Love Story for a Snow Princess (Siren Publishing Classic) by Beth D. Carter Read Free Book Online

breath. He sat at his usual table, and she put the steaming mug down in front of him. “Let me, ah, I’ll go get your food.”
    She turned and practically fled to the kitchen, sensing his gaze following her. Thea grabbed the sink to steady herself. Lord, he made her nervous! He unnerved her, though she hadn’t a clue why. She had dated lots of good-looking men in the past, and a few had been up-and-coming film stars. Sure, Paden What’s-His-Name made those men look like pale toothpicks, but still, he was just one man!
    What was it about him that made her feel like a teenager crushing over the star quarterback?
    Preparing the stew only took a few minutes of heating it up in the microwave. For good measure, she toasted some bread, added a little butter, and sprinkled some garlic powder on it before taking the dishes out to him.
    He watched her as she served him, and it took all of her concentration to not spill the food into his lap.
    “Thank you,” he said quietly.
    “Y–you’re welcome,” she stammered, flushing again. “She went off to get caribou. Miki, that is. She went to the butcher for the, you know, meat.”
    He nodded before turning his attention to his food. Feeling the slight snub, Thea turned and headed back to the bar.
    “Your name is Greek, right?” he asked out of the blue. “Panthea. A Pantheon of Gods.”
    “Yes,” she answered, surprised. “My mother was into Greek mythology. My sister’s name was Hera, and my brother’s middle name was Cronus. Usually I go by Thea. I mean, please call me Thea. If you’d like, that is.”
    Her brain was screaming at her to shut up. She turned her back to him and bit her tongue. God, could she sound more stupid?
    “What does your family think of you being here?”
    The question threw her off-balance, and she floundered a moment, her shoulders bunching as she froze. It was a force of nature to unfreeze her body, to straighten her spine which automatically curved inward as if trying to protect her. She took a deep breath and turned to face him.
    “My family died,” she told him in the rehearsed tone it had taken months to perfect. “They died in a car crash last year.”
    She braced for his apology, his pity, and the fumbling words from someone who hasn’t a clue what to say.
    But he did none of those. He just studied her steadily from beneath dark, sooty lashes before looking back to his food to resume eating.
    She let out a shaky breath and resumed her closing duties, making sure salt and pepper shakers were full, cleaning out the coffeepots, and getting them set up. She finished wiping the tables and closed the front of the stove. By the time she was finished, so was he. She cleared away the dishes and washed them up before setting them off to the side. She took one last look in the kitchen to make sure everything was put away before heading back into the front of the restaurant.
    Paden was still there, waiting. He had put his coat on but held his hat and goggles.
    “You ready?” he asked.
    She didn’t know quite what to say, so she nodded and headed over to the hooks, grabbing her coat and zipping it up. She put on her hat, scarf, and gloves and exited through the door that Paden held open for her. The lock was a simple push button, anyone trying to break in wouldn’t have a hard time, but Thea decided Miki knew this town and its people better, so she didn’t worry too much.
    Unlike last night, there was no wind kicking up white dust clouds. The sky was clear, and a thousand stars twinkled down. Thea’s mouth fell open as she stared at the wondrous night sky.
    “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
    Paden stopped his trek and looked first at her and then upward. “Don’t see this in the city.”
    “No, you don’t,” she murmured. “People like to blame smog, but it’s simply too much light. I live on the ocean, and sometimes I can look out over the water and see the stars in the distance but nothing like this.”
    “What made you want to