Half an hour later, I was back in my own clothes, standing at reception and giving them my carefully folded dress and shoes, which they'd agreed to look after for me. They'd also been kind enough to lend me a torch. I took a deep breath and headed out of the front door, ready to start my slightly drunken trek home.
'Where the hell are you going?' came an annoyed American voice. Miller! I turned around to face him, and my heart skipped a beat as he held my gaze this time. My God, he was just stunning.
'Ermmm, hello, Miller. So nice to see you again. How have you been?' I replied, with a little more sarcasm than I'd intended.
'Well, you'd know if you'd called me. And don't try to tell me you didn't get my letter. I called the hotel when I didn't hear from you and tracked down the barman who gave it to you, then threw it out at your request. After you read it!' he shot back.
'So that's why you've avoided me all night? You're mad I didn't call you?'
'Well … yeah!' he scoffed, folding his arms across his chest and looking at me like I was stupid.
'What was the point of me calling you? You live there, I live here, and from what I've heard, you're not looking for a relationship, and I'm not looking for a one-night stand. We had a fun afternoon, but there was no point trying to make it into something it wasn't.'
'Who said I was looking for a one-night stand?'
'I've heard your reputation. I'm not the sort of girl who goes for that.'
'Well, you heard wrong, because I'm not into one-night stands either. I just haven't met a girl I want to settle down with yet, so I date a lot. Maybe, just maybe, you're exactly the kind of girl I'd like to get serious with, but you didn't even give me a God damn chance, did you?' He glowered at me, all six-foot-odd prime muscular male, simmering with tension. My God, suddenly I was feeling super hot out here on the doorstep in the freezing cold.
'Why me? What's so special about me?' I asked hesitantly.
'I don't know, Abbie,' he admitted with a shrug, relaxing his posture a little. 'All I'm asking for is the chance to find out. I'd just like to get to know you better, spend some time with you. I thought we had a connection that day, then you blew me off.'
'Maybe your ego is wounded that I didn't call, as I can't imagine you having to chase many women. Maybe that's the only reason you're interested, you see me as a challenge.' I half-believed my comeback. I mean sure, I was hard on myself. I was attractive enough, but I wasn't a stunning, glamorous model type, the type I could see him with. He was so far out of my league, I was getting vertigo from looking up at him.
'I liked you the moment I met you, Abbie. Was I annoyed that you didn't call me? Sure. I've never chased a woman in my life, and you have no idea how many times I went to ask Rachel for your number, then stopped myself. But when I heard you were going to be here, I decided I'd come and wait to see if you'd apologise to me. And you didn't, which annoyed me even more.'
'Well, it's not like I had a chance,' I bit back. 'You had Fi-Fi hanging on you most of the time, and every time I got near you, you moved away.'
'First of all, I never encouraged her, and secondly, I was supposed to make it easy for you? Like hell. And now I find you running away, to God knows where.'
'I'm not running, but I need to get home. I can't get a taxi so I'm going to walk.'
'In this weather?' he frowned, his look of annoyance turning to one of concern. 'Do you live nearby?'
'Two miles away.'
'No way,' he stated firmly, reaching out to grab my arm before hustling me back into the reception hall. 'You can stay here.'
'I can't. For one, they have no rooms and for another, I have to get home.'
'Well, you're not walking on your own.'
'It's two miles in the Shropshire countryside on a snowy night. It's hardly a "Scott of the Antarctic" expedition. I'm not going to be mauled by a vicious polar bear or develop frost bite,' I muttered stubbornly, sure I could smell cinnamon on him again. It made the butterflies in my tummy go crazy.
'Well, I should hope not,' he laughed.
'What's so funny?' I demanded as I pulled my arm from his grasp, annoyed with him now. He'd ignored me all night, and now he was trying to lay down the law? I had no idea what was going on with us, but the chemistry sizzling between us now was unmistakable.
'Polar bears don't live in the Antarctic, completely different side of the globe. You'd be more likely to be eaten by penguins,' he chuckled.
'Flesh-eating ones?' I asked as I softened to see his smile.
'Well no, not this time. Penguins are too cute to be made into flesh-eating creatures,' he replied. 'Look, I'm sorry, ok? You didn't call, it threw me. I came here spoiling for a fight instead of talking to you like an adult. But regardless, there's no way I'm letting you walk home. You can stay here. I have a large suite, I can sleep on the couch if you don't want to share a bed.'
'I can't,' I replied with a shake of my head, thinking how much I would love to share a bed with him. 'I have to get home.'
'Do you have some children I don't know about?'
'Sort of. An elderly bulldog. My neighbours will have been to feed him this afternoon, but they were going away for a pre-Christmas break with their son straight after. I can't leave him alone until the morning.'
'Surely he won't starve overnight?' Miller questioned.
'No, he has enough fat to live on for at least a few weeks,' I giggled. 'But he'll need a poo, and you have no idea how flatulent and gassy this dog is. Sometimes when I take him out for his night-time tinkle and dinner expulsion, it's like someone making a poop smoothie without the lid on the blender, crap flies everywhere. There's no way I want to come back to a house that's been redecorated a lovely shade of brown, thank you very much!'
'He can't be that bad,' Miller laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
'Trust me, I'm under-exaggerating. Besides, he's old and he loves his routines. Even though he's a cantankerous old bugger who doesn't appreciate me, I don't like the thought of him being alone all night.'
'Ok then, give me five minutes,' Miller relented.
'For what?'
'To get changed into something more appropriate to escort the damsel in distress home.'
'I can't ask you to do that, it's miles!' I gasped, stunned at the offer.
'According to you, it's an easy walk, or were you under-exaggerating that as well?' he asked, a disapproving tone in his voice.
'No, it's two miles, mainly on the flat, apart from one quite sharp uphill, but it's too far to ask you to come.'
'You didn't ask, I'm volunteering. And if it's too far for me, it's definitely too far for you, especially alone. You can either sit here and wait or come up with me, but either way, I'm walking you home, Abbie Carter. It will be a good chance for us to get to know each other a little better.'
'Why are you being so nice? I'm not going to put out, if that's what you're hoping,' I warned. He chuckled again and ran a hand through his hair.
'I already told you I'm not that kind of guy. Are you always so cynical of men?'
'Ones who are too good looking for their own good, yes,' I nodded with a smile.
'Well, even good-looking guys can be chivalrous. Maybe I'm hoping that after I've rescued you and your gassy dog, you'll accept my number this time and call me after I leave.'
'Go get changed then,' I sighed, finally relenting. He grinned, then turned and took the stairs three at a time while I openly ogled his peachy backside in his fitted suit as he went.
He was right. This was the perfect chance to get to know him better, to try and fathom why on earth he was interested in a girl like me. I'd seen Fi-Fi flirting outrageously with him for most of the night. It seemed the harder she tried, the more turned off he got. Maybe that really was his thing, he loved a challenge. Well, I was definitely that. There was a reason I was still single at twenty-eight.
'God damn it,' I screeched, laughing my head off as I lost my footing again, my legs shooting out from under me. I landed with a thud on my backside and started sliding backwards down the hill. Miller laughed, his hands on his hips, as I tipped sideways into the hedge, and it dumped a heavy load of snow on me. I was soaked. Again. This was getting to be a theme around him. My Uggs, which had kept my feet beautifully warm for a while, weren't snow protected and were starting to soak up the cold moisture, and they weren't exactly designed for climbing up a steep and icy hill. The snow on the main road had been compacted by cars earlier, making it like glass, then it had been covered with more snow, so you couldn't even see where the worst patches of ice were, and there was no pavement to try and traverse up. I spat a load of snow out of my mouth as Miller approached, hauled me up, and dusted me off. 'This hill will be the death of me, I'm never going to make it up.'
'Then hop on,' he advised, turning around and crouching down. 'My boots have more grip. I'll give you a piggyback to the top.'
'I weigh a tonne,' I protested.
'Don't be ridiculous. Come on, get on. You don't have enough layers on. You're wet now and you'll freeze soon. We're closer to your place than the hotel, right?'
'Right,' I sighed, giving in to his insane plan and climbing on board. He hooked his hands under my knees and I wrapped my arms around his neck, putting my chin on his shoulder. Maybe there were some advantages to a slippery hill. I could breathe in that cinnamon scent to my heart's content now.