He smiled softly, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “Well…I’m glad you did.”
A silence settled between us again, not as comfortable this time. I could feel the weight of his gaze, feel him trying to decide whether to say something more.
“You and Alex don’t seem close,” I said, needing to fill the space with something other than the racing of my heart.
Holden let out a dry laugh. “That’s generous. We tolerate each other at best.”
I tilted my head toward him. “Why? Just personality differences or…”
He looked toward the fire, jaw tightening for a moment before he spoke. “Our moms are sisters. Maggie is the reason I even exist, technically.”
That surprised me. “What do you mean?”
“My dad bailed when my mom found out she was pregnant. Didn’t want anything to do with her or me. My mom…didn’t take it well. She blamed me. Always saying that I ruined her life.”
My chest ached. “Holden…”
He shrugged like it didn’t matter, but his grip on his cup betrayed him.
“Maggie was the one who talked her out of—” He stopped short, lips pressing into a tight line before continuing. “Out of getting rid of me. Then when things got bad—when my mom started going out all night, forgetting to feed me, forgetting to come home—Maggie stepped in. She put me in hockey. Drove me to all my practices. Made sure I had equipment, food, and a jacket that fit.”
I didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say.
“She’s the only reason I didn’t end up completely messed up.” He smirked faintly. “Well,moremessed up.”
“She’s an incredible woman.” And I meant that. She was the only thing I would miss about dating Alex.
“She is,” he agreed. “But Alex always hated that she spent so much time helping me. He thought I was just some charity case she dragged around.”
I blinked, trying to take it all in. “No wonder you like to keep people at arm’s length.”
He glanced at me then, something guarded in his expression. “Yeah, well. Growing up being told you’re the reason your parent’s life fell apart doesn’t exactly set you up to believe people will stick around.”
My heart twisted, but before I could say anything else, he straightened and nudged my knee lightly with his.
“Anyway,” he said, abruptly lighter, “we should go do a ski run. I’ve got a reputation to uphold as your personal vacation backup plan.”
I blinked at the sudden shift, but I saw the self-protective glint in his eyes and understood. He’d said all he could for now.
I smiled and stood, grabbing my gloves. “Well, if you’re offering…”
Holden stood too, taking my now-empty cup and throwing it away in a nearby garbage can.
He held out his arm toward the door to have me lead the way. “Don’t say I never did anything for you, Rudolph.”
I rolled my eyes at his reference to when he’d put red frosting on my nose.
Gosh, that seemed like a lifetime ago. Had it really only been two days since our frosting fight? It had felt like we had known each other so much longer.
Holden held open the door for me, and the cold hit my cheeks the second we stepped outside.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked, glancing up at him. “I don’t want to mess up your day.” He probably had better things to do than babysit his cousin’s girlfriend.
He looked over, one brow raised. “You’re not messing up anything. I’m voluntarily skiing with a beautiful woman. Sounds like a win to me.”
My blush was instant, but hopefully it could be passed off as a response to the cold instead of his compliment.
Once we reached the lift, Holden helped me clip in without even asking, checking to make sure everything was adjusted just right. It was a small thing, but it felt…nice. Thoughtful.
