Snowed in With You

By Sophie-Leigh Robbins

Molly
Why, Santa, why? I've been so good this year and yet here I am, snowed in with the most grumpy, gloomy – and admittedly, gorgeous – man I've ever met. Instead of blissfully sledding down an Alaskan mountain during my work trip, I have to listen to the guy complain about how much he hates Christmas. Not to mention the fact that he's in the running for the same writing award as me. Too bad throwing someone out into the snow isn't considered very Christmassy or it would've been good riddance for sure.

 

Derek
Carolers, gingerbread, hot cocoa, tinsel, mistletoe… The list of Christmas torture goes on and on. And as if it's not bad enough that I have to endure this holiday cheer for a work trip, I'm now stuck at The Royal Reindeer with a true Christmas freak. I'd love for her to back off, but I can't exactly tell her why I hate the holidays this much. My best bet is to avoid her altogether, which is quite the challenge when you're forced to share a cabin.

 

But if I don't want to be around her, then why am I doused in glitter, helping her make Christmas cards?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sophie-Leigh Robbins
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393637721

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Copyright Notice

Snowed in With You

©2020 by Sophie-Leigh Robbins

All Rights Reserved

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Cover design by Joey Van Olden

Editing by LaVerne Clark

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Warning: book boyfriends may cause heart palpitations.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Chapter One

Derek

There were a lot of things I didn’t understand, like why on earth people wrote their own memoirs when the most exciting thing they’d ever experienced was getting stuck on a rollercoaster for fifteen minutes, an event that supposedly changed their life forever. I’m not talking about those unfortunate souls dangling high in the air, bodies turned upside down. No, no. Stuck as in before takeoff.

And don’t even get me started on people congratulating their friends for buying a new car. What was that all about? Since when was buying something considered an achievement? I’ve never had anyone congratulate me for going to the store and paying for my own bag of oranges, so why do it if someone bought a car?

But the one thing that boggled my mind more than anything was people’s obsession with Christmas. On some level I could understand wanting to celebrate the holiday, but didn’t Christmas last only one day? Perhaps two if you counted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then why the need to start throwing holiday madness into everyone’s face for months on end? Enough with the tinsel already.

To make matters worse, my boss had appointed me to go cover the opening of a new luxury resort during Christmas time. I couldn’t exactly refuse, as I was shortlisted for a prestigious award that might crown me Travel Writer of the Year. I hoped that I’d be able to get an exclusive interview with the resort’s owner. Dean Brown was not only a successful billionaire with tons of resorts and hotels spread out over the globe, but he was also one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists. For every dime he made, he gave away half of it to those in need. Despite his level of fame, he hardly ever granted journalists a chance to talk with him, but maybe I could persuade him to talk to me. And if I couldn’t, then perhaps the bottle of exclusive scotch I had tucked away in my luggage for him would do the trick. Securing this interview with him would vastly up my chances to finally snag that coveted award.

I closed my laptop as the plane made its descent into Anchorage, Alaska. Someone from The Royal Reindeer would pick me up at the airport and drive me to Tinsel Falls, the town where the five-star resort was located.

The plane touched down, and I peered out of the window while the other passengers clapped in gratitude for not plummeting to the ground, another thing I’d never understand.

I got my laptop bag out of the overhead compartment and waited until the people in front of me finally started moving.

I wanted to get up the mountain before conditions worsened. Supposedly, a snowstorm was on its way, but there was no precise indication of when it would hit the area.

As I made my way toward the front, my laptop bag brushed against a woman’s arm. She uttered an expletive as if I’d hit her over the head with a hammer.

Hey, watch it, she cried out.

Sorry, I said, but my apology did nothing to wipe the angry look from her face. I held my hands up. I said I’m sorry, what more do you want from me?

To not hit me with that, she answered, rubbing her arm.

It was nothing but a small brush. I’m surprised you even felt that.

Her eyes grew wide. Excuse me?

The lady next to her raised an eyebrow. You better watch yourself, young man. That’s no way to treat a woman, especially not at a festive time like this one.

I scoffed. Festive. What a joke. To my relief, the line to the front started moving again. I kept my gaze directed forward, away from the dirty looks the lady tried to scare me off with. To be completely honest, it did work. She looked like a force to be reckoned with, and I preferred to stay away from her.

Happy holidays, an enthusiastic crew member said as I stepped off the plane.

I gave her a nod. After all, it wasn’t her fault that it was almost Christmas. Her boss had probably even told her to be merry whenever passengers were present.

I retrieved my bags from luggage claim and followed the signs to the airport exit. All around me, there was a flurry of activity. Exhausted-looking mothers and fathers pushed around strollers with crying children in them, a couple of dads tried to distract their kids by flying miniature toy planes through the air using nothing but their hands and desperation, and all along the brown shiny floor, stressed-out people in business attire hurried along. Numerous announcements of last calls for boarding, gate changes, and cancellations made over the PA system followed in rapid succession.

Stress seemed to ooze out of the crowd gathered in the airport. I felt relief wash over me as I thought about how I’d be leaving them all behind soon. Just a couple of hours now, and I’d be relaxing in a hot bath with a new paperback.

By the exit, Christmas carolers were singing way too loud. Great. I hadn’t even arrived at The Royal Reindeer yet, and already I was getting bombarded with stupid Christmas stuff. Now, it was nothing more than carolers, but soon it would be that and tinsel, mistletoe, snow, cookies, hot cocoa, gingerbread… The list of Christmas torture went on and on.

I scanned the room for a way around the annoying singing bunch, but there wasn’t another exit close by. I tugged at the suitcase behind me and tried not to make eye contact with any of the carolers. I failed miserably. There they were shaking their bells and pushing their collection box under my nose.

I fished a dollar bill out of my pocket and slid it inside. My gesture made them take it up a notch. Oh God, I had to get out of there as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas, one of the carolers called out to me.

More like crappy Christmas, I said with a grumble.

She took a step back, a shocked look on her face.

I shrugged. Just saying it like it is.

The sliding doors opened, and I stepped outside, where an ice-cold wind hit me straight in the face. I pulled my coat tighter. How did people manage to live in a place where every time you went outside, your face froze off?

Three days of this weather was going to drive me crazy, but still, I was happy to be here. I wasn’t going to let some snow get in the way of leveling up my career. I was a professional, and that meant doing your thing no matter what the weather conditions or time of year.

I checked my phone again for the instructions the hotel had sent me. A car would pick me up at the shuttle bus stop in about five minutes. I located the signs leading me to the correct spot and made my way over there. My phone buzzed with messages, all from my lawyer, but I didn’t want to deal with him. All those messages did were make me angrier than I already was. I hated how that anger made my veins boil. I needed to chill and find some positive thoughts. Even I sometimes had enough of my grumpy moods.

The cold wind made me shudder. Where was that car? I glanced around, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one in sight. From the corner of my eye, I did spot someone else approaching me.

I groaned. Why couldn’t everyone just leave me alone?

Chapter Two

Molly

And this is my granddaughter with the dog.

Pumpkin, right?

I’d only been in the air for a few hours, and already I knew everything there was to know about Barbara, the retired lady sitting next to me on the plane to Alaska. Honestly, I was so excited about arriving at Tinsel Falls that I would’ve listened to anything she had to say.

That’s right, Pumpkin. Oh, and here is Dunkin, the other dog. Aren’t they a cute couple?

Precious. I peered at the picture. Is that a Christmas sweater Dunkin is wearing?

Barbara smiled. Of course. It is the most wonderful time of the year after all, am I right?

It totally is. Honestly, I could celebrate Christmas all year round.

It wasn’t even a lie. I loved Christmas more than anything. The comfortable sweaters, the cheerful music, the tinsel, the gingerbread, the random acts of kindness, the hot cocoa, and the homemade food… I sighed. The list of Christmas joy went on and on. It was nothing short of wonderful, and it was finally time to enjoy it all.

The fasten your seatbelts sign lit up, and we both clicked our seatbelts into place. The onboard entertainment system indicated we were only twenty minutes away from Anchorage. I couldn’t wait to set foot in Alaska.

Where are you staying? I asked Barbara. With family?

Her cheeks colored red. No, my daughters both married expats. They will be home for New Year’s Eve, though. She cleared her throat and leaned closer, talking in a soft voice. I’m meeting a gentleman who I met at a Renaissance fair back in February. We’ve been dating since then. It’s been a blast. But please don’t tell my family.

I won’t, promise.

Barbara laughed and slapped me on the arm. Oh, silly me. You couldn’t possibly tell them because you don’t even know my family. Well, you’d recognize them from my pictures, but I have nothing to worry about, right?

She looked a bit worried, though, so I gave her an encouraging smile. It’s okay, your secret is safe with me. Do tell me about this gentleman of yours.

Her face lit up at the mention of her beau. His name is Winston, and he was dressed as a man of nobility when I first laid eyes on him. Our first meeting was quite something. He bought me a wonderful chicken dinner. Me! Nothing but a peasant woman. Can you believe that?

I frowned. Circle back there for a moment. Are we talking real life or…?

She laughed. Haven’t you ever been to a Renaissance fair? Everyone dresses up as peasants or noble men and women.

Oh, I see. Winston isn’t really a man of nobility?

Not to my knowledge. What I do know is that he’s the most charming man I’ve ever met. In fact, he and I wrote letters for the last few months whenever we couldn’t see each other. He invited me for a holiday at this new resort. He offered to pay for everything, including the airfare. I looked the place up on the internet. It’s so luxurious, I can hardly believe my luck.

My eyes grew wide. Are you by any chance talking about The Royal Reindeer?

I am.

That’s where I’m going! Perhaps we could have dinner together one of these days.

We could, she said, then continued with a twinkle in her eyes, but I might not have a lot of time.

Of course, I understand, I said with a wink and laughed. Go, Barbara.

With all our talking, I hadn’t even noticed the plane was making its final descent. A few minutes later, we touched down, and the annoying race to the front started, even though the flight attendant had specifically requested everyone to remain seated just a mere five minutes ago.

I reached for my book and passport, both stowed in the back pocket of the chair before me, when a guy hit me rather hard on the arm with his laptop bag. He uttered a sorry that didn’t quite come across as genuine. What was it with these people? As if gathering at the front of the plane was going to magically make the doors open faster.

Hey, watch it, I said as I rubbed the sore spot on my arm.

Barbara threw him a dirty look as well and gave him a stern talking to. Ha. Take that, lady hitter.

The guy walked away with an expression I’d personally reserve for my mugshot, if I were him. Either he didn’t enjoy life one bit,