Spice for the Mountain Man Bonus Scene
DENVER
ONE MONTH LATER
The fire snaps low in the hearth, shadows dancing across the walls. Outside, the first snow of the season drifts lazy and slow, dusting the porch and pines in white. Inside, the only heat that matters comes from the kitchen—cinnamon, cocoa, and her.
Dahlia stands barefoot by the stove, wrapped in my flannel, humming under her breath while she stirs the thick, chocolatey brew. The scent alone could undo a man.
“Careful,” she teases when I come up behind her, bracing my hands on either side of her waist. “You’ll make me spill.”
“Worth the risk,” I murmur against her neck. “Besides, got something better than cocoa to keep you warm.”
She laughs softly. “You and your surprises.”
“Not this time.” I reach into my pocket, heart thudding like a drumbeat in my ribs. A small velvet box. No ceremony, no crowd. Just us, the fire, the snow, the quiet.
Her eyes widen when I open it—simple gold, a stone the color of amber caught in sunlight. “Denver…”
“Been carrying it since before we finished the Wheeler cabin. Knew then I wasn’t letting you walk off this mountain alone.” I slide the ring halfway down her finger, pausing, waiting for her eyes to meet mine. “But you gotta say it back, Sunshine. You staying for good?”
Tears glimmer, mingling with the laugh trembling through her lips. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
The ring finds its home. My arms follow, pulling her in until the flannel slips off one shoulder and I can feel her heartbeat against mine.
Snow presses soft against the windowpanes, the fire crackles, and the world feels brand-new. She tilts her head up, mouth brushing mine, sweet and certain.
“Now,” she whispers, grin curving slow. “About that better-than-cocoa part…”
The rest dissolves into heat and laughter, the kind that promises everything after—the kind that says home isn’t a place. It’s her.
Stacey & Jerry
He’s the mountain man Santa she shouldn’t want … but one blizzard makes her his Christmas obsession.
Jerry came to the Sierra Nevada backcountry to escape his past—not to squeeze into a too-small Santa suit and babysit a storm of holiday chaos at the Silver Fork Café.
Then there’s Stacey. His curvy, sassy server who smells like cinnamon and trouble … and keeps landing in his lap like she belongs there.
She’s off-limits. He’s her boss. And with his East Coast mafia ties, her law-enforcement family is the last place he should be looking for forever.
But one blizzard locks them in together. One touch ruins them both. And one very naughty elf proves she’s his—whether she’s ready for his past … or for his future.