Three Swedish Mountain Men

by Lily Gold

I look at the coffee in his hand. “Look, maybe you should cut down,” I recommend, lowering my voice. “I hear too much caffeine can make you irritable. That’s clearly a major issue for you.” His scowl deepens. “It’s my first cup.” “So… this is just your personality?” I suck in a breath between my teeth. “God. That’s pretty unfortunate, isn’t it?”

She’s the worst possible combination: fragile, but too brave—or stupid—to care.

“You know”—I curl my fingers under her jaw—“I think I like you better when you can’t talk.” She pulls back and says something that sounds an awful lot like do you want me to bite you?

I swallow down a sob as I plough forward. Oh my God. I’m all alone again.

And you’re kind of stuck with me at the moment, aren’t you? Unless you’d rather throw yourself into a snowdrift to avoid confronting your traumatic past.” “I should’ve let you die in that bush,” he mutters. “Hindsight is 20/20,” I say sweetly. “I can still throw you back out there.” “No. You can’t.” This man would hurt himself before he hurt anyone else, and we both know it.

“So prove it! Pull yourself together and move on! Let yourself get out of this relationship with a ghost! There are people all over the planet who would want you in their family. Who would love you, Cole, if you just let them in—” He cuts me off with his mouth.

His words have a warning edge. As if I should be scared of him. Scared, of this man who just risked his life to save me. I wouldn’t be scared of Cole if he came into my bedroom with a chainsaw. He’d probably just be building me a bedside cabinet, or something.

“I don’t hug after sex,” I blurt out. She looks up at me sleepily. “What do you do?” “Leave.” “Alright, then.” She waves at the tent entrance. “Off you go.” I scowl at her. She scowls right back. “You’ve literally spent all night hugging me. But here is where you draw the line?” She rolls over, snuggling crossly into the blanket. “You may not have noticed this, but I didn’t actually ask you for a hug. Prick.” “Good.” “Good.”

For a man who apparently hates hugs, he’s certainly a very enthusiastic spooner; he’s clutching onto me like I’m a teddy bear, his face buried in the curve of my neck.

blink. “That’s it? You’re not even gonna growl at me?” “There’s no point. You’d just follow me, anyway.” I pat his cheek. “Aw. Teddy. You’re really getting to know me.”

For a second, we’re all silent. “I found her,” Cole says gruffly. I give them a weak smile. I’m not sure what to say. Surprise? Sorry I almost died? My dramatic exit got interrupted, can I stay here a couple of days until I can try again?

Trust him to be able to summarise the worst event of my life in two sentences.

You didn’t just save my life, you gave it back to me.