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His head turned slowly toward us.
I bent close to Isabella’s ear. “Run, Mouse.”
She took off laughing.
After that, the day got away from us. The snowball fight eventually dissolved into everything else the park had to offer. Lacey and Scarlett dragged Isabella into an untouched stretch of snow to teach her how to make a snow angel, and Jae dropped down beside them and made his with far more flourish than a snow angel required. Nat swore she wasn’t getting snow down the back of her coat for anyone, right up until Lacey grabbed one arm and Isabella took the other. A few minutes later, all five of them were lying in the snow laughing while Lucian took pictures and Nik complained that his wife had lost her damn mind.
We built a snowman that leaned badly. Someone in Lacey’s security detail produced a couple of sleds, and we spent another hour acting like out-of-control kids. Isabella rode down the hill with the girls first, shrieking the entire way, then decided I was going with her next, whether I liked it or not. The sled was nowhere near big enough for both of us, but Isabella wedged herself between my legs anyway. My boots hung uselessly along either side as we tore down the hill, her body shaking with laughter against mine. We reached the bottom and nearly rolled straight into the snow as we tried to climb off. Somewhere between another round of snowballs, hot food from a park vendor, and more wandering than we’d planned, morning became afternoon.
By midafternoon, we’d traded the sleds for skates.
Isabella clung to my hand for the first few laps, concentrating so hard on keeping her feet beneath her that she barely looked up. Before long, she had the hang of it well enough to relax and enjoy herself. Lacey and Scarlett eventually stole her from me, one on either side, and the three of them made their way around together while Nat followed at a much more cautious pace and loudly informed Jae that his ability to skate backward was obnoxious. Jae only grinned and kept skating backward with irritating ease. Nik and Lucian turned a casual lap into a race, which meant I had no choice but to join them before either could claim he’d beaten me at anything. By the time I circled back, Isabella had gotten brave enough to let go of Lacey’s hand and skate several feet on her own before grabbing Scarlett again.
By the time we finally called it quits, the winter light was fading, the temperature had dropped, and every one of us was running on fumes. Our gloves were damp, our boots and cuffs had soaked through, and my fingers and toes had gone from cold to mostly numb. Isabella’s cheeks and nose were bright pink, and her dark hair, hanging loose around the fur-trimmed hood of her snowsuit, was wild and tangled. She was exhausted and ridiculously happy. The others weren’t in much better shape. Even Jae had stopped pretending he had endless energy.
We were cold, starving, and more than ready to get back to Nik and Lacey’s, strip off the wet layers, and spend the rest of the evening in front of a fire with food and something alcoholic.
The elevator stopped several floors below the penthouse, and Nat immediately stepped out.
“I love every one of you, but I’m taking the hottest shower Manhattan can legally provide and going nowhere else tonight.”
Jae followed her into the hall. “Same. My beautiful feet have suffered enough.”
Lacey laughed. “Text me when you’re alive again.”
Jae blew her a kiss, then pointed at Isabella. “You’re ours now. Don’t make plans without us.”
Isabella smiled. “See you soon.”
The doors closed, and the elevator continued upward.
Warmth hit us the second it opened into Nik and Lacey’s penthouse.
After most of the day outside, the place felt almost tropical. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Central Park had faded into blue-gray dusk, the snow still bright against the darkening city. Inside, enormous black-and-white landscapes dominated the walls, and music played softly through hidden speakers.
We shrugged off our coats and left them in the entryway.
“My feet are never going to be warm again,” Scarlett complained as she wrestled with one boot.
“But it was fun,” Isabella reminded her.
“Yes, but frostbite is where I draw the line.”
“You don’t have frostbite,” Lucian said.
Scarlett glanced up at him. “Thank you, Doctor Byrnes.”
Lacey laughed and took Scarlett and Isabella to change into dry clothes while Lucian and I followed Nik into the kitchen. The man had a kitchen most professional chefs would sell a kidney for, and he actually knew how to cook. He’d planned ahead too. A huge pot of chili had been simmering since morning, filling the room with the smell of beef, tomatoes, peppers, and spices.
Nik went to work slicing bread and setting out everything that went with it while Lucian and I poured ourselves tumblers of whiskey and stayed out of his way.
The girls joined us a little while later in dry clothes. Lacey opened a bottle of wine, and soon all six of us were crowded around the kitchen island with bowls of chili, warm bread, and drinks.
Six starving people could put away a hell of a lot of food.
Stuffed and mellow from the whiskey and wine, we moved into the living room with dessert, mugs of cocoa, and Irish coffee. The fire was going, and everyone settled in wherever they were comfortable.
Lucian and Scarlett claimed one end of the sectional, Nik and Lacey the other. Isabella tucked herself into my side beneath my arm, her mug of cocoa warming her hands.
