And then the awkwardness of the decade was back. We both stared at each other. Heat crept into my cheeks, which was amazing since it was so damn cold in the house.

Kyler went back over to the mess and grabbed the paper towels. I started to make him another sandwich. “Don’t,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “I’ll make myself one.”

I don’t know why that stung like a giant mahogany wasp had landed on my nose, but it did. It hurt, cut right through me. Appetite slaughtered, I left the kitchen and walked aimlessly, ending up in the sunroom on the other side of the living room.

It was freezing in this room, with the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Huddling down in my heavy sweater, I sat on one of the wicker chairs and stared out over the snow-covered yard. Wind whipped the snow, creating drifts at least six feet high against the shed out back. Beyond that, the forest crept in. I could see the lifts off in a distance, swaying back and forth as the wind kicked them around.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I couldn’t help but think about how it was going to be when we finally got out of here. Would our friendship ever be the same? I couldn’t see how it would be.

Lowering my chin so that it dipped under the hem of my sweater, I closed my eyes. The moment I did so, I regretted it, because in that room, with nothing but the wind and nothing to focus on, I thought about what had happened between Kyler and me last night. How was I ever going to forget that?

“Syd?”

I lifted my head at the sound of Kyler’s voice. He was standing just inside the doorway of the sunroom. “Hey.”

He ran his hand through his hair. Something he must’ve been doing all day, because his hair was adorably disheveled. “I’m sorry about what happened in the kitchen.”

My entire body felt like it had been slipped into a fruit juicer. “You can stop apologizing. It was an accident. I’m okay. So are you. Nothing is broken.”

“You left your sandwich in the kitchen.”

“I’m not hungry. I’ll get it later.”

He looked at me for a long moment, and then turned his gaze to the windows. “It’s crazy out there, isn’t it?”

I followed his gaze, feeling close to tears. “Yeah, it is.”

A couple of seconds passed, and then he sat beside me. He leaned forward, dropping his hands on his bent knees. “Sydney, about last night—”

“Please don’t apologize for that again. Okay?” I didn’t think I could bear it if he did.

Kyler tensed. “How can you be okay with that? I felt you up in my sleep. Wait. I didn’t just feel you up. I was touching you.”