Snowed In
by
Melanie Shawn
Copyright 2014 by Melanie Shawn
Cover Design by Hot Damn Designs
Published by Red Hot Reads Publishing 2014
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from Melanie Shawn. Exceptions are limited to reviewers who may use brief quotations in connection with reviews. No part of this book can be transmitted, scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any written or electronic form without written permission from Melanie Shawn.
This book is a work of fiction. Places, names, characters and events are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter One 4
Chapter Two 11
Chapter Three 19
Chapter Four 27
Chapter Five 32
Chapter Six 37
Chapter Seven 44
Chapter Eight 48
Chapter Nine 52
Chapter Ten 56
Chapter Eleven 63
Chapter Twelve 66
Chapter Thirteen 71
Chapter Fourteen 76
Chapter Fifteen 82
Chapter Sixteen 85
Chapter Seventeen 90
Chapter Eighteen 93
Chapter Nineteen 97
Chapter Twenty 103
Chapter Twenty-One 105
Chapter Twenty-Two 109
Chapter Twenty-Three 114
Chapter Twenty-Four 120
Chapter Twenty-Five 124
Chapter Twenty-Six 129
Chapter Twenty-Seven 134
Chapter Twenty-Eight 136
Sneak Peek: Let It Snow 141
Excerpt: My First 145
Excerpt: Sweet Reunion 155
Other titles by Melanie Shawn 157
About the Author 158
Chapter One
“So tell me,” asked a portly middle-aged man with salt-n-pepper hair and a lusty gleam in his eye, “are you a card carrying member of the mile high club?” His breath reeking of whiskey, he leaned forward, causing the barstool he was teetering on to squeak loudly. He leered at her, “Because I am, and I wouldn’t mind initiating you into it on the flight tomorrow.”
Oh, good lord. The “mile high” pick up line. Couldn’t he at least try to be remotely original?
If Nikki had a dollar for every time she’d been asked that, she’d be a millionaire. Okay, well maybe not a millionaire, but very, very well off.
“Wow. That is one tempting offer. Still, I am going to have to decline,” she stated flatly.
Nikki looked back down at her phone, hoping the drunk saddled up next to her at the hotel bar would take the hint. She typed in the password to access her Cal State academic profile. She only needed a seventy percent on her statistics final to complete her B.S. in Psychology. Once that was finished, she could start working on her Master’s degree. Her stomach knotted as the page loaded.
“You know, you sure were a lot sweeter to me on the flight earlier today.” The man, obviously not taking the hint, leaned even closer.
“Yes, I was. Because that’s my job,” Nikki pointed out the obvious. “But, in case you hadn’t noticed, we are not on a plane. We are in a hotel bar. I’m off duty.”
“Oh, come on, I thought we had a connection,” the man’s voice dropped to a lower octave, in what she assumed was his pathetic attempt at seduction.
Nikki lifted her head, looking straight into his beady black eyes. “Yeah, and I bet you think strippers like you, too.”
“Hmm, I’d sure love to see you strip,” the man said as he placed his hand on Nikki’s thigh.
Okay. That’s it. Nikki had tried to be nice (well her version of “nice” at any rate!), but this was crossing a line.
“If you don’t take your fat, greasy fingers off of me this second I will break every last one of them.” Nikki spaced her words evenly so that he didn’t miss one. She did not break eye contact or move a muscle.
For a moment the man just stared at her, presumably in shock, before finally removing his pudgy hand. “You don’t have to be a bitch about it,” he slurred before grabbing his glass. It was filled with amber-colored liquid which sloshed over the rim, landing on the bar as he awkwardly schlepped off the barstool.
Right, I’m the bitch.
Shaking off the insult, Nikki immediately returned her attention to her phone. Her eyes fell on the screen and her heart sank. Shit. Disappointment and frustration rioted through her.
She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw her phone at the wall.
She didn’t cry because she wasn’t a crier, and screaming wasn’t an option because, as empty as this bar was, she really didn’t think the few patrons here would appreciate it.
As far as throwing her phone? Well, that wasn’t going to happen for a couple of reasons. One, she liked this phone. Over the last six months she had traveled to six different countries with this phone, and she’d gotten attached to it. Two, it wasn’t her phone’s fault that it mockingly displayed the score of her Statistics final...which was a dismal sixty-eight percent.
Nikki knew that she had only herself to blame for failing to receive a passing score. After breezing through last semester taking only Social Psychology and Physiological Psychology, earning a ninety-five percent in one and ninety-two in the other without putting in that much work, she had gotten out of the habit of disciplining herself to put in the hours to study. That lackadaisical schedule had not worked with Statistics, which she’d been putting off for years now. If there was any class she should have studied for, this was it. Now she was going to have to take it again.
Great. Finishing this degree should have taken her one year tops, not three. Why, why had she dropped out half-way through senior year? She was such an idiot.
“Can I buy you a drink?” a man’s voice interrupted Nikki’s pity party.
Nikki turned her head and saw a decent looking guy, probably early to mid-thirties, around six-one, blonde, blue-eyed, well-built, well-dressed...and with a wedding ring on. Of course.
“I don’t think your wife would appreciate that.”
“My wife’s not here,” the slime ball smirked cockily, “and what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
“Not interested,” she said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Nikki again looked down at her phone, this time pulling up her sister’s name on the contact list, and tapped it. She needed to check on her Chihuahua, and this conversation was so over.
Mr. Cheater let out a forced laugh before delivering his parting shot, “Your loss, Sweetheart.”
Gimme a break. Nikki rolled her eyes and sighed as the phone rang in her ear.
“Hello,” Amy answered with a giggle as she picked up on the fourth ring.
“Hey. I was just calling to check on Scrappy and let you know that we got grounded in Dallas due to bad weather. So I won’t be by to pick him up tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay. Love you,” Amy said, seeming to be in a rush to get off the phone.
“How’s my little guy?” Nikki asked before letting her sister go.
“He’s good. He’s been sleeping in with Scooby, it’s adorable. I’ll send you pics.” Amy giggled again and Nikki heard her sister whisper something that sounded like hold on.
“Alright, I’ll let you get back to playing grab ass. Tell Matt I said hi.”
“We’re not playing-” her sister began defensively before admitting, “okay, I’ll tell him.” Nikki smiled
to herself as she disconnected the call. Her sister hated lying.
Until just a few weeks before, Amy had been hooking up with her new boyfriend behind everyone’s back. They had kept it secret because things were supposed to remain in the friends-with-benefits category, but it ended up turning into much more than that. Matt had eventually declared his love for her in front of about a dozen students and faculty at the school that they both taught at, and Amy had seemed deliriously happy ever since.
Setting her phone down on the wooden bar top, Nikki felt a pull in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was just homesick or if hearing her sister sound so giddy had simply made her a little lonely. Either way, it didn’t feel good. Not that she wasn’t happy for her sister’s newfound love, of course she was! Matt was a great guy, and Amy deserved great.
Up until last year, Nikki would never have been envious of what Amy and Matt shared. Nikki liked to keep her options open. She didn’t like to be tied down. Plus, as a flight attendant, she was gone all the time. Living out of a suitcase, wasn’t exactly a lifestyle that was conducive to serious relationships.
That had never bothered her before. It wasn’t like she wanted for male attention, she had plenty of that. However, over these past months, Nikki had realized that she wanted more.
“Can I get you another one?” the bartender asked.
Nikki nodded. It was ten o’clock on a Saturday night and she was stuck in this hotel. There was no way she was going out in the storm that had grounded them, and she didn’t feel like being alone in her hotel room. So, she was here at the bar and yes, another Cosmo sounded heavenly.
“You can put that on my tab.”
Glancing up, Nikki saw a very good-looking man. He could have just walked right off of the pages of G.Q. Doing her preliminary scan, she noted an Armani suit and a Gucci watch. Nikki couldn’t quite see his shoes, but if she had to guess, she would have gone with imported Italian leather. A rich musk wafted through the air. He even smelled rich.
And no wedding ring.
Everything checked out, but even with all that he had going for him, she just wasn’t feeling it. No zing-zang-zips. “Thanks but I got it,” she smiled, politely declining his offer.
“It’s on me,” Mr. Rich Guy insisted.
Nikki had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She wasn’t twelve and one eye roll per night was more than enough. It was hard, though, because she was very familiar with his “type.” Wealthy, fairly attractive, and used to always getting his way.
Lovely, this was just what she needed. Nikki knew she had to play this just right. If she shut him down cold, he would just look at her as a challenge. If she was too wishy-washy, he would just think she needed convincing. If she was actually pleasant, she wouldn’t be able to get rid of him for the rest of the night. Guys like this lived to talk about themselves.
Nikki had to pull one out of her bag o’ tricks that she hadn’t used in years. Her Hail Mary of responses, if you will. “No, thanks. I’m actually meeting someone.”
Mr. Too-Rich-For-His-Own-Good stared down at her intently. She knew he was trying to read if she was, in fact, telling the truth—like he had some super power of visual lie detection. Nikki was well-versed in keeping her expression blank. She wouldn’t go so far as to say that she was necessarily proud of the fact that if lying were a sport in the Olympics, she would have a gold medal...but she did know how and when to use it to her advantage. Like now.
Unfortunately, Mr. Money Bags called her bluff, smoothly responding, “I’ll keep you company until he arrives.” Nikki wanted to slap the smug expression right off of his knowing face as he slid casually onto the barstool beside her.
Great. Now what?
“Hey, Babe, have you been waiting long?” A very deep, very male, very sexy voice sounded behind her. Nikki felt a large hand settle on the small of her back and, like the epicenter of an earthquake, it sent ripples of tingles shooting throughout her entire body.
She turned to see who this sensual voice and magical touch belonged to, and she was not disappointed at what she found.
Scanning quickly, Nikki observed his upscale shirt, tie, and slacks. He was well put together, classy with a casual appeal. Lean and muscular, standing over six foot, dark brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin, and kissable lips. No wedding ring.
Hello, Tall Dark and Handsome.
“Hi,” Nikki said in a barely audible whisper. This was a first. She had never been rendered even close to speechless before in her life.
--- ~ ---
“Hi,” Mike automatically repeated in response to the gorgeous girl in front of him.
He had no idea what had possessed him to do this. Actually, that wasn’t true. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of the sexy, long-legged blonde since she walked into the small hotel bar an hour ago. She captivated him in a way that he had never experienced.
He’d overheard her fending off guy after guy and he knew that her newest admirer wasn’t going to be put off as easily as the others. Without giving it a second thought, he’d moved across the room with no regard for the consequences of his actions, which was very out of character for him. Mike hoped that he hadn’t just committed career suicide. In his high-profile position, if this mystery woman took his intentions the wrong way, it could be disastrous.
Still, the way he was feeling in this moment had a small voice in the back of his head saying—she might just be worth it.
Her golden light brown eyes peeked up through a bed of dark lashes. The second their gazes locked, his heart jumped in his chest. She was beautiful. Her large doe eyes, pixie nose, and full lips created a tantalizing combination. But it wasn’t her beauty that had his heart jumping. No, it was something more. It was an undeniable primal connection.
It was not uncommon for Mike to meet close to a hundred people each week. Meeting people was part of his job. But never once, in any of those encounters, had Mike had such a raw, visceral reaction to someone.
The gorgeous blonde’s lips parted slightly and he saw that her breaths were coming faster. So maybe this response wasn’t one sided.
“I was just keeping her company,” the man seated to her left explained with a clipped tone as if Mike had interrupted them.
The sound of the man’s voice snapped Mike out of the trance that he’d fallen under. He turned his attention to the cocky prick and saw the second the spark of recognition alighted in the man’s eyes.
“Thanks,” Mike replied with anything but gratitude in his voice.
The man’s eyes widened. He grabbed his cocktail and quickly vacated the seat. “Uh…sure. No problem.”
Yeah, not so cocky anymore.
Mike’s eyes followed the man’s retreating back. He despised men like him. Mike had seen that type of guy his whole life. Moderately powerful men that didn’t take no for an answer and thought they were entitled to anything they wanted, including women. Men that tried to present an air of control and power, but only used it on people that they perceived to be weak. Then folded when faced with any challenge. It was pathetic.
“Do you two know each other?” the caramel eyed beauty asked. Looking down, Mike saw that her left brow lifted in question.
“No,” he answered honestly.
Mike slid onto the barstool, his hand still rested on her back. His body buzzed with awareness and neither spoke. The bartender set down a Cosmo and motioned to the back of the bar. “The gentleman in the back would like to put this on his tab.”
He felt the blonde’s body tense slightly.
“Tell him ‘thanks, but no thanks’,” Mike responded automatically.
The bartender’s eyes darted back to the object of every man’s attention in the bar, seated next to him. Most likely trying to discern if Mike was just another loser trying to hit on her or if he was on the up and up. Honestly, Mike wasn’t really sure which category he fell in.
After several beats of silent communication, the bartender nodded at them both and headed down to the
end of the bar to take care of a couple that had just sat down.
“So do you make this a habit? Randomly rescuing damsels in distress?” her teasing tone definitely held a hint of challenge in it.
Mike smiled at her spunk. “I wouldn’t exactly call you a damsel in distress.”
“Really, so what would you call me?”
“Beautiful,” Mike automatically answered. “And very capable of taking care of yourself.” Reluctantly, he lowered his hand from the graceful slope of her back. There was no reason for him to still be touching her, except for the fact that he wanted to. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good enough reason.
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion for a moment before her expression went blank. “Well thanks. I can handle myself, but thanks.”
“I am well aware that you can handle yourself. I’ve watched you in action tonight. That last guy was a different breed, though. I thought you might like an assist.”
“Believe me, I know his type all too well and I appreciate the assist…” A small half smile appeared on her lips as she held her hand out in introduction.
“Mike.” Reaching out, his fingers wrapped around her slender hand. Her skin felt velvety soft beneath his touch.
“Nikki,” she said with a grin.
“Nice to meet you, Nikki.” Mike hesitated to release her hand. Just this innocent contact of her soft skin felt so good it was causing his temperature to rise.
“You too, Mike.” Nikki’s lips curved up into a full blown seductive smile causing all of Mike’s blood to rush to the area of his anatomy located below the belt.
Damn, when did smiles get so sexy?
Mike heard the irritating sound of his phone chiming to alert him he had a text at the exact moment Nikki’s phone vibrated loudly on the wooden bar. Mike really did not want to be interrupted right now but he knew he needed to look at it. He didn’t have a choice.
His shoulders tensed as he pulled the phone from his pocket. Even before he looked, he knew who it was. Checking the screen only confirmed that his suspicion was correct; it was his campaign manager, Phil. He tapped on the message, it read:
Chartered a plane to get you here ASAP tomorrow weather permitting. Will contact you with further details as they become available.
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