He takes both my hands in his, skating backwards with effortless ease. “Come on, Mais. Let’s do a lap.”
My knees lock in protest. “Sterling?—”
“Relax. I’ve got you.” His sure tone makes me want to believe him even when I know I’m seconds from disaster.
We glide past couples holding hands and kids darting between legs, the air thick with the scent of hot chocolate and woodsmoke. For half a second, I almost feel like I’m actually enjoying skating, and then a blur of puffy jackets rockets past us. Two kids racing each other, weaving dangerously close. One cuts right behind Sterling, who’s still skating backward, and panic shoots through me as my balance wobbles.
“Sterling!”
He moves faster than I thought possible, spinning us so his body takes the fall. We crash onto the ice, but instead of pain, I land squarely on top of him, his arms tight around me.
“Told you I wouldn’t let you get hurt,” he groans moments later, wincing with a crooked grin.
My breath catches. My palms are splayed against his chest, his heartbeat hammering under my hands, and his face is so close—close enough that one wrong move and I’d be kissing him again.
And I want to.God, I want to.
But I just swallow, my cheeks flaming as I scramble off of him and onto my knees. “Are you okay?”
He chuckles, breath fogging in the night air as he sits up. “I’ll be fine.” He rubs the back of his head as he looks around. “If I know Levi, I don’t think he’s going to come back. Want to get out of here?”
I let out a relieved sigh. “I thought you’d never ask.”
NINETEEN
STERLING
The car ride upthe mountain to the chalet is heavy with silence. The wipers drag across the windshield in a steady rhythm, pushing snowflakes aside as the road winds higher. Beside me, Maisy sits angled toward the window, her breath fogging the glass. Her fingers twist anxiously in her lap, tugging at each other. I can tell her mind is racing a million miles per minute, probably replaying last night the same way I am.
“We should talk about it,” I say finally, keeping my eyes on the snowy road. “The kiss.”
“It was more than just a kiss, Sterling,” she says, turning to look at me. “We crossed a line that exes shouldn’t cross.”
I hum in response, neither agreeing or denying, because the truth is I’d cross every damn line if Maisy was the one waiting for me on the other side.
A lookout point appears through the falling snow, the guardrails frosted, the wide pull-off deserted for once. Usually, it’s crowded with people taking pictures of the view, but tonight it’s empty. I ease the truck to the side, kill the engine, and the silence deepens until all I hear is the tick of cooling metal and the muted roar of the wind.
I turn toward her fully. “Well,” I say, steadying my voice, “I don’t regret crossing that line. Do you?”
Maisy doesn’t answer right away. Her hands are still moving on her lap, nervous little fidgets, until she forces them flat against her thighs. She takes a deep breath, her lashes lowering as if the confession is easier to make when she isn’t looking at me.
“I don’t know.” Her voice trembles. “Maybe I just needed to get you out of my system.”
Her words sting and I try to hold my expression steady, but inside, everything twists. Get me out of her system? I’ve spent three years trying exactly that—changing my career, my friends, my home, my everything—but no matter what I do, she’s the constant that remains. Always her.
I nod slowly, my jaw tight. “And did you? Get me out of your system?”
She turns back to the window, the snow falling thick and heavy behind the glass. For a long moment she doesn’t say anything, and I let the silence stretch until I can’t take it.
“Maisy?”
Her shoulders lift with a shaky inhale. “No,” she whispers. “I didn’t.”
My heart kicks hard against my ribs, because maybe it’s not possible for her to let go of me either. But there’s only one way to know for sure.
I lean closer, my voice rough. “So what are you waiting for?”
She turns her head slowly, and when her eyes meet mine, they’re darker than before, filled with need. I don’t think as I pull the lever on my seat as far back as it’ll go. She climbs over the console and into my lap, her body fitting against mine like it always belonged there.
