dancing smile, and her self-depreciating humor. She knew how to have a good time. She was open and honest about everything, and it didn’t seem to hold back on how she really felt. He wanted to get to know her – her background, why she ended up in retail, what she wanted out of life, and what was her true passion. It wasn’t insta-love and Dean didn’t think if he actually believed in that notion. Sure, it worked for other people and it was the sole reason why romantic comedies were so popular but it never worked for him. He didn’t expect them to become a couple – at least not yet – but he wouldn’t mind having a friend he could call on and talk to every so often. Though Dean could admit, he didn’t like how friend sounded when he thought about Sydney. “I slept pretty good.” He replied. “Did you want me to call for room service?” “I can help pay for it,” Sydney offered, “I know how expensive room service can be.” Dean shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Your money is no good with me.” Sydney knew Dean was a modern-day Prince Charming. Most her dates required she went Dutch. She should’ve known then they were cheap asses. “You’re too kind,” she smiled. It was almost as if the room lit up with her smile alone. Dean was convinced her smile could compete with the brightest stars. “It’s no thing.” Sydney perused over the menu. She was so used to the bland oatmeal she ate every morning for breakfast, she was feeling overwhelmed by the extravagant breakfast options. Some of the food had words she couldn’t even pronounce even if she sounded them out. “So what did you want to do today?” Dean walked over to the window and looked out. The city was completely covered in white and it probably wasn’t a stretch of his imagination to figure out the airport was completely snowed in. There was only one thing he wanted to do with Sydney that didn’t involve sweaty and sticky sexual positions. “Let’s make a snowman.” **** Sydney knew she was not meant for frigid cold weather. There was a reason why she lived in San Francisco and gladly stayed there. Sure, San Francisco got pretty chilly at times; she could recall a time when it dropped down to 23 degrees. But that was still above zero. In Chicago, she was pretty sure it was some insane degree below zero and she didn’t dare to think how far below it was. Just feeling her teeth clack inside her mouth told her plenty about the weather. Now there she was, looking like a California snow bunny with as much snow gear anyone could possibly put on, watching Dean built a makeshift snowman in between snow-covered cars. “You’re actually building a family?” She commented. “Hell, yeah!” Dean smiled as he put the finishing touches on the bigger snowman. It was a family of four and he was thankful he was able to convince the hotel kitchen to give him the spoiled carrots and olives he needed for the eyes and nose. Next time he would ask for tomatoes to complete the mouth. He stepped aside and nodded at his creation. “What do you think?” Sydney shook her head. She watched with awe and a bit of amusement how serious Dean was about his snow family. They weren’t big but that was beside the point. He took care into building them as if he was creating a masterpiece. It was charming. “You’re insane. That’s incredible.” “You should try.” He glanced over to her. “Just gotta create a couple of snowballs and stack them on top of each other. “ “I never made snowballs before.” She shrugged. “What?” Dean had a disgusted face as if he tasted some horrible food. “What do you mean?” “I just never had the opportunity.” She shrugged again, wondering why what she said was so shocking. “I can’t miss something if I never did it.” “All right, we’re changing that today.” He walked over to her and picked up a small pile of snow. He nodded to her to do the same and Sydney complied. “Just