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guess how long it’ll take. I suggest you just relax, try to get some shut-eye and let me take it from here. You’re in good hands, Red. You’ve got my word on that.”
    That sounded less terrifying, and she did her best to dredge up a smile. “Thank you very much for this. For everything, I mean. Uh, I can take my luggage—”
    Without breaking stride he shifted the carry-on to his opposite hand—clearly out of her reach. “Not while I’m here, Red. Do you have anything else?”
    “No. I was only going to pop into Seattle for a long weekend, so all I have is this.” She hurried along to keep up with him, her boots tapping smartly against the hardwood. “My name is Mia Flowers, actually. Mia. Hi there.”
    “Mia, eh? Mia Flowers.” A faint sound that could have been a chuckle escaped him, and those indigo eyes flicked her way. “Cool name. It suits you. Then again, so does Red.”
    And there went the crazy primping urge again. Fiercely she curled her hands around the strap of her purse to combat it. “I’m more of a coppery, strawberry blonde than a true redhead.”
    “No. You’re Red.”
    Whatever.
    He paused at the exit door to put his gloves on and flip his hood back in place, and his cheekbones stood out starkly in the gym’s semi gloom. “Okay, wait here.”
    “I don’t mind going wi—”
    “Stay inside until you hear me blow the horn.” He enunciated each word so clearly they weighed the atmosphere down, and suddenly it seemed like the world would end if she dared to question him about anything. “It’s going to take several minutes to warm up the truck’s cab, so do not—repeat, do not —get all impatient on me and go outside looking for me. One, you’re not dressed for this kind of weather and your exposed skin would develop frostbite in less than ten seconds, the rest of you in about three minutes. And two, I wouldn’t see you until I ran over you. You got me?”
    Damn, he was bossy, and he was giving off all the vibes of wanting to be there about as much as she did. But hassling him was a surefire way to make things worse, so all she did was nod. “I got you.”
    “Good. Now glue your feet to the ground, stay where you are no matter how long this takes and listen for the horn. That’ll mean I’m parked right outside. All you’ll have to do is go through this door and the truck door, and you’re home free. Got it?”
    She nodded mutely, wondering why the hell he was being so freaking dramatic. Then he was gone, and in the two seconds that the door was opened to the outside, she changed her mind about the whole dramatic thing. The Boom man wasn’t being dramatic. The weather out there was fucking insane . Like on-top-of-Mount-Everest insane. Like colder-than-deep-space insane. She might hail from the Windy City, but she hadn’t known wind could scream like that. Nor did she know the true definition of cold until it hit her square in the face. It burned.
    How could anything be so cold it burned ?
    Five minutes passed—she and her phone kept count.
    Then six.
    Then seven.
    Okay, she knew it was bad out there. But when did it ever take seven minutes to warm up a damn engine?
    Unless…
    Unless he somehow hadn’t made it to his truck, and he was lying there frozen to the parking lot and wouldn’t be found until spring thaw…
    The temptation to stick her head out the gymnasium door was huge, but his dire warning kept her still. When the horn blast at last came after nearly ten minutes, it sounded like it really was right outside, and it startled her into action. She pushed through the door that wanted to slam shut on her thanks to a huge gust of skin-freezing wind, and the snow peppered her like ice needles.
    Oh dear God, had she actually wanted to get out into this frozen hell? What was wrong with her?
    In the next second she tugged at the door of a king cab black pickup truck with lighted running boards and dual wheels in the back. The door suddenly pushed open, a huge hand