The Winner Is Love

  Chapter 11

  When they both awoke it was to the sound of the fan on the fireplace. The power was back on. The lamp beside the couch was glaring down in their eyes. They also noticed that it was morning. He hadn’t slept that well in a long time. He slept all night, which was very unusual for him.

  Slade sat up and walked over to put a log on the fire, checking the furnace thermostat. “Well we have power, but still no heater. The furnace must be on the fritz.”

  Stacy got up and stretched. She had slept well. He had held her all night. It was as though they never moved.

  She walked into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. Soon the whole place smelt homey with the smell of coffee. She put the cinnamon rolls that were in the fridge in the oven. He walked in the kitchen and sniffed.

  “Man it smells good in here. I never knew how much I’d miss coffee. That will be a welcome change.” He grabbed two mugs out of the cabinet and they waited. When they had their coffee and rolls they sat on the hearth to eat them.

  “It will be nice to actually get in the tub upstairs. I’m doing that as soon as I get through with this roll and coffee. What about you?” He looked quickly up at her, totally misinterpreting what she was asking.

  “What do you mean what about me?” He knew it would be too good to be true if she was asking him to join her.

  “Oh my, no, I meant what do you want to do first since we have power?” Stacy blushed profusely. He grinned and turned his head away from her.

  “Well, I think I’ll get a shower when you get out of the bathroom, but first I’ll see if the cell reception has returned with the power. I kind of doubt it, but it’s worth a try.” He grabbed his coat and went out into the cold morning air. He needed the cold air. Just thinking about her upstairs in a bubble bath was messing with his head. He took a deep, cold breath. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and no signal, just as he figured. He looked up to the bathroom window. It was already fogged up with her bath. He shouldn’t have looked up there. He was torturing himself.

  The cold finally drove him back inside. He put more wood on the fire. This was their last day here. Andrew would be here in the morning to pick them up. He knew he was going to miss her. She was different. He liked her and wanted to get to know her better. His body reacted whenever she was near or just at the thought of her. He shook his head and sat down on the hearth to stare into the fire. He didn’t hear her come down the steps.

  “I’m out if you want to get in the shower.” She laughed when he jumped at the sound of her voice.

  “You sure do walk around quietly. I didn’t even hear you come up behind me.” He noticed her hair was still a little damp. He moved over and motioned for her to sit in front of the fire. “Did you have a nice bath?”

  “It was wonderful. I feel so much better now.” She turned to look into the fire. She had thought about their growing friendship while she was laying in the bubble bath. It was going to be strange when she left him. She had grown really fond of having him near. She smiled at the silly thought that maybe he felt the same way.

  “Well, I guess I will go up and get a shower.” He stood up and started toward the stairs. He turned back to look at her by the fire. He wanted to remember everything about her. The way the firelight danced on her hair and in her eyes. He finally turned and started up to take his shower.

  When he was upstairs she got up and went into the kitchen to see what they had for dinner. She wanted to make it a special dinner since it was their last night. She found two lasagna dinners in the freezer. She put them in the refrigerator to thaw. It was still early, almost lunch time. She quickly rummaged through the items in the refrigerator and gathered everything for a salad and garlic bread.

  By the time he came back down still damp from his shower, she had everything ready to put in the oven at dinnertime.

  “Well, we have clam chowder for lunch or sandwiches. Which do you want?” She held up the container of soup in one hand and the sandwich meat in the other.

  He looked from one to the other. “I want the clam chowder. That sounds great for this cold day.” She warmed the soup for both of them while he grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator. They worked well together. It was as if they’d known each other forever.

  As they sat and ate in front of the fire, they talked about their childhoods. The conversation came around to the holidays.

  “What do you do for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” Stacy asked as she was taking the last spoon of soup out of her bowl.

  “Well, as usual this year I’ll be out of the country filming. I missed last year with my family too. We usually get together for Christmas.” He looked up at her and grinned. “At least we try to. My schedule sometimes makes it difficult. One year, I was in Paris filming and I flew my whole family in for Christmas. It was great. My parents had never been overseas so they were impressed with the city and the people.”

  “That would be nice to spend Christmas in Paris. We usually get together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My parents go all out for Christmas. Most of the family doesn’t manage to get home for Thanksgiving, but Christmas they all show up.” She rolled her eyes and laughed.

  He could just imagine her in front of a Christmas tree, the lights twinkling in her vibrant hazel eyes. He would love to shower her with gifts. He wanted this last night to be special. It just had to be a night to remember, especially since he was leaving the country at the end of the week. It would be a while before he could see her again. He just hoped that she wanted the same thing.

  “I hope you get to be with your family for Christmas, Slade. Christmas is all about family.” Her heart went out to him. He was living the dream, but dreams had a price. Sometimes that price was at the cost of love and happiness.

  “Thanks. I hope for the same thing. That’s why I took the earlier shooting dates. If things go well, I’ll be back on American soil around December 20th. That’s my plan anyway.” There was a look that he gave when he was unsure.

  They spent the afternoon listening to music and enjoying having electricity. But most of all they were enjoying being together. Neither said anything, but it was obvious that their relationship was budding.