Free Love Story for a Snow Princess (Siren Publishing Classic) by Beth D. Carter Page B

the next night again, but this time Thea didn’t care. She couldn’t understand him, one minute running hot the next minute cold as ice. She was tired of thinking about him, and wished there was a magic switch she could turn in her brain to flip it off. She didn’t want to care for him.
    Clearly, it was obvious that he was hurting from something. A man didn’t become all hot and bothered then turn it off abruptly, not when a sure thing slapped him in the face.
    “Miki,” she said that evening as they were closing up the restaurant. “Is there Internet here?”
    “In the Suinnak?”
    Thea nodded. “Or anywhere in River Ice.”
    “Of course. I have it in the apartment. You can borrow mine.”
    That evening, Thea planted herself in front of Miki’s old PC and waited as the computer booted up. She nibbled on her nail, wondering if she would find anything and half-fearing what she might discover. She wasn’t dumb. Sometimes it was best to let the past lay.
    On the search engine she typed in Paden’s name. His graphic novels came up, beautiful covers depicting half-dressed women and a hero who was super but also disfigured, making him forever alone.
    She lingered over that detail, mesmerized by the word disfigured . She knew, without any doubt that if she asked him to describe himself, he would specifically say that word. As she shut down the computer, she wondered what part of Paden was disfigured.
     
    * * * *
     
    He walked into Suinnak’s the next night, making her stop in mid-step. It was near closing time, and the usual crop of patrons had slowly started to trickle out, leaving only two customers behind. Instead of taking his usual seat at his usual table, he walked right up to Thea and planted himself in front of her.
    “I’d like to talk to you,” he stated.
    “Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” she replied. “If you want your dinner, then sit down and Miki can get it for you.”
    She went to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm. She hated that as soon as he touched her, tingling sensations shot up her arm. As he leaned into her, causing his breath to fan across her face, his nearness caused her heart to thump. And it thumped with excitement instead of dread, darn it all.
    “Please, Thea,” he said.
    She met his gaze. Within the green depths he pleaded with her, begging without words. Something dark flittered through his eyes, and it took Thea a few minutes to realize he was nervous.
    Nervous she wouldn’t talk to him?
    “Miki,” she called out. “Do you mind if I leave early?”
    “No, go ahead,” Miki answered, and her gaze darted between Paden’s tense stand and Thea’s insecure one. “You two all right?”
    “Just ducky,” Thea mumbled, taking off her apron. She frowned, remembering something. “Hang on, I have to get something.”
    She disappeared for a few minutes, rushing out the kitchen door to the back that led to the stairs to the apartment above. When she came back down a moment later, Paden waited with her coat.
    He helped her put on her coat, being gentlemanly by making sure she bundled up warmly and holding the door open for her as they exited. She slipped on her goggles as he led her to his snowmobile and held tightly to his back as he sped through the night toward his home.
    The fire was banked inside the house and it only took a few minutes to have it blazing with warmth. She took off her gear and laid it on the floor since there was no place to hang anything, then warmed her hands in front of the fire.
    “Would you like something to drink?” he asked her, his nervousness still apparent in his tone.
    She shook her head. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later he brought out two chairs for them to sit on.
    “Thank you,” he said to her as he watched her sit down.
    “For what?”
    “For coming. I know I must seem erratic.”
    She raised her eyebrows, her only acknowledgement of his statement.
    “I just couldn’t leave