Some Kind of Wonderful: A Holiday Novella (The Cupcake Lovers) by Beth Ciotta Page B

him, a wounded, unemployed former sniper. Not Charlie, the successful real-estate agent and Orlando-based pacifist. She was ready to settle down, which meant a home and family, and as near as Zach could tell, he was her prime target. It blew his mind on so many levels, he hadn’t had a clear thought in an hour.
    Now they were in the midst of a freak storm and he was suddenly razor sharp. Senses primed, he accessed the situation. Their position, their supplies. His goal was straightforward: Keep Maya safe. “Check the weather on your phone app.”
    “Okay. Wait. Oh no.” She frowned at the screen. “Seriously?”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “No signal.”
    Zach passed her his Android. “Try mine.”
    “Yeah. Okay. Not a superstrong signal, but it’s something.”
    “What’s it say?”
    “This can’t be right.”
    “What’s it say, Maya?”
    “That the storm’s still several miles south of here.”
    That couldn’t be right.
    “I don’t want to worry Uncle Dan,” he said to Maya. “Call Giselle. Ask her what’s happening weather-wise in Sugar Creek.”
    Zach half-listened to Maya making the call, the bulk of his focus on the inclement weather and worsening conditions. Surrounded by snow-laden trees, they were on unpaved terrain now. An old logging road a quarter way up Thrush Mountain. Closer to Roscoe Marx’s cabin than to Sugar Creek by far. No sense in turning back. Better to push on and take shelter.
    “No snow at all?” Maya exclaimed. “Yeah. … Okay. … No. We’re fine. Just checking in. So … are you having fun with Adam?” she asked in a near whisper. “Wow. No, I mean, great. … Yeah. We’ll see you at dinner. Can’t wait.” She disconnected and glanced to the skies. “Please, God, don’t strike me down.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I’m not really looking forward to seeing G with Adam. It sounds like they really hit it off. She’s having a blast. No complications. No concerns. Why is it always so easy for her?”
    “Maybe it’s because she doesn’t run as deep as you.”
    “There’s more to G than meets the eye.”
    “You don’t have to defend your friend to me, Maya. That wasn’t a judgment on her personality. Just saying some people are more sensitive than others. Life’s harder for those who wear their hearts on their sleeves.”
    “I don’t—”
    “You do. That’s why I’m reluctant to make love to you.” He hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but there it was. “I’m not ready for where it would lead. And I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “Why does it have to lead anywhere?” she said, sounding annoyed. “Why can’t it just be great sex? Scratch the itch, as you put it. Satisfy our curiosity and then go back to being friends.”
    “You’re not built like that and you know it. Hell, I’m not built like that. Not when it comes to you.”
    He shouldn’t have kissed her. He should have buried his impulses and ignored the mounting sexual tension. Instead, he’d indulged and now he was paying the price. He was pretty sure he loved Maya in a way that promised, or at least threatened, heartbreak. If he gave in to this, if he committed his all, and if he ever lost her … If she fell prey to an ailment or accident or, worse, malicious harm … He didn’t think he could handle that.
    He’d always thought himself impervious—until Ben had been cut down in front of his eyes. Not only had Zach failed to protect his partner; he’d been unable to save him. Worse, he’d been unable to carry the man’s lifeless body safely down the mountain.
    “Now I know what Helen and Giselle meant by ‘broody,’” Maya said. “You’re doing it now. Brooding. If the thought of sleeping with me troubles you so deeply—”
    “For God’s sake, Maya. I shoot people for a living.”
    “ Bad people,” she clarified. “And not anymore.”
    “Whether those soldiers or terrorists were bad depends on whose side you’re on. And just because I’m retired, that