It all started with a Christmas disaster.
A week before the holidays, her world crumbled when her fiancé called off their engagement. His parting words echoed in her mind like a curse: "Chubby girls aren't wife material." The sting of it lingered, leaving her heart bruised and her confidence battered. With her friends gone home for the holidays, she found herself alone, teetering on the edge of misery. Desperation led to a moment of defiance. She did something wildly out of character — she booked a boudoir photoshoot.
Nerves gnawed at her the entire day, but the photographer's warmth and encouragement made a difference. For the first time in a long while, she saw herself as something more than "not enough." The way the lens captured her curves felt like a quiet rebellion against every cruel word she'd ever heard. For one night, she was powerful. Beautiful. Desirable.
But fate wasn't done with her just yet. Days later, when the package containing the photos was due to arrive, disaster struck again. The courier had delivered it to the wrong address — her neighbor's address. Not just any neighbor. Him. The grumpy, insanely way too attractive, brooding man next door who rarely spoke more than a grunt or a nod in passing. The one she occasionally caught glimpses of on his porch, coffee in hand, eyes shadowed by perpetual scowls. And now he had her boudoir photos.
Her heart rocketed into a frenzy of panic. What if he opened them? The thought made her skin prickle with dread. She could already picture it — him laughing, mocking her in private as he flipped through each image. Her face burned with the thought, but she knew she had to face it head-on. No way was she letting him keep them. No way.
She marched over, forcing herself to look more confident than she felt. But when the door opened, the words she'd planned to say died in her throat.
He was waiting for her. Not in the way she'd imagined. Not laughing. Not sneering. Just waiting. His eyes, a dark and endless storm, locked on her like she was something he’d been hunting for and had finally caught. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. Hunger. Raw and unrestrained. And in his hand, crumpling slightly from the force of his grip, was her envelope of photos.
Her breath hitched, heart pounding a frantic rhythm in her chest. Snow drifted softly behind her, a serene backdrop for the chaos blooming inside. She thought she’d walked into the cold, but somehow, she’d stepped into the eye of a storm.
He leaned against the doorframe, eyes still pinned to hers, and slowly, deliberately, his lips curled into the hint of a smirk. "You came for these, huh?" he said, voice a rough rumble like distant thunder. His gaze dragged over her, unhurried, deliberate. "Shame. I was just starting to enjoy the view."