Snow Flowers

By Dixie Sugarloaf

A sweet short story of how the magic of a snowstorm brings a second chance at love.

Spending a lonely night hard at work in his flower shop, Cai never thought that the blizzard cloaking his city would bring a familiar face to his doorstep. His ex-high school sweetheart Abby, and old and new sparks fly when they work together to keep his beautiful flowers warm. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dixie Sugarloaf
• Release date: Apr 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215202340

Dixie Sugarloaf

Dixie Sugarloaf is a writer of both sweet and spicy romance works. She also writes under the name Clair Gardenwell for New Adult Fantasy Romance.

Book preview

1

CAI GLANCED UP, A SHADOW darkening the violet ring under his warm amber eyes, and blearily blinked at the window above his desk. Snow. The fat white flakes fell from the blanket of gray clouds above like fat sugar lumps. When did it start to snow? But even more important was when had he fallen asleep on top of his work? He leaned back in his leather chair, the comfortable folds curling around his slender form like a warm blanket, and scrubbed a hand through the short crop of ink-black hair. The number 12:36 p.m. glared back at him in brilliant red neon, hot and angry, exactly like his accountant would be if he didn’t have this month’s paperwork ready by tomorrow morning. So much for having a nice relaxing snow day at home.

What do you say to a quick drink, Chrissy? He smiled, glancing over his shoulder to the tall cat tower that occupied one corner of the small room. A single black leg dangled out of a cup-shaped bed, the tufts of hair sticking out between the marshmallow puffy toe pads, and a rumbling purr echoed from within. A second leg joined the first, as did a tail so fluffy that it would have passed for a feather duster. Two penny-bright eyes blinked awake, followed by the tufted tips of two pointed ears pricking up with interest. Do you have food? They seemed to say, and he lightly chuckled to himself. Whatever the reason tumbling through her head, all four legs uncurled with the delicate grace of a prima ballerina stretching herself. Revealing the thick-furred body of a miniature panther in her prime. The ebony Maine Coon uncurled from her nest, a slash of pink tongue and sharp white teeth parting wide in a yawn, and purred out a trilling note. Of course, she accepted, pouring herself out of her bed and onto the stack of waist-high order forms without knocking one onto the floor.

Running his mother’s flower shop was not an easy business. Even with winter blowing her chill breezes against the door, many people were starving for a taste of something live and green, and he and his assistants were happy to provide it. But that was three days ago before the blizzard had struck and dumped several feet of snow over every exposed surface. Shutting down the city until it was a literal ghost town, most cars slept under their white blankets while all but the most essential workers stayed home. With the streets blocked and most businesses closed, it left Cai with an office full of canceled orders and his cold storage room full of flowers waiting for new homes. 

And an ever-growing pile of bills to finish it off.

A sudden blast of wind made him pause, one hand hovering over the sink, and the following moan sounded like an eighty-year-old man who had lost his teeth. Chrissy yowled, her claws digging into his shirt, and leaving behind permanent round holes. "Number one on the why I hate wintertime list. It feels horrible. The chill sneaks into your fingertips, the frost slinking over everything. The way that you can’t go outside without six pairs of socks. No thank you. I’ll stay here with you, and if our