The frigid wind pricked Ada's skin as she went outside to swing the open sign around. She'd only taken over for her Nonni at her parents' shop an hour ago, but not a single customer had come in since that time. It wasn't more than a few minutes after Nonni left to go out with friends that the sky blackened and the temperature plummeted.

The storm that was meant to hit half the state but just barely miss their small town shifted just enough to include them. There were already power outages being reported from the path it had come from, and people were being ordered to stay inside. The photos they'd been showing on the news made Ada close early and prepare. With branches on power lines, houses, and cars, Ada had little interest in walking from the shop back to the house as it grew closer.

She'd already sent Peter ahead of her to collect the flashlights and candles, and fill the bathtubs with hot water. Peter always appreciated a good storm, never showing fear at all. He worried for their grandmother, but Ada reassured him that Nonni was driving away from the storm rather than toward it and would get the town they were heading to without getting hit. Their night would still be ruined as events were being cancelled pretty much everywhere.

So Ada closed out the credit card batch, put the money in the safe, and locked the door behind her. A branch of a tree near the house snapped off and fell by the porch, so Ada quickened her pace. No matter how cold and windy it was getting, she had to take down the hanging baskets in the backyard and front porch or they wouldn't survive the night.

With nothing more than a sundress on, Ada dropped her chin toward her chest to shield herself from the wind and rushed the best she could considering she was wearing wedges. The outfit made perfect sense this morning. She brushed the skirt of her dress down repeatedly as she scrambled about the yard, collecting the baskets. Not that it mattered with no one around, but she was cold enough as it was without adding to it.

She managed two baskets in each hand and kept her head down as she rushed down the brick path that led to the front of the house. Her skirt flew up once again as she climbed the steps and saw a pair of legs in front of her just before a pair of hands seized the baskets from her grasp.

Ada's now free hand flew to her chest as she peered up and saw Tom standing in front of her. She turned to see his car in the driveway beside her own, not having seen it as she walked passed. Her gaze drifted back to him only for a moment before settling back to her skirt, which she brushed downward, feeling her cheeks turn hot at the realization she'd just flashed him. When Ada forced her eyes back to him, she saw him trying to hold back a smile and failing.

"You're here," she said, stating the obvious as she removed her hair from her face, only for it to blow right back to where it was. She took a few steps closer to the house in a failed attempt to block herself from the gusts.

Tom set the baskets on the ground next to her, but his eyes remained fixated on her blushing face. "I am."

"Why?" She hadn't meant it to sound unkind, but considering they weren't meant to be alone together and were supposed to keep their distance for another couple of weeks, this was going against every rule they were instructed to follow.

Tom shrugged. "Storms scare me. Didn't want to be alone."

Thunder roared in the distance and Ada heard the snap of a branch as it split away from a tree nearby. The sky made it appear to be dusk rather than almost five in the afternoon.

She crossed her arms and rubbed at them with her hands. "You don't look that scared," Ada noted.

"I keep it all inside," he said with a mischievous grin. "Why don't you go in the house and do what you gotta do and I'll finish grabbing the baskets and bring in some firewood."

"You won't get in trouble for being here, will you?" Ada didn't want Tom to risk his career or reputation for her any more than he already had.

"I've had a shitty day, Ada. Being around you makes me calm and I need some calm before I go fucking nuts." His tone was even, but there was obvious frustration deep within. Or maybe not so deep after all. She noticed his hand move to rub at the back of his neck and slipped her arms around him in an embrace.

Maybe it was inappropriate, but she could tell by the slow exhale of his breath how much he needed it. It was her job to center Tom, to remind him of the man he was rather than the angry version the series of events had brought out in him. It was so easy to be bitter about what was happening in his life and she didn't want him to turn into a bitter man.

"I'm happy you're here."

She felt his arms around her give a light squeeze. "Me too."

"And I'm sorry your day was so shitty," she said after lifting her head to look up at him. She noticed his anger dissolving, his eyes losing the gloom behind them.

Tom let out a soft laugh. "It's getting better." Tom let her go. "Now get your ass inside."

Ada nodded and let her arms fall from his body. She was reluctant to go inside, but as she observed him from the window, Ada noticed he took the cold in stride, seeming about as affected by it as he was the night she went to his apartment.

It wasn't until she began watching him in secret that she noticed the difference in his appearance. At school she saw him clean cut; loose pressed shirt, dress pants or fitted jeans and a blazer. When he wasn't there, he wore shirts about a size too large and his ascot cap. But tonight he wore a Rolling Stones t-shirt that fit him just right, which was going to be a distraction, but wasn't entirely peculiar. What was peculiar was his hat and glasses were nowhere to be seen.

It was disappointing to leave the window, but if she'd stayed and watched him for any longer, well... she knew her luck. So Ada preheated the oven and began filling all the pots with water just as Peter came trotting down the steps with a flashlight in each hand. She hadn't noticed the kitchen table full of candles until he'd set the flashlights down in the pile.

"Tom's here," he said happily.

It please Ada how much her little brother seemed to like Tom. They'd only met a few times, yet Peter appeared to adore him. It was no simple thing considering he wasn't a big fan of most adults or authority.

"I saw."

"Is he spending the night?"

That hadn't occurred to Ada until then, but she wouldn't be surprised if he did. "I don't know. I guess that depends on the storm."

"Would he spend the night in your room or in Stevie's room?"

Saliva caught in Ada's throat, causing her to break out into a series of coughs. "Why would he spend the night in my room?"

Peter's eyes narrowed on her and he scratched at his temple. "Aren't you guys dating?"

Ada shook her head, dumbfounded. "Why would you think we're dating?"

"I dunno. Just the way you talk to each other and look at each other," he answered with a shrug.

She had to admit there were times when they appeared to have a closer relationship than they did. She also had to admit there was an attraction on her end. But many people found Tom to be attractive. Even her own mother called him good looking. So Ada had no problem owning up to that one, seeing as she'd spilled the beans about that to Tom himself.

The front door to the house opened and a few moments later Ada heard the tumble of firewood hitting the floor. "We're not dating and Tom won't be spending the night in my room," Ada insisted one final time.

"Where am I not spending the night?" Tom yelled from the living room.

She hadn't yelled it, and the living room was hardly close enough to the kitchen to be easily overheard. But with Ada's luck, she shouldn't have been surprised that he overheard her anyhow.

The oven beeped and Ada went over to the fridge, opened it and grabbed the leftover casserole from the night before and popped it in the oven.

Tom had overheard just about every embarrassing thing Ada had ever said about him. Anything slightly sexual she'd said about him or something said to her about him, and Tom seemed to just magically appear right on time.

So sure, her cheeks blushed. It was tempting to crawl into the oven with the casserole. But at this point it happened so frequently that she'd given up trying to explain it or run from it. So when Tom came in to the kitchen, Ada turned to face him. "My brother thinks you and I are dating."

Tom looked back and forth between the two of them. He didn't look embarrassed or amused. He didn't look like he knew how to feel about it. "Oh yeah?"

Ada nodded, unsure of how else to respond.

His attention went to Peter, and he crossed his arms. "I care for your sister, more than I care about most things in my life these days. But we aren't dating."

"Then why do you guys act like you're dating?" Peter countered. He wasn't so much as slightly embarrassed for being called out on his question. Instead, he was defending his reasoning as if he was on the debate team. "Even my Nonni says that you guys are too close."

Ada walked over to the smaller dining table in the kitchen and dropped into the chair. She'd defended her relationship with Tom too many times to count and denied anything more was there. She was sure Tom had done the same, but she needed a break and wanted to see how he went about it.

Tom didn't appear to know how to reply either. He seemed to just assume that Peter would have accepted a simple 'no' and moved on. But Peter wasn't budging, and Tom didn't have much experience arguing with an eleven-year-old.

He took a seat on the stool at the kitchen island and shifted around for a moment, planning his move. His eyes traveled to Ada, who gave him a sympathetic gaze.

"Okay," Tom said, turning his attention back to Peter. "Tell me how we act like we're dating. Do we kiss?"

Though they all knew the answer to that one, Peter shook his head. "No. But sometimes you look like you're going to, or look like you want to."

Tom's gaze shot to the floor and he let out a nervous chuckle and kicked the kitchen floor with his sneaker a few times. "I feel like the more I try to defend myself, the worse it's gonna get for me."

"Please tell me you haven't shared this theory with our parents," Ada asked from the table.

"Seriously? Dad would kill him."

"Yes," Tom interjected, pointing at Peter. "Yes, he would."

"Peter," Ada said as she ran her fingers through her hair, "why don't you go look for that CD player that takes batteries. I think mom might have it in one of the hall closets."

Peter looked victorious as he scampered off.

Tom just shook his head. "I could have won that one."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ada said with a smile. "I noticed you were trying to take it easy on him."

He lifted himself back off the stool. "So, I'm gonna go bring in more firewood before it gets hit with rain and becomes useless."

"And I'm going to set the table and make some coffee so you don't shrivel up into nothingness," Ada said as she too left her seat and went over to check on the casserole which she already knew needed about fifteen more minutes. "I was going to get a cooler going-"

"Beer," Tom shouted as he left the room. "Lots and lots of beer."