The next morning, the blizzard had stopped, but the world was a sea of white, glittering under the weak light of the November sun. I wasn't going anywhere today.

I stretched my arms over my head. At least I'd slept well – my mattress was like a giant marshmallow – though I felt gross after sleeping in my clothes. I'd grab a shower, get dressed, and –

I froze.

Everything had happened so fast yesterday that the practicalities of living with Finn hadn't kicked in, but now they were glaringly obvious.

I had no clothes. I didn't have anything.

A wave of panic rushed up, and I closed my eyes, trying to hold it back. "Okay, let's think about this," I whispered.

Only there wasn't anything to think about.

Of course I hadn't brought spare clothes or toiletries to an interview, and now I was stuck without anything that I needed. It probably hadn't occurred to Finn either.

I peered into the bathroom. Thick towels hung on a wall rack, and various toiletries were arranged on a smaller rack in the shower, but there was no point washing if I didn't have clean clothes to change into. No way was I wandering around in a towel.

I had to find Finn. Then we could discuss how these living arrangements would work.

Reluctantly, I headed for the kitchen. I was almost there when I heard the faint shuffle of movement from inside – at least Finn was up.

He had his back to me when I went in, and I absolutely did not take a second to admire the way his T-shirt stretched across the muscles of his back. Nope, no ogling here.

"Um, hi," I said, wishing I sounded more confident.

Finn turned. His expression was blank, but there was a wary look in his eyes that made me feel like I was approaching a wild animal.

"Thanks for the sandwich. I really appreciated it," I said.

Finn nodded, and I thought he relaxed, just a fraction.

"I don't have anything with me." I gestured at my jeans and the thin shirt I'd worn under my sweater. "This is all I have."

"You'll have to wear my stuff," he said, after an awkward pause.

"I don't think they'll fit."

"You can go naked if you'd prefer."

"That's not funny."

Finn grinned wolfishly. "I wasn't joking."

Folding my arms, I glared at him. "Not being here in a professional capacity anymore doesn't mean you can hit on me."

Finn lifted a steaming black mug to his lips. "I wasn't."

"You just said –"

"That you can walk around naked if you want to. I'm not asking you to, but I won't stop you either." Finn gave me a once-over. "Frankly, you're not my type. You sit like you've got a stick up your arse."

"That's not what you were saying yesterday," I couldn't help pointing out.

"I thought you'd come here for more than a chat."

My temper rose again. God, why did this man press my buttons so much? "You probably think I'm pleased to be stuck here."

A shrug.

"I didn't choose this. I don't control the weather," I snapped. "But if I could, I'd do more with that superpower than arrange some forced proximity bullshit with an arrogant rockstar."

"Right, and you're going to pretend that when you first arrived, you weren't looking at me like you wanted to fucking eat me."

I snapped my mouth shut because I probably had looked at him like that. I just hadn't thought he'd noticed.

"I came here for the interview," I said.

Finn's expression sharpened. "Doesn't mean you weren't hoping for a little extra something at the end."

Making a noise of anger and disgust, I spun around. Clean clothes or not, I couldn't spend another minute with this unbelievable dickhead.

"Wait," Finn said.

My heart was thudding, my hands curled into fists, and yet something in Finn's voice made me pause.

Finn deeply exhaled. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

I turned back to him, anger still thrumming in my veins.

Finn had put down his mug and was leaning against the nearest counter, his hands spread apart, his gaze fixed on the floor.

"It's just . . ." Finn broke off. "I have so much experience with women doing whatever it takes to get close to me and it's made me a cynical bastard."

"Not every woman in the world is trying to get into your pants," I said. "Even if they were, a five minute conversation with you would stop it."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Finn's voice was so hollow in his voice that it made me uncurl my fists. He was the one who kept antagonising me, yet I suspected my words had hurt him more than his had hurt me, and I wasn't sure how or why.

"I'll sort some clothes for you," Finn said, still not looking at me.

He pushed off the counter and stepped around me, disappearing down the hallway. I stayed longer, going back over our interaction and trying to work out what the hell had happened.

I'd expected a sharp or sarcastic retort, igniting my temper even more, not for Finn to agree with me, or to sound so dejected when he did.

Who the hell was this man?

I returned to my room and took a long, delicious shower. Camden had told me once that Jude's shower was better than anything she'd ever felt, and I'd thought she was exaggerating, but if Jude's shower was anything like Finn's, then Camden hadn't praised it enough.

By the time I got out, I hadn't heard anything from Finn but, remembering the sandwich, I wrapped a towel around myself and peeked out of the bedroom. A small smile touched my lips. A stack of neatly folded clothes lay on the floor.

I carried them inside and placed them on the bed. Finn had clearly realised his trousers would never fit me – I was five foot five at the most, and he was over six foot – so he'd left me multiple pairs of shorts and T-shirts. Even the shorts drowned me – I had to pull the drawstring as tight as possible to stop them falling down. They felt weird, not only because they weren't mine, but because they were summer clothes, and the world outside was frozen white.

One thing Finn couldn't provide was clean underwear, but I wasn't comfortable going commando, so after some dithering, I put on a second pair of shorts.

My phone buzzed - a text from Camden demanding to know where the hell I was and why I wasn't responding. Shit, I'd put my phone on silent for the interview and I'd forgotten to take it off. I had several missed calls and unread texts, and it didn't feel right to lie to her, so I sent a quick text explaining what had happened.

Camden immediately called me. I should have seen that coming.

I hit answer. "Hi."

"What the fuck, Tash?" my sister cried.

"It's not what it sounds like," I said.

"What's not?" came Jude's voice from somewhere in the background.

"Camden, don't -"

"Tasha spent the night at Finn's," Camden said.

Jude joined her onscreen, his brown curls pulled back in a knot, his eyes unusually hard. "What?"

"Not like that," I said, already regretting answering the phone.

"If he made a move on you -"

"He didn't, but I appreciate your commitment to the older brother bit."

Jude's expression didn't waver.

"Literally nothing happened, okay?" I said.

"When are you leaving?" Camden asked.

I glanced out of the window. The sky was clear, but all the forecasts had predicted more snow was coming. Lots more.

"No time soon," I admitted. "No one will be able to clear that tree until the weather improves, and my car's dead anyway."

Jude's frown deepened. "Yeah, I'm going to have to talk to Finn about this."

"You really don't need to. He hasn't done anything wrong," I protested.

I mean, he'd been kind of douchey from time to time, but he'd also made me a sandwich. That had to count for something. Of course he'd followed that by telling me I looked like I had a stick up my ass, but still. Sandwiches were important.

"I know Finn better than you do," Jude said.

"Maybe, but I can take care of myself."

"She can," Camden confirmed, but I could tell from the determined set of Jude's jaw that he wasn't listening.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said, and kissed Camden's cheek. He disappeared from view, only his hand reappearing to wave goodbye to me. I waved back, even though he couldn't see it.

"You sure you're okay?" Camden said.

"I'm fine," I replied.

There was no point telling her about Finn's dickish moments – he was probably getting chewed out by Jude right now. I hadn't been kidding about Jude's big brother tendencies – though we weren't related by blood, and though I was only sixteen months younger than Camden, Jude had become very protective over me since marrying her.

"You really don't know how long you'll be there?" Camden pressed.

"Until the snow melts."

"And Finn really hasn't hit on you?"

I couldn't hold back a rueful grin. "Actually, he told me I wasn't his type."

Camden sat up straighter, indignation wrinkling her forehead. "Hey, he'd be lucky to have you."

"Agreed, but he doesn't have me, and he's never going to."

Camden studied my face. "You sure about that?"

"I'm a big girl, I can keep my panties on around a rockstar."

Even though I wasn't currently wearing any.

Camden sniggered. "It's a good thing one of us can." Her hand moved out of view, no doubt cradling her baby bump. She and Jude really hadn't wasted any time.

We talked a little longer, Camden updating me on pregnancy-related things, and me reassuring her that I was safe here, and ended the conversation with me promising to let our parents know what had happened. Mum had already texted twice, asking how the interview went. I grimaced as I hung up – I was not looking forward to that. Mum knew as well as Camden did that Finn was my biggest celebrity crush, and even though I hadn't stayed the night because I wanted to, I suspected Mum would be harder to convince of that.

I sent her a quick text telling her we'd talk later. I couldn't hide this for as long as Camden had hidden her marriage to Jude, but right now I couldn't face trying to reassure Mum that I hadn't jumped into Finn's bed.

What to do now?

Phone in hand, I ventured back into the hall. I was almost at the foyer entryway when I paused, hearing Finn's voice. I crept closer, my socked feet silent on the wooden floor.

"Yeah, Jude, I get that." Finn's voice was strained.

Jude must have called him already. A pause followed Finn's words; I couldn't hear what Jude was saying.

"I'm not going to," Finn said.

Another pause.

Finn sighed roughly. "Yeah."

Pause.

"I'll try not to be a dick, I promise."

Was Jude more worried about Finn's dickishness than he was about the possibility of Finn hitting on me? Maybe he was warning Finn about both.

I peeked around the entryway. Finn had his back to me, his phone held to his ear, one hand rubbing the back of the neck. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, I slipped past the foyer and continued to the kitchen.

There, I started opening cabinet doors, looking for something to eat.

Footsteps behind me made me quickly straighten up, feeling weirdly guilty, like I'd been snooping.

Finn eyed me like I was a wild animal he had no idea how to handle. "We need to talk about how we'll manage this," he said. One hand crept to his leather bracelet, turning it round and round.

"You could start by showing me where you keep the food," I said.

"What are you after?"

"I don't know what you have."

Finn nudged me out of the way and opened a cabinet. "Bread, bagels, and granola." He closed that door, and moved to a larger one which revealed a fridge. "Butter, milk, cream cheese, bacon. There's no fresh fruit, but I've got frozen berries." He shut the fridge, and turned around. "What would you like?"

"A bagel would be great," I said.

"Toasted?"

"Yeah."

I was prepared to make it myself, but Finn pulled a toaster from another cabinet, sliced a bagel on a small wooden board, and toasted it for me without saying a word.

I edged past him to fetch the cream cheese from the fridge.

Camden had told me how quickly she'd become comfortable living in Jude's loft apartment, and I wished I could feel as comfortable here. Instead I felt like an interloper. Still, Camden had been married to Jude, whereas Finn didn't even want me here, so I couldn't expect things to be the same.

Finn placed my bagel on a plate and slid it across the counter, then handed me a knife. He watched as I spread a thick layer of cream cheese, and I wished he wouldn't because it made me feel like an animal at the zoo. At least he looked away once I took my first bite.

"What about essentials? I don't even have deodorant," I said.

"I've got extras of all that – shower gel, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant," Finn said. "As long as you don't mind smelling like me. I don't have any of that girly shite."

"I usually use men's deodorant anyway."

Finn's forehead crinkled a little. "Why?"

"Because it smells better than the girly shit."

His lips twitched, but the almost smile vanished as his eyes widened.

"Fuck," he said.

"What?"

"I don't have any . . ." He vaguely gestured.

I frowned, not getting it.

"You know, any of that time of the month stuff that girls need," Finn said.

Ohhhh.

I let my eyes open comically wide and my mouth hang open. "You don't? But I need those, like, right now."

The look of pure panic on his face. I almost choked.

"I don't . . . what are you supposed to do?" Finn asked.

"Relax, I'm yanking your chain," I said. "I'm on the pill so, no periods."

Finn stared at me, his expression caught between confusion and relief.

I smiled sweetly back.

He laughed, and I almost jumped because it was such a deep, warm sound, so different to the surly Finn that I'd seen so far.

"That's one crisis averted, at least," he said.

I raised my bagel in a salute.

The humour faded from Finn's face. "What am I going to do with you?" he murmured.

"You don't have to do anything. I'm not a dog or a kid, I don't need constant entertainment."

Finn cocked an eyebrow. "No games of fetch then? How disappointing."

"Funny." I finished my bagel and dusted off my hands. "I just need to know where everything is, and then I'll happily stay out of your way."

"Right," Finn said. "I guess I should give you a tour of the place."

***

Finn's house had a very strange layout.

The kitchen, living room, and the first part of the hall that led off from them was in a separate wing to the rest of the house, extending at an angle from the main structure. The hall outside my room was part of that main structure, and continued past several closed doors that Finn didn't talk about, before taking a short left. From there, one door opened into a small home cinema, another into a games room. At the end of the hallway, a huge entryway on the right led into a room that, as I'd suspected, housed an indoor pool, jutting from the back of the house. The vast windows that made up the walls showed that the rest of the house adhered to a more regular shape; Finn mentioned there was a gym in that part, but also made it clear that he liked to work out alone. Fine by me – I couldn't do a push-up if I wanted to.

"The pool's heated, and the hot tub has over a hundred jets. There's also a small sauna through that door." Finn pointed.

From anyone else, it might have sounded like bragging, but Finn's voice was curiously detached, like an estate agent showing me around a potential property, rather than someone giving a tour of their home.

I stared into the aquamarine pool, and my heartbeat kicked up a notch. Broad steps led down into the shallows – that bit wasn't too bad, but the rest of it? Nu-uh.

"You okay?" Finn asked, studying my face.

"I don't like swimming pools."

"You can't swim?"

I bit my lip, taking a step back. "I'm scared of the water," I admitted.

Finn tilted his head. "All water?"

"No, just whenever I'm out of my depth, so mainly swimming pools or the ocean."

"Why?" Finn asked.

"Hello, do you know what lives in the ocean? Poisonous rays, poisonous jellyfish, man-eating sharks? Not to mention all the species we haven't discovered yet."

Finn's mouth made an amused shape. "There are no sharks in my pool."

"I could still drown in it," I said, hugging myself.

Watching Jaws as a kid hadn't helped my fear of the open sea, but I was as scared of drowning as I was about getting chomped by a giant, razor-toothed fish. There was something about not having solid ground underfoot, of being in something so vast and unexplored and unpredictable that made me break out in a cold sweat. Of course swimming pools were different, and they didn't scare me as much, but the thought of the water closing over my head was still more than I could handle.

"Is this a phobia, or did something happen to you?" Finn asked, his voice softer than normal.

"Good old-fashioned phobia. I've had it as long as I can remember."

I hadn't expected him to ask, but if the ice was thawing between us, maybe I could squeeze in some questions of my own.

"Have you got any phobias? Snakes? Spiders? Women who ask too many questions?" I said.

Finn didn't answer. Maybe the ice wasn't thawing, after all.

"Okay," I said, my voice falsely bright. "Looks like there're plenty of things I can do to pass time while I'm here, so . . ."

"So you don't need me to entertain you," Finn said. "Right. I'll see you at some point, I'm sure."

I watched him walk away, feeling like I'd done or said something wrong, though I had no idea what. Finn was as frustrating as he was gorgeous.

I glanced once more at the pool. The overhead lights cast a soft glow on the water, and the tiled bottom was mostly white, with patterns of blue here and there. Most people probably would have found it inviting. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

With another shudder, I turned and headed for the hot tub. It was further back from the pool, a sleek white square that perfectly matched the polished look of the huge room, accessed by small steps.

A good long soak might have eased some of the tension knotting me up, but I didn't have a swimsuit. I settled for perching on the edge and dangling my feet in. Those hundred jets felt like a massage.

My phone pinged – a text from Mum telling me she couldn't wait to read the interview. Not that there really was one, after Finn had given me so little to work with. But maybe all wasn't lost. If I did end up stuck here for any real length of time, maybe Finn would be open to trying again, properly this time.

Or maybe, the uneasiness that Finn and I seemed to feel around each other would bloom into full-blown dislike, and I wouldn't want to interview him. I hoped that wouldn't happen, both because living with someone I didn't like would be awkward as hell, even in a huge house, and because Finn's music was important to me.

Even when his first two solo albums had been met with critical negativity, I'd seen the spark of potential there. I'd been sure that Finn would make it, eventually, and I'd been right. Making himself into drunken tabloid fodder might have kept his career afloat while he tried to find himself, and though that wasn't the trajectory I wanted to go down, there was still something inspirational about seeing Finn shake off the popstar he'd used to be, and pursue his true passion.

There were times when I'd thought that I should give up on my own dreams and pick a stable nine-to-five job, but stories like Finn's had always kept me motivated. I didn't want to lose that.

I'd lost enough already.

I didn't mean to pull up a photo of Nola, but I must have done it automatically because suddenly there she was, smiling out from my phone screen, her arm around my shoulders, her eyes sparkling.

Her eyes had stopped sparkling like that when she met Mike.

I doubted she smiled anymore either.

My heart ached for the woman who'd been my best friend, and impulsively, I found myself texting her.

I love you, and I'm here whenever you want to talk.

But I knew there wouldn't be a reply. There never was.