rolling up and catching on the hill.
She put a hand to her chest and felt the wild beat of her own heart. Oh, god. Oh god. That could have been a terrible accident. So far as she could tell from the front seat, nothing was damaged. She was still okay. Oh, god. Thinking of Liam had almost gotten her killed.
Mina closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. “It’s okay,” she said aloud to herself. “You’re okay. Now, drive off this embankment and go home.”
But the wheels only spun in the snow.
Mina let herself try for ten seconds before she gave up. Good. Great. At least she was in walking distance of an inhabited cottage. The cold had already begun to seep into the cabin of the car, and she’d only been off the road a few minutes. Well, the decision was made. She snapped off the ignition, threw her keys into her shoulder bag along with her files and laptop, and got out.
It was cold. The sharp wind made her eyes water, and Mina pulled her puffy coat tighter around her. Had it been this cold when she left Sunnyside? Her teeth chattered as she made her way over the embankment and toward the cottage. She’d never been so torn. On the one hand, she at least knew Liam Wells. On the other hand, it would be a miracle if some other nice person lived in the cottage.
With every step, she grew more certain that it was Liam’s house. The truck was parked just so in the drive, an even line in front of the house, like the two things were stacked pieces in a board game. And the license plate on the truck spelled THRTTL. Her face heated. How far was it to walk back to town? Too far, in this weather. And way too dangerous.
It took everything she had to knock on the front door of the cottage.
Mina held her breath.
The door opened to reveal a devastatingly handsome Liam, looking down at her with all the heat and light from his cottage caught in his hair and eyes.
“Mina Heath.” Liam’s eyes roamed over hers. Mina felt for all the world like she was standing there in a nightgown, not a big puffy coat. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“M—my car went off the road.” She jerked her head in the direction of the fateful accident. “Can you tow me?”
A smile played over Liam’s lips. “I can, sure.” One single heartbeat passed, during which Mina thought this might not end up so awkward after all. “But I can’t do it now. It’s dark. Snow’s coming down. It’s not safe to be out on the road, even in my truck.” He stepped aside, and the shock hit her a moment later. He was making room so she could walk in. Then Liam spoke again. “You’ll have to spend the night.”
3
Liam never planned on telling Mina that she’d been on his mind since that day at the diner, but she had. She floated into his memories whenever he let his mind wander…which was often. He couldn’t help himself. Being injured made riding impossible and other exercise unwise, and he couldn’t hurt himself any further if he wanted to get back on the circuit. That meant he had a lot of spare time to think. And what he thought about was Mina.
So it was as though his thoughts had summoned her to his doorstep, shivering in her puffy black coat. She wasn’t wearing a hat, and the snow had gone straight under the hood. Her dark hair fell in wet curls around her shoulders.
“Well, come on in,” he said. “You’re letting the heat out.”
She hesitated one second longer, then stepped over the threshold of the little cabin. Even underneath the wet snow he could still smell her light, floral scent. Was it possible she still used the same shampoo after all these years? He couldn’t focus on that now. Not with her teeth chattering and her body wracked with chills. Wow. It was a lot snowier than he’d thought. Liam jumped into action. He took the coat from around her shoulders and hung it on a peg by the door. Next step—wood for the fire. It had started to burn down to embers. Inside of a minute, he had the flames jumping in the hearth. “Get those boots off,” he said from the spot by the fireplace. “You’ve got to get warm.”
A surprised look lit up her features. “I know that, Liam Wells,” she said.
“Then why haven’t you taken them off yet?
