Never Been Snow Lucky (Snowed Inn Romance)

Chapter 6

6

JACK

W alking away from Iris was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. I wanted nothing more than to capitalize on being stranded by the blizzard so I could spend as much time with her as possible during her stay. But I didn’t want to take advantage of her kind nature, something that had shone through during each of my interactions with her.

When I got off the elevator, Raven was no longer in the lobby. After asking where she was, I headed through the door to the lodge, where her office was located. Something must have gone wrong since I last saw her because she was banging her forehead against the top of her desk and muttering, “Oh, for the love of snowmen and their top hats.”

“You need a cookie?” I asked.

Her head jerked up, and she glared at me. “Cookies won’t solve this problem.”

I dropped onto the chair across from her. “What’s going on?”

“It’s almost Christmas, and there’s no room in the inn. Literally.”

“Would it help if I had a couple of my guys bunk down in our office?” I offered, scraping my palm against my beard as I considered the problem. “If you have a cot or two to spare, I could pull them from the ski patrol cabin, leaving that open for you to use.”

Colin came in, carrying a clipboard. “That would actually help out a ton. We could put Lincoln, Bethenny, and the kids in the cabin. It’ll be more comfortable for them, and then we can shift some of the inn staff into the snow school offices, which will open the space they were going to use.”

“Except there are no cots to spare.” She pinched the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb. “I’m sure we will somehow figure it all out. We’re basically playing a giant game of Tetris, only with people and beds. But with too many bodies and not enough comfortable flat surfaces.”

“Speaking of flat surfaces,” Colin turned to me and quirked a brow. “Where are you planning to stay?”

“I’d been thinking about bunking down in my office, but the new plan is to put two from my team in there instead.” I raked my fingers through my hair, a big part of me hoping they wouldn’t be able to offer me a decent alternative to staying with Iris. “Do you have anywhere to put me?”

“What is it with you guys?” Raven grumbled.

Colin shot me a warning look and coughed, “Don’t do it, man.”

Ignoring him, I asked, “What do you mean?”

Raven planted her elbow on the top of her desk and rested her chin against her palm. “It’s as if you guys think that I have one of Santa’s elves here who can make a cot appear out of thin air for you to sleep on.”

I glanced around, my brows drawing together. “Not sure which other guys you’re talking about.”

“Not even an hour ago, Hayden was gobbling down cookies in the kitchen and begging me for a place to stay.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “And now here you are.”

I held my hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hey, you don’t see me scarfing down any of your delicious cookies, do you?”

“Only because I didn’t bring a plate of them with me back to the office. Which I regret now,” she mumbled.

I couldn’t argue her point when we all knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist freshly baked treats if they were sitting in front of me. Not when she and Vivienne made the absolute best cookies.

“And since I don’t actually have any magical abilities granted to me by Santa, contrary to what everyone seems to believe,” she continued, “might I suggest that you ask Iris if she’d be willing to share her suite with you?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Didn’t you just ask her to give up one of the rooms to a stranded family?”

“I sure did, which you should be thanking me for. Maybe if you’re really good, your spot on Santa’s nice list will make your Christmas wish come true,” Raven teased, wagging her brows. “And you’ll get to share the only remaining bed with Iris instead of being relegated to the couch.”

Colin wagged his finger at her. “It’s a good thing Caleb isn’t here, or he’d be giving you a hard time about trying to play matchmaker.”

Raven glared at him. “What my husband doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Too bad the same can’t be said about me,” I muttered, heading for the door before she decided to come up with other ways to help me out with Iris.

Not having other options eased my conscience as I took the elevator back up to her suite and knocked on her door.

Iris’s welcoming smile was blinding in its beauty. “Back to check on me already?”

“I wish I could say yes, but I’m actually here to ask for a favor. A big one,” I warned.

“How can I help?”

The swiftness of her reply and the way she didn’t hesitate to offer support only made her more attractive to me. “Raven and Colin are working hard to find spots to put everyone who’s been stranded by the road closure, but there’s only so many places people can comfortably sleep.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that when she asked me about giving up part of my suite.” She tilted her head to the right. “Someone’s already been here to do the beds and freshen up the room since I crashed in there last night.”

“How would you feel about making another sacrifice for the blizzard?”

She stepped aside and waved me into the suite. “Just me that a chicken isn’t involved. I’m not into committing a murder most fowl.”

I snorted. “How punny.”

She shrugged with a giggle. “I’m good like that.”

I wasn’t the guy who normally laughed at puns, but her quirky sense of humor was fucking adorable. “No chickens will be sacrificed. Just your couch.”

She tilted her head to the side, her brows drawing together. “My couch?”

Dropping onto one end of it, I patted the cushion next to me. “I know it’s a big ask because we barely know each other, but I was hoping you’d be cool with me staying here with you.”

“Absolutely.”

I leaned forward, resting my forearms against my thighs. “I want you to really think about your answer, Iris. If having me here will make you uncomfortable?—”

She didn’t let me finish before insisting, “I’m more than happy to have you stay with me. I mean…it’ll give me the chance to return the favor of you rescuing me.”

“All I did was my job.” Except for the fact that I carried Iris as though she was precious cargo and offered her the option of being treated in her room, which didn’t exactly follow protocol.

“But in a way, you’d be doing it again,” she whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her hair as she ducked her head.

“How so?”

She peeked at me through her lashes. “I have all this space, a gorgeous tree, tons of supplies, but nobody to spend Christmas with since my parents didn’t make it.”

I hated the idea of Iris being lonely. Her confession just about broke my heart. “Then let’s make the most of being stranded by the blizzard and spend the holiday together, getting to know each other.”

She flashed me a smile. “Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”