I stepped back as I hugged the pillow tighter. “Because you saved me. You gave me coffee and fed me.” I grinned. “And protected me from the wolves.”
He came even closer, his scent clouding my thoughts as he reached toward me and then...beyond me, pulling down the blankets on the bed. “Climb in, Julia. You’ll be warm in no time, and I promise it’s more comfortable than the floor.” He lifted his chin toward the fireplace. “I’ll sleep by the fire and keep it going so we don’t freeze.”
Bending my knee, I knelt on the soft mattress and wiggled my way under the blankets. Once I did, Van pulled them up over me. For a moment he hesitated. Shaking his head, he turned, but before he could go, I seized his large hand.
“Wait.”
Turning his hand over, I ran my fingers over his palm. “Your hands, they’re not callous.”
“I have a great lotion regimen.”
A smile came to my lips. “I was beginning to think you lied about not living here. But if you lived out here and chopped wood, your hands would be rougher.”
He shook his head. “Don’t try to figure me out.”
“Is that mutual? Are you not trying to figure me out?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he sucked in a breath. “I already have you figured out.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Somewhere there’s a man who did you wrong. You’re searching for a life that isn’t planned out, and in the process, you found yourself stranded in a snowstorm.”
“I wasn’t completely stranded,” I said. “I followed the white ribbon.”
Van’s gaze narrowed. “The white ribbon.”
“With all the snow, I couldn’t see the road, so I told myself to follow the white ribbon.”
He nodded. “What did he do?”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head.
“I don’t say this often, but I’m sorry he hurt you.” Van’s finger traced down my cheek in a display of familiarity that felt surprisingly right. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“I’m not sure what I’m looking for. I think it was to get away.”
His smile bloomed. “If that was it, I’d say you got it.”
“I did.” When he started to stand, I again reached for his hand. “I just ended a...relationship, and I’m not looking for a new one.”
“That’s good because I’m not the relationship kind.”
“You’re the good kind, though. You didn’t need to rescue me or take care of me, but you did.”
“Julia, I promise, I’m not good.”
I fought the tears as I held tight to his hand. “I’m tired of pretending to be happy and pretending that everything is the way it should be. I thought maybe I could get away and find myself.” My gaze went to his eyes. Letting go of his hand, I reached up to palm his cheek. “I found you instead.”
“I think technically, I found you.”
I scooted over to the cold side of the bed. “You can sleep here. Maybe tomorrow the snow will have stopped.”
Van shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
“Listen, I’m not against a one-night stand. It’s that you’re not the kind of woman I would want a one-night stand with.”