“Hyrum,” she said. “You’re lucky I’m alive.”

“Corvin called, so I know you got there safely.”

“Yes.”

“Are they treating you well?”

“What would you even do if they didn’t?” Livia demanded.

“They aren’t those type of people, Liv.”

“How do you know that? How can you be so sure—”

“Livia, most people aren’t horrible,” Hyrum said. “You need to trust a little more.”

“Right, like how I trusted you when you sent me up here? That type of trust?”

Hyrum sighed. “Livia, I hope you patch things up with Corvin while you’re there, but I needed to get you away from Gaius.”

Livia was baffled. “What are you talking about?”

“He thinks you’re pregnant.”

Right, Livia had figured that out. She ground her teeth together and growled. “I’m not pregnant. I can prove it!”

“Look, Livia, I know I’ve been suspicious, and that’s been infuriating. But if you are pregnant right now, because you haven’t signed an illegitimacy clause, he has legal rights to dictate anything that can affect the baby, from your medical care to where you live. So, I’m worried he won’t let you return to school.”

“So, I’ll take a pregnancy test and—”

“You shouldn’t have to do that,” Hyrum said. “And I’m concerned that he’ll demand more if we do that once. What if he makes you take pregnancy tests once a month? Or get other medical examinations? I don’t want you near him until I’ve figured this out. So I’ve been contacting lawyers who are telling me the best thing you can do is sign match papers with an illegitimacy clause in them.”

“I can’t do that unless I’m dating Corvin.”

“We both know that the whole thing with Salina wasn’t his fault. This whole thing is about something else.”

Livia hated that Hyrum had realized that before her. So, she was deliberately contrary when she replied, “Maybe I should leave Caesarea, Hyrum.”

“So they can find your children and tell them you’ve lied to them?” Hyrum demanded. “So we can repeat this whole ridiculous cycle—”

Livia shook her head. “Hyrum, how are we even going to get Gaius to sign the match papers?”

“You can arrange to have Justin and I sign them instead,” Hyrum said. “Livia, there’s a way we can work in this system to keep you safe. But you can’t do it on your own. You have to rely on a network of people.”

“Which must include Corvin,” Livia pointed out.

“Look,” Hyrum said. “There is something else you should know.”

“What?” Livia snapped.

“Five minutes ago, Gaius and Salina signed betrothal papers. I thought you should find out from a phone call instead of Tabula.”

Livia’s stomach dropped to her toes. “What?”

“I am hoping that makes him more reasonable about your situation. You know as well as I do that all Gaius wants is children, and now he’ll have two….”

“Hyrum, you saw what Lauretta did to the House, and now…Salina? Is he insane?” Livia asked.

“He has different priorities, Liv,” Hyrum said. “Caecilia is concerned because, as Materfamilias, Salina can have a lot of influence over the decisions Gaius makes. So we’d rather you be under Aurelia’s authority when it comes down to it….”

“What? Hyrum, now you’re talking about more than match papers. That would require a marriage,” Livia said. “How do you know if Corvin even wants me?”

“I heard the conversation, Livia. You broke up with him. He’s willing to talk.”

“I can’t marry someone because Gaius decided to marry a bully—”

“Oh, no, of course not,” Hyrum said. “But you can decide to marry them faster.”

“Hyrum!” Livia growled.

“Also, you should make sure the pregnancy rumors don’t spread—”

“Who have you told!” Livia demanded.

“I haven’t told anyone, but Tavian and Lucas are sharing notes. I don’t know how long until Arik finds out, but he’s an irresponsible gossip.”

Livia ran a hand down her face. Arik absolutely was a gossip. “Right. Okay.”

Hyrum ended the call, and Livia groaned. Should she call Arik and threaten him with his life if he so much as breathed a word? But what if Arik didn’t know? Threatening him would inform him of the entire situation, making the news getting out even riskier.

Livia realized there was no way around it. She would have to tell Corvin, which meant…telling him everything.

A knock came at the door. Livia turned. Corvin’s voice floated through the door. “Liv, can we talk?”

Funny, his sense of timing.

Livia walked to the door and opened it. Corvin stood before her, but his Uncle Lucius was also leaning against the wall next to the door. If he wanted to talk, why was his uncle with him?

Corvin got straight to the point. “Do you have your car keys? Hyrum said your things were in your trunk.”

“I’ll walk out there,” Livia said, stepping forward.

Corvin laughed. “No, we’ll have to dig a path—”

“It hasn’t snowed that long—”

“Again, we’ll have to clear a path,” Corvin interrupted her. “So, why don’t you hand over your keys and rest while we collect your things.”

“No, I’m helping,” Livia said.

“We got it covered,” Corvin said.

“It’s my stuff. I’m helping,” Livia insisted.

Corvin looked at Lucius for support.

“We have gear she can borrow,” he said.

Livia nodded. “I’m ready.”

Livia could see Corvin struggling. He didn’t want her to come. “Livia, this isn’t something you have to do. I understand you’re dealing with some things right now—”

Livia walked past him and down the hallway. “I’m fine.”

Lucius led the way down the hallway and down the stairs. He took them to the garage and helped Livia don all the appropriate snow gear while Corvin pulled on his snow clothes in silence.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Livia walked out into the cold and found that the world looked unrecognizable. It was dark, and all she could see were swirling white snowflakes. She hesitated, peering out into the darkness. Where was her car? Where was the front yard? Did the garage open onto the side of the house? Livia couldn’t remember if she saw it pulling in.

Corvin approached and snapped a clip onto her snow pants without asking.

“What’s that?” she asked, trying to remove it.

“Leave it!” he ordered. “It’s a cord that connects you to me. So you don’t wander into the dark in the middle of a blizzard.”

Then Livia realized he’d wanted her to stay inside because he worried about her. Irritated by his protectiveness, Livia tugged on the cord and opened her mouth to argue. Then shut it. She didn’t know how she’d keep from getting lost without it.

Lucius turned on a bright light and shined it out into the darkness. That didn’t improve the visibility; everything turned a blinding white.

Livia put her hand over her eyes. “That doesn’t really work.”

“It’s to help us find our way back,” Corvin said.

Lucius passed out shovels. He led the way, scooping up the snow as he moved forward. Livia got the patches that he missed. Corvin shoveled whatever remained after that. Livia’s car already had a shocking amount of snow on it. They had to clear off the back half before she could dig her keys out of her pants pocket and open the trunk. There was a suitcase and a backpack of emergency supplies.

Livia removed the suitcase and shut the trunk. She turned back the way they came and realized the light did help them way out here. She couldn’t see the house, but she knew its general direction. Corvin guided them back into the garage.

“Whoo,” Lucius laughed. “That’s one heck of a snowstorm, eh, Cor?”

Corvin tore his hat off his head and ran a hand through his curls. “It’s not supposed to stop snowing until tomorrow. Think we’ll be able to open the doors?”

“We’ll have to shovel every few hours to clear the entrances.”

Corvin removed the clip from his pants. Then walked toward Livia, gathering the slack between them as he walked. “What do you think, Liv? Have you ever been in a storm this big? Last winter was friendly compared to this.”

A shiver of attraction zinged through Livia as Corvin’s hand clasped the clip at her hip.

“No,” she answered, lifting her eyes to his. “Should I be worried?”

Corvin grinned and released her from the clip. “I’ll do all the worrying for the both of us, Hun. You consider yourself safe until I tell you otherwise.”

“So…I have to trust you,” she said.

“Yep.” Corvin walked to the cabinets that lined the garage walls and put the clips away.

“You’ve been in storms this big before?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been out on rescue missions in storms this bad.” Corvin removed his coat and hung it up.

“So, we are safe here?”

“Garnet and Lucius are used to this weather, so they’re prepared for anything.”

“We even have a small tractor that removes the snow,” Lucius said. “And a generator in case we lose power.”

“Do you always lose power in a storm like this?” Livia asked.

“The lines are underground, so not often, but on occasion,” he said. He turned to Corvin. “Can you bring a load of wood in?”

“Sure thing,” Corvin said. He strode to a black door at the back of the garage. When he opened it, a light automatically turned on so Livia could see it was full of shelves lined with chopped wood.

Corvin started gathering wood into his arms. Livia looked at Lucius.

“Do you want me to carry in a load?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Just hold the door open for Corvin and me?”

Then he went over and piled wood into his own arms too. Livia complied without complaint and held the heavy garage door open for them. She looked around the place and, not finding anything out of place, turned the light off and closed the door.

“Livia,” Lucius called. “Go help Corvin.”

Livia rushed to follow Corvin as he disappeared around the corner. He was in a room off the kitchen that Livia hadn’t seen from the front room. There was a piano here, and she recognized Corvin’s guitar on its stand next to it.

Corvin was struggling to open a steel box by the fireplace so he could drop the wood into it. Livia rushed over and lifted the lid. Corvin let the wood roll from his arms into the box.

He grunted when his load was all clear, “Thanks, Liv.”

He grabbed a fire poker, and Livia jumped back without thinking.

Corvin looked at her in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” she asked, voice high.

He took two steps and poked the logs in the fireplace. “Checking the fire. The cabin has heating, but it’s not very good. So we rely on fires during the night to keep the house warm enough.”

Corvin put the fire poker away. “We need a few more logs.”

Livia watched, fascinated, as Corvin placed more logs into the fire. He didn’t seem scared of the flame at all.

“How do you do that so easily?” she asked.

“With lots of practice,” he said. “Epiphany and I hang out in this room often, and I’m always in charge of keeping it warm enough.”

He stood and looked back at her. “You’re still in your coat. It needs to go back to the garage.” He brushed off his snow pants. “Same with the snow pants. The boots go in the mudroom, so they dry out faster.”

Livia followed him back to the garage and tried to remove her coat. The zipper jammed halfway down, and she pulled it back up to start over. Then repeated the same process.

Corvin stepped over. “Let me help.”

He grabbed the zipper and pulled on it just so…it came undone. He slipped deftly behind her and removed the coat from Livia’s shoulders. Then hung it up on the wall for her.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Not a problem,” he said, untying his laces to remove his boots.

Livia prayed her laces would untie. She cheered silently when she removed her shoes and pants without a hitch. Corvin told her to stow the pants in a plastic bin labeled ‘adult snow pants.’

He picked up his boots and gestured with a jerk of his shoulder. “This way to the mudroom.”

Livia’s feet padded on the wood flooring as she followed him to the door a few steps down the hallway. Corvin opened the door and placed his boots inside. Livia followed and put her boots in the room, glancing up to note it held the laundry facilities.

Livia shouldn’t have been so distracted looking at what was inside the room. Her feet slipped from under her. She prepared herself for a fall, but instead, arms wrapped around her.

Corvin held her firmly against his chest. She grasped his shirt, afraid she’d pull him down too, but Corvin remained steady.

“You alright?” he asked. “The floor was a bit wet. The snow from Lucius’ boots melted already.”

Livia took a deep breath. Corvin smelled like wood and…wind. Her eyes flicked up to his in surprise.

“I’m alright,” she whispered.

“I’m gonna let you go,” Corvin said, searching her face. “You ready?”

Livia nodded. However, something was alluring about the way his forearm pressed against the sway of her back.

Ignore that, Livia told herself. Then, ready to put some distance between them, she tried to pull away too quickly. Corvin stumbled.

“Whoa,” he said. His hand flew out and splayed against the wall to keep them both from falling.

The alluring part of their embrace increased tenfold as Corvin kept them both from falling to the floor. Livia’s hands flew to his shoulders, and her face flamed with embarrassment. They looked like they doing one of those fancy dips in dance movies.

“I’m so sorry,” Livia squeaked. “I’m so bad…at…being human.”

Corvin laughed. “You’re not bad at being human, Liv. Coordination, though—” He made a ‘hmm’ sound like he was undecided on choosing between two types of cheese.

Livia laughed. She wasn’t supposed to, but it just burst out. Then she tried to stop and made an awkward farting sound.

Of course, that provoked another gale of laughter from the both of them. Without thinking, Livia wrapped her arms around Corvin’s neck. He shifted. Suddenly, she was between him and the wall and didn’t feel trapped. Indeed, she only wanted him closer.

His face turned into her ear. “Liv, Hun, am I imagining that you like this?”

“Don’t ask me that question,” she said.

“Why not?” he asked.

“I don’t want to answer it.”

Corvin laughed. “You can let go of me, you know? You won’t fall.”

Corvin waited.

Livia didn’t let go.

“Or,” Corvin whispered. “We can enjoy this a little longer….”

Livia couldn’t explain how it was possible that Corvin’s hold both softened and tightened simultaneously. In an instant, his hold had turned into an embrace.

“Are you alright, Fabulous?” he asked.

“Don’t ask me that,” she whispered fiercely.

“Why not?” he asked again.

“I don’t want to answer,” she said. Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Hey, it’s okay not to be okay, and furthermore… it’s okay to tell me you’re not okay.”

“It feels safer to tell you I like this,” Livia said. “Damn. I wasn’t supposed to say that—”

Corvin laughed.

Livia took in a shaky breath. “I’m so bad at this.”

Corvin just held her in his arms. “It’s okay to be bad at things too.”

“Did your mom actually say such things to you?”

“Well, she’d say everyone is bad until they’ve had enough practice—”

“What if you keep practicing and you never get better?” Livia asked.

“Then she’d tell us she adored us anyway.”

“Adored? Really?”

“Yeah, her words.”

“Funny, I can see her saying that.”

“Fits her, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe that’s why you brag so much about everyone—”

Corvin chuckled. “Probably.”

Livia inhaled a brave breath. Maybe she could tell him everything.

Mel’s voice echoed down the hallway. “Corvin! Where are you?”

Corvin released Livia. She did indeed stay standing. “I gotta go. I promised I’d play with them. Want to come?”

Livia shook her head.

Corvin touched her arm. “You can come to get me anytime, okay?”

Livia nodded.

He smiled. “Also, I liked holding you too.”

Livia decided to retreat to the girl’s bunkroom and listen to music. She was surprised when the door swung open, and Alia’s head appeared.

“Good, you’re up here. We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Do you have anything weird with you? I mean that you could give away? We have a tradition of exchanging white elephant gifts after Christmas Eve dinner.”

“I could look,” Livia said.

Alia watched Livia go through her stuff. There wasn’t anything suitable in her suitcase. Livia wondered if she would have anything in her purse. She found the bottle of Lavender spray that Delores had given her at the staff Christmas party. She’d forgotten it was even there.

“This?” Livia showed it to Alia.

“That works!” she grinned. “Come on! Let’s find a way to wrap it.”

Livia followed Alia to a den behind the fireplace in the front room. It looked like a tiny office lined with shelves. It had a desk and a daybed, making it feel cramped and small. Alia opened the door to a tiny closet. Inside, they found an empty cardboard box and some red ribbon.

“Ta-da!” Alia said, holding the box up. “You can play now!”

“Thanks, Alia.”

She smirked. “No problem.”