“Hey, you never said what your last name is.”
“I didn’t, huh?” And with that she continued toward the kitchen.
He was staying with a mystery woman who had no lack of funds but guarded her privacy above all else. What had happened to make her so secretive? Or had she always been that way?
* * *
The bed started to vibrate.
Serena’s eyes opened to find that morning was upon them. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what was causing the vibration and it was getting stronger. Was it an earthquake?
Gizmo started to whine. She couldn’t blame him. She was used to earthquakes, or rather she was as used to them as you could be when you were a California native. The truth was they always put her on edge. But she hadn’t expected to encounter them in Austria. Unless this was something else entirely. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t good.
She hugged Gizmo close. “It’s okay, buddy. We’ll be okay.”
Serena scrambled out of bed. She threw on her fuzzy purple robe and headed out
the door. Her feet barely touched the staircase.
By the time she reached the first floor, the vibration had stopped. She found Jackson out of bed. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, giving her an ample view of his bare back with his broad shoulders and tapered waist. A pair of navy pajama bottoms completed the sexy look. She mentally urged him to turn around.
Instead, he remained with his back to her. His hand was gripped firmly to his makeshift cane as he gazed out the window next to the front door.
Perhaps he hadn’t heard her enter the room. “What was that?”
He at last turned, giving her a full view of his muscular chest with a splattering of hair. “I’m not sure, but I’d hazard a guess that it was an avalanche.”
Realizing that she was staring at his impressive six-pack abs, she forced her gaze to meet his. “That...that was way too close for my comfort.”
“Mine, too,” Jackson said matter-of-factly.
She was impressed that he was willing to make such a confession. In her experience, men never admitted to a weakness—least of all her ex-boyfriend. Men were all about putting on a show of how macho they were.
And somehow she’d imagined Jackson, with his bigger-than-life personality, to be full of bravado. Instead, she found him relatable. In that moment, she liked him a little bit more—probably more than was wise considering his means of making a living.
“How far away do you think it was?” she asked, trying to keep her attention on something besides Jackson’s temping, naked chest.
“I don’t know. The power is out, too.”
“Don’t worry, we have a generator. The realty people showed me how it works.”
He glanced down at his leg. “I’d like to get out there and take a look around, but I’m not as mobile as I’d like to be.”
“Speaking of which, you should be in that bed, resting your leg.”
He shook his head. “I was going stir-crazy.”
“I take it you’re not one to sit around.”
“Only if I’m doing research for a news story. But seeing as how there’s no internet and no phone service, that idea is out.”
She was thanking her lucky stars for the lack of communication with the outside world. “I’m sure we’ll be able to get you out of here today. Your first stop should be the doctor’s or the hospital to have your leg checked.”
Jackson glanced back out the window. “The snow is getting lighter, but there’s got to be at least three feet of it out there. If not more.”
“What?” It wasn’t nearly that bad when she’d taken Gizmo outside last night, but it was more than her pampered pooch could appreciate. He definitely enjoyed his California sunshine. But then again, a lot of hours had passed since then.
Serena rushed over to the window to have a look. Jackson wasn’t exaggerating. There were no signs of their footsteps from the prior evening. Between the snow and wind, any trace of them had been swept away.