"Mason?" I said.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Twice in one day,” I said, smiling at Mason through chattering teeth. "That's either a really big coincidence, or fate is trying to tell us something."

Mason continued to stare down at me, his lips pressed tight, his eyes dark and uninviting. Snow swirled through the open door, but he didn't ask us in. "What are you doing here?"

The guy leaning on the door frame beside Mason split a curious glance between us. "You know her?" He looked about the same age as Mason, early twenties. But he was shorter, and built straight up and down like a board, his fitted T-shirt revealing a flat, rawboned chest. Shaggy blond hair fell over his forehead, and behind a pair of round black poet's glasses, his eyes were arctic blue. What held my attention longest was his crooked nose. I wondered how he'd broken it.

"How do you know each other?" Korbie asked, nudging me expectantly.

I couldn't believe I'd forgotten to tell her about Mason. If I weren't so cold, I might have laughed at the memory of Calvin's jealous expression when Mason and I had convinced him that we were together. I would have to tell Korbie before we got to Idlewilde, so I could recruit her help in carrying out my charade in front of Calvin.

"We met-" I began, but Mason cut me off.

"We don't know each other. She was in line with me when I filled up for gas this morning."Those warm, sexy brown eyes from earlier were cold and hooded now. His tone was curt and irritated. It was hard to imagine he was the same guy I'd flirted with hours ago. I didn't understand why he was being so closed-off now. And why, suddenly, he wasn't interested in keeping up our charade. What had changed?

Our eyes met again, and if he could tell I was confused, he didn't seem to care. "What do you want?"he repeated more harshly.

"What does it look like?" Korbie hugged herself for warmth and danced impatiently on her toes.

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"We're stranded,” I stammered, thrown off by his hostility. "We got caught in the snowstorm. We're freezing. Can we please come in?" "Let them in,” Mason's friend said. "Look at them-they're soaking wet."

Without waiting for further permission, Korbie rushed inside and I followed. As Mason's friend shut the door behind us, the heat seeped into my skin, and I gave a great shudder of relief.

"They can't stay here tonight,” Mason said immediately, positioning himself to block the hallway leading deeper into the cabin.

"If we don't stay here tonight,” Korbie said, "we'll turn into human ice cubes. You don't want that on your hands, do you?"

"Sounds serious,” Mason's friend said, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. "And no, we definitely don't want to be held accountable for human ice cubes. Especially ones that look much better in their warm-blooded form."

In reply to his flirting, Korbie bobbed a curtsy and flashed a shameless smile.

"Where's your car?" Mason demanded. "where did you park?" "Out on the main road below your cabin,” I said. "we walked an hour to get here."

"The car is probably buried under a snowdrift by now,” Korbie added.

"Unbelievable,” Mason muttered, glowering at me. Like this was my fault. well, excuse me for not controlling the weather. Excuse me for asking for a little help, a little hospitality.

"Are you alone?" Mason's friend asked. "Just the two of you? I'm Shaun, by the way."

"And I'm Korbie,” she returned in a velvety voice.

Shaun shook Korbie's hand, then reached for mine. I was too cold to pull it out of my pocket. Huddling into my coat, I nodded my acknowledgment instead. "Britt."

"Yup, just the two of us,” Korbie said, answering his question. "You have to let us stay. It'll be fun, promise,” she added with a coy, perky smile.

I ignored Korbie's flirting and watched Mason closely. I didn't understand why he was acting so strangely. He'd bent over backward for me earlier. I glanced around his large frame, deeper into the cabin, looking for a clue to explain his sudden coldness. Had Korbie and I interrupted something? Was there something-or someone-he didn't want us to see?

As far as I could tell, Mason and Shaun were alone in the cabin. Evident by the two men's coats drying on hooks across the foyer. "It'll be fun, the four of us holed up here together,” Korbie assured them. "We can snuggle close to conserve body heat,” she added with a giggle.

I shifted my irritation to Korbie. What an asinine thing to say. We didn't even know these guys, not really. And she seemed to have completely forgotten that up until a few minutes ago, we thought we were going to freeze in the mountains. I was still shaken from the scare, and watching her turn on her charm for Shaun made me want to shake her. I'd been terrified in the forest. Really terrified. What was the matter with her, that she could flip a switch and go from sobbing to giggling in the same breath?

"We'll only stay one night,” I told Mason and Shaun. "We'll take off first thing."

Shaun draped his arm over Mason's shoulder and said, "What do you think, buddy? Should we help these poor girls out?"

"No,” Mason answered automatically, shrugging off Shaun's arm with a scowl. "You can't stay here,” he told me.

"We can't stay outside either,” I shot back. I found it ironic that I was begging for a place to stay. Because the more we talked, the less I wanted to be inside the cabin with Mason. I didn't get it. There was no trace of the easygoing, playful guy in the man standing before me now. Why had his attitude shifted?

”Sometimes you have to ignore Mas the Ace,” Shaun explained to us with a strange smile. "He's good for a lot of things, but friendliness isn't one of them."

"News flash,” Korbie said under her breath.

"C'mon, Ace. Could be worse,” Shaun said, clapping Mason on the back. "Take for instance . . ."He scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Actually, I can't think of anything better than waiting out this storm in the company of two attractive girls. In fact, these girls wandering in is the best thing that could have happened to us."

"Can I talk to you alone?" Mason asked in a low, tight voice. "Sure, after we warm up these girls. Look-they're freezing. Poor things."

"Now."

"oh, get over it,” Korbie told Mason exasperatedly. "We're not ax murderers. I'll even pinkie promise to it,” she added playfully to Shaun.

Shaun grinned at Mason, punching him lightly in the chest. "Hear that, buddy? She'll pinkie promise."




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