Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from And Now Back To You by B. K. Borison, which is out now.
Jackson Clark likes life neat, predictable, and preferably viewed from the comfort of his radio booth.
Delilah Stewart prefers hers wild, spontaneous, and preferably in the eye of the storm, out in the field.
For years, the two have clashed like thunder and lightning – until they’re partnered against their will to cover the snowstorm of the century, finding themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together.
Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal. If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With an undiscovered chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship.
But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains, stay in the mountains?
EXCERPT
We pull on our snow gear in near silence, nothing but the swish swish swish of our jackets and the quiet sighs of zippers. Jackson snickers when I start jumping up and down to get my socked feet through the bottom of my cinched snow pants, reaching over and holding me steady with one hand curved against my hip while I wiggle and kick.
“I can’t believe you thought you could sneak out of here,” he says, his fingers holding me tight. Five distinct pressure points that I could probably map into a constellation later. “How were you going to do all this without waking me up?”
“I assumed you were a deep sleeper,” I grunt, blowing my hair out of my face once my feet are through. My socks are mis- matched. One of them is bunched at the ankle. In fact, I’m pretty sure one of them is Jackson’s.
“What made you assume that?”
“Your overall disposition? I don’t know, Jackson.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re standing in the lobby of the lodge, staring out the window at the wall of pink-tinged white that’s waiting for us.
“Just to confirm,” he says, “you want to go outside. In that.” Outside the windows, we can barely see across the parking lot.
It’s a wall of white, the very tops of the trees swaying in the wind. “You don’t have to come.” I tug on my hat, pulling it low over my ears. “You can wait in here.”
“You invited me,” he says, somehow making it sound like an accusation.
“Yes,” I say slowly, “but I’m not holding you at gunpoint. You are free to do as you wish, Jackson, and that includes staying in- side and watching from the window.”
He glances down at his legs. “After I put on these snow pants?
I don’t think so.”
Jackson’s snow gear is utilitarian black. Sleek and formfitting. He looks like Jack Reacher’s nerdy little brother, snow expedition edition.
I snicker.
His forehead creases. “I really don’t understand your fascina- tion with the pants.”
“They’re just so . . . undercover agent. I didn’t realize we were going on a top-secret mission while in Deep Creek.”
He rolls his eyes. “And I didn’t realize we were making a side trip to Candy Land.” He reaches over and pinches the very top of my snowpants. “How does Mark let you on camera with these?”
“The camera hits from the waist up. You, too, could have had hot pink snow pants, if only you dared to dream big enough.”
“Maybe next time.” In front of us, wind whistles around the door. It’s blisteringly cold, and we’re still inside. Jackson sighs. “Will you finally tell me why you feel the need to do this?”
I avoided the question the first three times he asked, self- conscious. I tuck the edges of my gloves under the sleeves of my jacket. “Because I want to,” I sidestep.
Jackson stares hard at the side of my head. “You want to lose your fingers to frostbite in the middle of the night?”
“Not particularly, no.”
I pull the set of keys I stole from Jackson’s backpack from my pocket. “I need to get something from the van.”
“I brought our bags in.” “You forgot something.” “What did I forget?” “Something.”
Something doughnut-shaped with pink frosting.
Jackson’s gaze narrows, turning suspicious. “Delilah,” he says, “are you getting your sled out of the van?”
I roll my lips together and refuse to answer.
“Oh my god. You’re out here at two in the morning because you want to go sledding.”
“I checked the projections,” I defend. “By the time we wake up tomorrow, the snow will be too deep. I won’t be able to sled at all.”
He plucks the keys out of my hand. “You’re ridiculous.”
Fire lights in my belly. I snatch the keys right back. “Yeah, I’m ridiculous. Silly and absurd and a little bit stupid, too, yeah?”
Jackson rears back. “I didn’t say that.”
“No, but you were thinking it. I’m not an idiot, Jackson. I know what people think about me.” That I’m some manic pixie dream girl, hell-bent on toxic positivity and crying over cute little dogs in tiny teacups. That because I wear high-waisted hot pink snow pants, I don’t deserve to be taken seriously. “This is what I want to do. For me. The last twelve hours have been—” A shit show. Catastrophic. Completely and totally humiliating. “It’s been a lot, and I’d like to have this one thing for myself. I don’t care if you think it’s silly.” I pull my zipper all the way to the base of my throat. “I’m going to do it anyway.”
I tip my chin up and attempt to stroll confidently through the door, but Jackson hooks my elbow and tows me right back. He manhandles me until both of his hands are heavy on my shoul- ders, his face ducking down to mine. He tries to force eye contact, but I stare resolutely at the middle of his nose. At the two small red marks left behind from his glasses.
“I do think it’s silly,” he says quietly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it with you.”
I drag my gaze up. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Someone has to make sure you don’t sled yourself into the middle of the lake.”
“I was going to sled on the other side of the parking lot.” I sulk. “There’s a little bunny hill with two bumps at the end.”
“Have you been scouting sledding spots?”
“I brought a sled with me, Jackson.” I cross my arms over my chest. “It’s the practical thing to do.”
I get the distinct pleasure of watching his face soften, bit by bit. I might hide behind the costume other people have dressed me in, but I think Jackson wears some masks of his own.
He lifts his hand and fixes some of my hair that’s tangled under my hat. “I don’t think you’re stupid, Delilah.”
My nose crinkles. “All right.”
“Did you not listen to my lamp speech? I thought I explained it.” “You did.”
“Not well enough, apparently.” His hands firm over my shoul- ders and he shakes me a little bit. “Tell me you believe me, or I’ll say it again. Weird metaphor and everything.”
My stomach hollows out, something warm curling low. I try to fight my smile, but it can’t be helped. I grin at him. “Please don’t repeat your weird metaphor. Once was enough.”
A deep groove forms in his cheek as his smile grows. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” I rub my gloved fingers over my nose. “I may have . . . overreacted just then.”
He shakes his head. “You didn’t. Like you said, this day has been . . . unexpected. I think we’re both trying to recalibrate.”
What we’re doing is tiptoeing around the issue instead of ad- dressing it. I shared the high-level notes from my Keith call with Jackson as soon as he got back to the room. I told him Keith said it was fine, as long as we focused on the weather. I didn’t mention anything about being a puff piece.
I scuff my boots against the faded rug in the lobby. “I think I’m carrying around a lot of frustration about how I’m treated.”
“Good.” He nods. “You deserve better. It’s time you start ask- ing for it.”
“And now?” I step closer. “Can I ask for this? You sledding with me?”
He looks patiently amused. “I will watch you sled.”
I shake my head. “Nope, that’s not the deal. If you come out- side, you sled.” I dig one finger in the middle of his chest. “Those are the rules.”
He grabs my finger.
“Ah, how can I resist that?” He folds our hands together, holding my palm over his chest. Right over the steady thump thump thump of his heart. He grins at me. “You know how much I love rules.”
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR DEEP CREEK LAKE AND SURROUNDING AREAS: LOCAL ROADS CLOSED DUE TO LOW VISIBILITY. HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY PRECIPITATION TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
