Want her?My body answered before my pride could. Yes. Hell yes.
After she ended it, I’d told myself I could be mature about it. Respect her choice. Give her space. Keep the lodge going for opening day. But “mature” turned out to be a fancy word for white-knuckling my way through every hour without walking into that kitchen and begging her to take back every word she’d said about leaving.
So I threw myself into operations. Fixed what I could. Stayed out of her orbit. If I saw her, I’d crack. And if I cracked… I’d beg for something she’d already decided she couldn’t give.
Now she stood in my doorway like a holiday miracle I didn’t deserve—cheeks flushed, eyes bright with nerves, holding champagne like she’d come to celebrate.
So did I want her? Hell yes.
She set the bottle down with careful hands, then turned to face me like she was bracing for impact.
The TV in the room blared the countdown.
10… 9… 8…
“I had to see you, Holden.” Her voice wobbled, then steadied. “Thank you for the roses and the truffles. For bringing my parents here. And doing whatever you did to kill the interview. For everything. I can’t believe it.”
7… 6… 5…
I couldn’t believe it either. Not the truffles or the helicopter, and the hundred phone calls setting that up, or the money I had to pay the Sports Network for silence because Madison didn’t get to take one more thing from Lilah Childs.
Not on my mountain.
“Don’t you know, Frosty?” My eyes bore in to hers, like burrowing into her soul. “I’d do anything for you.”
But why didn’t you trust me? Why did you decide for both of us that you weren’t enough?I kept those to myself.
4… 3…
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I was afraid, but not anymore.”
Tell me you’re staying then.I didn’t let myself ask. I just reached for her. The second I touched her, the last few days stopped being a blur of adrenaline and pain and became what they really were—missing her.
Her body fit against mine like something that had always belonged there. The scent of her and all the spices from the kitchen hit me so hard my eyes burned.
2… 1…
“Happy New Year, Frosty.”
As the clock ticked and Auld Lang Sine broke out on the TV, my mouth found hers, claiming the heat of her lips as mine once again. Her hands fisted my shirt like she was afraid I’d disappear. Fireworks crackled somewhere outside, but the only explosion I registered was the one going off in my chest.
When we broke apart, I stayed close, foreheads nearly touching, like distance was suddenly dangerous.
“We are more than a fling, Lilah.” The words came out low, urgent. “I want you to stay. I want to try?—”
“I want that too.” Her breath shook. “I know that now.”
Relief hit so fast my knees almost buckled. I cupped her jaw, thumb sliding along her cheek. “None of the Madisons of the world could ever make me stop wanting you.” A harsher edge slipped into my voice before I could stop it. “You think you’re a liability? No. You’re the reason this place feels alive. All weekend, this lodge felt… complete. Because you were in it.”
“But what will people say if my past ever surfaces again?”
“Let them talk.” The words tasted like iron and certainty. “If anyone has a problem with you staying on this mountain with me, they have plenty of other ski resort options in the world.”
Her laugh broke through, breathless and stunned, and then she kissed my face—jaw, cheek, the corner of my mouth—like she couldn’t decide where to land first.
I backed her toward my bedroom, hands on her waist, trying to move slowly even as my whole body screamedtaker her now, at last she’s mine. Her feet stumbled and she laughed again as I caught her before she fell. I wanted to bottle that sound forever, keep it guarded and safe for me.
“If you want to give me the best birthday present I’ve ever had…” I brushed my thumb across her lower lip, watching her pupils darken. “Stay in my bed tonight. Wake up with me in the morning.”
