Free Stranded With a Hero by Karen Erickson, Cindi Madsen, Coleen Kwan, Roxanne Snopek Page A

And warmer air would do the same.
    “What are you doing?”
    He turned from the window to find Mindy standing in the doorway, looking disheveled and sleepy. “Checking the weather,” he answered, trying to gauge her mood.
    She didn’t look angry or resigned or even sad. No, she appeared to be nothing but sleepy.
    A little frown curved her full mouth. “Why can’t you just do that from downstairs?”
    “Come over here and I’ll show you why,” he said, immediately regretting his suggestion once he saw the wary look on her face.
    Damn. Maybe she was still angry.
    But she came to him anyway, shuffling up to the window in her slippers and peeking through the blinds. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “There’s snow everywhere.”
    “Yeah,” he agreed.
    Mindy turned to him. “It looks deep, too.”
    “It is.” He shrugged when she squinted up at him. “We’re socked in. The snow is as high as the front door.”
    “This is crazy. What are we going to do?” she asked.
    Josh started to leave without answering her and she followed, her steps determined and her mood…he could tell she wasn’t happy. “So if we’re really snowed in…” She trailed off.
    “Yes, we’re snowed in,” he confirmed.
    “What are we going to do?”
    “Guess we’ll just have to kiss and make up,” he said, hoping she was open to his suggestion.

    If she still wasn’t a little angry over what happened last night, Mindy would’ve been in full agreement with Josh. Kissing and making up sounded like the perfect solution to how they could spend their time snowed in over the next few days.
    But she was still angry at him—more frustrated than anything else. From what she could tell, he felt the same way.
    “Kissing is not going to solve all of our problems,” she threw out, because it had to be said. Yes, last night’s kisses had been nothing short of amazing. But then they’d argued and the both of them ruined everything with a few choice words.
    So silly. So typical. But if she couldn’t be truthful with Josh, who else was there? He was her oldest, dearest friend. She needed to be honest with herself. Now that she’d spent only a few hours with him, in his arms, kissing him, she wanted to turn her oldest, dearest friend into something more. Something serious.
    The question was could they work together as a couple? He’d been incredibly bossy last night, barging into her personal life and telling her what to do. His attitude had made her angry.
    But he’d also been sweet. She’d enjoyed making dinner for him, frosting cookies with him, reminiscing over old times. They had such a strong connection that went years deep. Now that she had him back in her life, she didn’t want to let that go.
    “Yeah, but an apology might solve them. At least for now.” He smiled but it was grim. “I’m sorry, Mindy. For acting out of line and snatching your phone from your hands when I had no right to. I even made you hang up on your ex, the father of your freaking children. I still feel like an asshole for that move.”
    “I accept your apology,” she said softly, hating how full of despair his expression was. “It’s okay, Josh. Really.” She wanted to go to him despite the residual anger lingering from last night. It didn’t help, seeing him. Having him here before her. He just looked so good this morning, making her want to forget all about their earlier confrontation. His tousled hair, the dark stubble lining his cheeks, heck even his big feet covered in the thick white socks—the entire package was sexy.
    And she’d been all over that delicious man not even twelve hours ago like some sort of sex-deprived junkie.
    “I wasn’t trying to tell you what to do,” he admitted, his gaze soft and imploring. “I wanted to protect you. And then I said all that stupid stuff about us not being friends and—”
    “I said stupid stuff, too.” She kept her voice soft. “I panicked. Being with you last night brought so many old