A town dotted with cabins appeared. I had absolutely no clue what time it was, but there was smoke rising from chimneys, lights coming through windows, and a few people and reindeer wandering about.
The herd dipped lower, and I saw a frozen lake glitteringlike polished glass beneath us. At its edge stood a massive cabin with a steep-pitched roof and stone chimneys. Windows glowed with warm light, and even from the air, I could see a wide wraparound porch circling the entire building.
Dane’s hooves touched down on the snow with impossible gentleness, the landing so smooth I barely felt the transition from air to ground. The rest of the herd landed around us, steam rising from them in the cold air.
I sat frozen in place, trying to process what had just happened.
“We’re here,” Rudy announced unnecessarily, hopping down from Don’s back.
I stared at him, then at the enormous cabin, then at the frozen lake stretching out into the darkness.
“Welcome to Klarhaven, the gateway to Jingle.” He approached Dane’s side and offered his hand to help me down.
My legs wobbled as I dismounted, but surprisingly there was no soreness. The only things I felt were a lingering sense of wonder and the dawning realization that Palm Springs was thousands of miles away.
I turned in a slow circle, taking in the landscape and the cabin. “This is... it can’t be real.”
Even as I said it, I knew it was. The bite of cold air in my lungs, the crunch of snow beneath my boots, the weight of reality settling over me. All of it was undeniably, irrevocably real.
“It’s all real,” Rudy confirmed, standing beside me as the reindeer began to shimmer and transform back into men. “And so are you, Neve.”
I’d never felt less real in my life.
Chapter 16
Not Covered in the Welcome Packet
Iemerged from the shower in a daze, cocooned in what felt like an entire sheep’s worth of fluff in towel form. My skin was flushed pink from the heat, but my brain remained as fogged as the bathroom mirror.
The last twenty-four hours kept replaying on a loop: flying across the country on reindeer-men, seeing a world blanketed in snow, and arriving at a cabin that looked like it had been plucked straight from a Christmas catalog for billionaires with a festive fetish.
I wiped a small circle in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. My damp hair hung around my shoulders, the silver now twelve inches long, fading into my dyed color. The effect was like some expensive ombré I’d never have paid for at a salon but suited me in a way that made my eyes look even more intensely blue.
Every time I blinked, I half-expected to wake up in a hospital bed with a fever, hallucinating this entire thing.
Instead, I was standing in the bathroom Dash and Dane shared. It had heated floors, a shower with approximately twenty jets, and a tub that could comfortably fit three people—an observation I immediately tried to un-think.
I secured the towel more firmly around my torso, unlockedthe door connecting to Dash’s room, then cracked open the door into Dane’s, where I’d be sleeping.
I stepped into the bedroom, immediately stopping short at a shirtless Dane with his back to me. He stood in his closet, rifling through a collection of sweaters. The muscles in his back shifted beneath his skin as he moved hangers aside, unaware of my presence.
My mouth went dry. The towel suddenly felt very insufficient, and the room very warm despite the snow-covered landscape outside the windows.
I took a silent step backward, planning my strategic retreat into the bathroom. Maybe I could just live there. The shower was nice. I could survive on tap water and fancy hand soap.
My back collided with something solid and warm. Not a wall. A body. A very large, very firm body. Strong hands steadied me by my biceps, and I knew instantly whose they were before he even spoke. Dash.
His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, sending an entirely inappropriate shiver down my spine. “What are you doing spying?”
I froze, caught between the man behind me and the still-oblivious man in front of me. “I’m not spying,” I hissed. “I’m avoiding an awkward encounter with a half-naked man while I’m in a towel.”
“And yet here you are, having an awkward encounter with two half-naked men while you’re in a towel.” His thumb traced a small circle against my skin, and heat spread from the point of contact.
Dane turned, a dark blue sweater in hand, his eyes widening slightly before his mouth curved into that maddening grin that made my stomach do gymnastics.
Dane tilted his head, studying me. “This is a nice surprise.”
I clutched the towel tighter. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
