A holiday is supposed to take you somewhere new. But sometimes, the journey takes you somewhere you never knew you needed to go.
In Stay Until the Snow Melts, the forthcoming romance from author L. A. Macrae, one unexpected decision leads to a life-changing encounter between two women who might never have crossed paths otherwise.
The first novel in Macrae’s Between Seasons series introduces readers to Zoe Macfarland, a thirty-year-old woman ready to step beyond the familiar. Instead of continuing to dream about adventure, Zoe finally chooses herself and books a three-week solo trip to Canada a chance to explore, experience the snow and discover what life might feel like beyond her usual routines.
Then she takes the scenic route.
Snow begins falling harder. The road becomes treacherous. Black ice sends Zoe’s rental car sliding into a ditch, leaving her stranded in deep snow with no obvious way out.
In the distance, however, she spots a cabin.
Behind its door is Bethany Macdonald, a quietly self-assured woman living alone in the Canadian countryside. Beth offers Zoe warmth and shelter while arranging help, but when the worsening storm becomes a blizzard, the expected tow truck cannot reach them.
Suddenly, an encounter that should have lasted a few hours becomes something neither woman planned.
What follows is not simply a story about being snowed in. It is about what can happen when the outside world becomes quiet enough for two people to truly notice each other.
Days inside the cabin develop their own rhythm. There are warm drinks and shared meals, films beneath blankets, conversations that stretch longer than expected, playful moments and increasingly meaningful silences. Zoe discovers Beth’s remarkable talent for creating stained glass, while Beth begins recognising the small acts of kindness that seem to come naturally to Zoe.
Gradually, comfort becomes trust.
Trust becomes vulnerability.
And vulnerability begins opening the door to feelings Zoe never expected to experience.
Macrae lets that connection grow through the details: a touch that lingers, a conversation that reveals something previously hidden, an act of care performed without being asked. Rather than rushing the relationship, Stay Until the Snow Melts allows its characters to discover what they mean to each other alongside the reader.
Yet there is something quietly heartbreaking about the very setting that brings them together.
The storm cannot last.
As the weather begins changing, the snow that once kept the outside world away starts to represent something very different. Roads will reopen. Zoe’s car will be recovered. The journey she originally planned will eventually demand an ending.
And suddenly, time matters.
The melting snow becomes a countdown, forcing Zoe and Beth to confront a question neither of them expected to face: what do you do when a stranger has become someone you desperately do not want to leave?
That emotional conflict gives Stay Until the Snow Melts its heart. Beneath the winter setting is a story about self-discovery, belonging, creativity, vulnerability and the courage required to let another person become important to you.
For readers who love slow-burn romance, forced proximity, cozy snowbound settings, emotional character development and relationships built through meaningful everyday moments, L. A. Macrae’s upcoming novel offers an intimate romantic journey with much more waiting beneath the surface.
Because sometimes getting stranded does not mean losing your way.
Sometimes, it leads you directly to the person who changes everything.
Stay Until the Snow Melts by L. A. Macrae, Book One of the Between Seasons series, is currently in the publishing phase and will be available soon.
