“But Brad wanted—”

  I held up my hand and shook my head. “I don’t care what your boyfriend wanted. I was supposed to be your best friend, and you put me in an impossible position.”

  “You don’t get it,” she sighed, jutting her bottom lip out in a pout. “If you’d ever had a serious boyfriend, you’d understand why I at least had to ask. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place because I love him, Tory.”

  I was sick and tired of her acting as though my lack of a dating life meant something was wrong with me when she knew damn well why I’d been too busy to worry about guys. “You can make all the excuses you want, but you didn’t have to take the darn rock and bash me over the head with it.”

  She rolled her eyes with a huff. “It didn’t even happen like that. I tried telling Brad that you were sensitive because this is your first holiday on your own, but he was right. You’re just being dramatic.”

  I was saved by this escalating into a full-on shouting match when the bartender called, “Your order is up.”

  I took a deep breath through my nose and held it before exhaling through my mouth. My anger wasn’t going to change anything, so I did my best to get my emotions under control before I flashed her an insincere smile. “Sorry, that’s me.”

  I turned around and pulled the zipper on my ski jacket to reach into the inside pocket and pull out two twenty-dollar bills. I tossed them onto the bar top and said, “Keep the change.”

  After grabbing my to-go cup and container, I whirled back around and found Stephanie still standing there.

  “Are you going to get some night skiing in?” I gave her a jerky nod. “Maybe we’ll see you out there, then.”

  “Not if I see you first,” I mumbled to myself as I ducked around her to stalk out of the restaurant. I refused to give up the chance to get in some fresh corduroy after the ski patrol groomed some of the runs for the nighttime crew, but the mountain was big enough for me to avoid Stephanie, Brad, and Chuck. Especially since I was a better skier than her, so I could hit the advanced runs if I bumped into them on the intermediate ones.

  A few hours later, I decided to eliminate the risk altogether and head straight to the easiest of the black diamond trails. Not checking the weather before hitting the slopes again—at night and by myself—turned out to be a horrible idea. Even worse than coming on this trip in the first place. But in my defense, plenty of people had still been taking advantage of the night skiing offered by the resort when I started. The slopes were less crowded than they’d been during the day, though, and the lift lines weren’t too bad. Plus, the fresh powder from the snow coming down made for great skiing.

  Too great, it turned out. Instead of returning to the cabin when the other skiers on the slope with me decided to give up, I stuck it out until past eight o’clock. But then it started snowing hard, and I realized how tired I was. Flat-out exhausted, actually.

  I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it back to my cabin. Luckily, I had spotted a warming shack in the trees when I was carving my own line through some fresh powder an hour or so ago. I figured I’d rest for a bit there before making my way back down the mountain.

  The shack was better stocked than I expected and warmer, too. After helping myself to a drink and snack, I curled up on the cot and drifted off. When I woke up, I felt ready to head back out, but my plan had a major snag. The snow had gotten worse while I’d been asleep, and I wasn’t familiar enough with the mountain to make it back to my cabin safely on my own.

  Chapter 2

  Gavin

  Watching the most recent weather report, I was relieved as fuck that I’d kicked my preparation plans into an even higher gear than usual. The timing of the impending storm had already been bad with how hectic Winter Falls Ski Resort tended to be over the holidays. As the head of the ski patrol for the mountain, I was responsible for every person who hit the slopes. A blizzard a few days after Christmas required a hell of a lot of planning to keep all the skiers safe. One that was going to hit a few days earlier and dump more snow than expected made my job exponentially more difficult.

  We’d groomed a portion of the slopes this afternoon to prepare for the night skiing session, but our efforts didn’t last long with the amount of snow already falling. Once the storm was over, we would have to dig out the lifts to get to the slopes. If the worst of it lasted into tomorrow, we would need to put wind holds on the lifts on one of the busiest ski days of the year.

  And as if that wasn’t enough to deal with, I’d decided to leave a couple of spots until tomorrow when we’d done avalanche control this morning. It was a good plan when I thought I’d have two to three more days before we got slammed with snow. But with the blizzard imminent, we could run into some major issues.

  “Dammit,” I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack, a long-term member of the ski patrol, asked as he strode into my office and dropped down on the chair in front of my desk.

  “I’m worried about the snow buildup near Scrooge and the North Pole.” I swiveled my chair around to stare up at the map of ski runs pinned to the corkboard on the wall behind my desk. “We should’ve blown them this morning.”

  My team started each day doing what we could to mitigate the inherent dangers of a mountain environment. We closely tracked the weather and snowpack over the course of the ski season. The constant monitoring helped us better understand the likelihood and whereabouts of a possible avalanche. When necessary, we actively managed the snowpack by triggering avalanches so we could control where the snow fell and when.

  “You had no way of knowing the storm would speed up how it did.” Jake moved to stand next to me, shaking his head as he sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say something supernatural was going on.”

  I turned and tapped my finger against my computer monitor. “Normally, I’d tease the hell out of you for saying crap like that, but this storm is defying all logic. I don’t have a good explanation for how it’s acting. There’s no way snow should be this close or heavy already.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe too many kids wished for a white Christmas this year, and Santa went way overboard.”

  Living in a town called Winter Falls, where the holidays were a big deal, it wasn’t unheard of for people to blame stuff on the big man from time to time, even adults. “Yeah, well, if Santa’s the one responsible, then we probably should get up to Scrooge and trigger an avalanche tonight.”

  Jack picked up on my joke and agreed, “Good point. Nobody hates Santa more than that particular run’s namesake.”

  I switched gears, turning serious as I got to the heart of the problem, “It was coming down hard enough today that we didn’t have the skier traffic we needed to help compact the snow.”

  He nodded and muttered, “And who knows what tomorrow morning will bring.”

  “Nothing good, that’s for damn sure.” I zoomed out so we could see the scope of the winter storm. “This blizzard is going to be a beast.”

  Jack let out a low whistle. “On steroids.”

  “Grab a two-way radio.” I powered down my computer and walked over to the corner of my office where I stored my ski gear. “Take North Pole, and I’ll handle Scrooge.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” He rubbed his hands together. “And don’t worry about getting me a present this year. Letting me play with dynamite tonight is the best gift ever.”

  Using explosives to trigger an avalanche was serious business because of the inherent danger involved, but I knew what he meant. It was a hell of a rush when we blasted the snow with charges of dynamite to trigger a slide. When that’s not enough, we have to ski cut the terrain, but that wasn’t an option tonight unless I called in extra help because it was more dangerous than explosives. But it was the night of Christmas Eve, and I didn’t want to disturb my team’s holiday any more than necessary. Especially since we were going to be damn busy after the storm.

  “Be quick and let me know if you run into any issues,” I instructed as I sat on the bench lining the wall and reached for my ski pants. “We have a very short window of time before visibility is going to be nil. I don’t want you stuck on the mountain in the worst of the storm.”

  He pointed at me as he headed toward the door. “I’m not the one who needs to worry about not making it back home tonight. You are.”

  The runs we were going to check were equally challenging, but Scrooge was almost on the other side of the mountain. Jack would probably be done and headed home before I set my charge, but that was why I’d assigned North Pole to him. If one of us was going to have a longer night, it should be me since I was the head of ski patrol.

  An hour later, I half wished I was the kind of boss who gave the crap jobs to his employees. Jack had radioed me fifteen minutes ago to let me know he’d made it back down the mountain and was going home, but I was just getting ready to trigger a slide at the top of Scrooge. As soon as the dynamite was placed in a weak spot in the snowpack, I hauled ass down the run. The snowfall was already starting to strengthen, and the wind was bitter cold.

  When I reached a safe position, I set off the charge and monitored the small avalanche that I had put into motion. Once I was satisfied everything was under control, I decided to stop at the nearest warming shack before making my way back to the lodge. If I hadn’t already given away the cabin we used for when a ski patrol staff member was unexpectedly stuck on the mountain overnight, I would’ve just headed there to weather out the storm instead of being forced to make do with my cramped office. Unfortunately, the woman who’d desperately needed a place to stay probably wouldn’t appreciate me showing up in the middle of a blizzard. Although, it was tempting as fuck to test my luck because even with how busy I’d been the past couple of days, I hadn’t been able to get Tory off my mind.

  I’d even thought about stopping by to see if she had dinner plans for tonight since I didn’t like the idea of her being alone for the holiday. Then the damn storm sped up and blew that plan out of the water. Showing up to ask Tory out on a Christmas Eve date was one thing but purposely stranding myself with her in a one-room cabin when we’d only spent a grand total of five minutes together was another. The last thing I wanted to do was creep her out after what she went through when she first arrived in Winter Falls, but if the storm cooperated even a little bit, I should have just enough time to drop by on my way to the lodge to make sure she didn’t need anything before the worst of the blizzard hit.

  I was looking forward to seeing her, even if only for a minute, and making an inappropriate Christmas wish that she’d need my help and gave me an excuse to stay. With her so firmly in my mind, it took me a moment to realize the sight that greeted me when I flung open the door to the warming shack wasn’t just my imagination. I hadn’t been expecting anyone else to be there, but she was curled up on the cot with a magazine in her lap. Her long, dark hair was spread across the pillow, and her pretty green eyes widened as they locked on me. After I blinked a few times, I realized that what I was seeing was real. “Tory?”

  Chapter 3

  Tory

  I’d been starting to wonder if I was ever going to make it safely down the mountain again when a member of the ski patrol stomped inside the warming shack. With his goggles covering his eyes, his ski helmet on his head, and a thermal mask over the lower half of his face, I never would’ve guessed it was Gavin until he said my name. The only reason I’d known it was someone from his team was because of the familiar red jacket with white crosses worn by patrollers at most ski resorts.

  Pressing my hand against my chest, I breathed, “Thank goodness you’re here.”

  A gust of wind blew snow into the small space, and he whirled around to slam the door shut behind him. Turning back toward me, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m not hurt or anything.” I sat up and scooted to the edge of the cot, setting my feet on the floor. “I was having too much fun getting freshies during the night ski that I pushed myself past my limit. By the time I was ready to head back to the cabin, I was exhausted and decided to stop for a quick rest. The next thing I knew, visibility sucked, and I wasn’t sure I could make it back safely, so I decided to hole up here for the time being.”

  “Good thinking.” He lifted his goggles to the top of his helmet and his dark eyes gleamed with approval. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to rescue someone because they overestimated what they could do and ended up injuring themselves. Knowing your limits is doubly important when you’re hitting unfamiliar runs. Since this is your first time in Winter Falls, you definitely made the right call.”

  I liked that he’d remembered that small detail from our conversation a couple of days ago, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been thinking about me as much as I had with him. Even in the middle of my pity party over my drama with Stephanie, he’d still been on my mind. Having him appear out of nowhere when I needed saving again felt as though fate was trying to bring us together. “It’s definitely unfamiliar terrain since today is the first time I’ve hit the slopes.”

  A wrinkle popped up in the middle of his forehead. “You mean on the runs on this side of the mountain?”

  “Nope.” I let the P pop on the end, my cheeks filling with heat as I admitted, “I’ve sort of been super lame and stayed inside the cabin you lent me.”

  His eyes widened. “The whole time?”

  “Yeah, that’s where the ‘super’ part of my lameness comes into play.” I flashed him an awkward smile that was more like a grimace of embarrassment.

  “You were that worried about running into your friend?” A muscle jumped in his jaw as he yanked his gloves off and shoved them in his pocket.

  I nodded and twisted my hands together. “When Stephanie suggested our trip, I thought it was because she knew how tough this week was going to be for me. But now I have to wonder if the only reason she wanted me to come here was just to cut down on costs for her winter vacation with her boyfriend.”

  “Why was the holiday going to be so difficult for you?”

  I didn’t share my grief with many people, but I felt comfortable telling Gavin for some reason. “My mom lost her four-year battle with cancer in February, and my dad only lasted another month without her. I don’t have any siblings, and my aunt never had any kids, which means I don’t have cousins, either. It’s been really hard since I lost them, and I wasn’t sure how I’d handle my first holiday without them. Taking this trip was supposed to mean I wasn’t alone, but that’s exactly what happened.”

  “You’re not alone anymore. I’m here.”

  His soft words filled me with a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since my mom was first diagnosed. “But only for now. I’m sure you have holiday celebrations you need to get to after you help me navigate my way back down the mountain.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I’d already decided to bunk in my office tonight instead of heading home. This storm is behaving in unexpected ways, so I want to stick around in case anything goes wrong.”

  “Oh, no,” I cried, feeling guilty. “It’s my fault you don’t have anywhere to stay.”

  “Not even close,” he disagreed. “I like knowing that I was able to provide you with a haven for the past couple of days.”

  I wasn’t sure how to react to what he’d just said. It was just so...perfect. I hadn’t had anyone in my life who wanted to take care of me in too long, and his protectiveness made him even more attractive. But I was saved from figuring out an appropriate response when there was a weird whooshing sound outside, followed by a loud thunk against the other side of the door. “What was that noise?”

  “Fuck,” Gavin groaned, slapping his palm against his forehead and shaking his head. “I really don’t want to tell you.”

  I climbed off the cot and padded across the floor. When I reached around him to grasp the doorknob, he grabbed my wrist to stop me. “You don’t want to do that.”

  My pulse raced beneath his fingers, but I had a feeling my reaction had more to do with being near him than being out of fear. “I just want to see what happened. Did a tree fall or something?”

  “It wasn’t a tree.” He heaved a deep sigh and led me back over to the cot. “If you open that door, the snow will get inside, and we’ll have a much more difficult time staying warm.”

  “Snow?” I echoed softly as I sat down, my brows drawing together in confusion. “I don’t understand. The last time I checked to see how hard it was coming down, visibility wasn’t great, but there definitely wasn’t enough powder to block the door. It’s what, six and a half feet tall?”

  He yanked off his helmet and goggles, setting them on the floor near his feet before lowering his thermal mask. Then he pointed toward the small window over the sink. The last time I’d looked through it, the trees were barely visible through the storm. But now, I couldn’t see anything except the snow packed up against the glass. “That was an avalanche, and I’m fairly certain the snow is all the way to the roof.”

  An avalanche. Holy crap. In all my years skiing, I’d never experienced a dangerous mountain slide of snow. If Gavin hadn’t shown up when he did, I would’ve had to figure out what to do on my own. The gorgeous man sure did have great timing.

  “I know you don’t know me well, or even at all really. But I’m not the kind of girl who freaks out easily.” I waved my hand in a circle over my head. “And it’s not as though our situation is dire. This place is surprisingly well stocked, and you’re the head of the ski patrol. You’ve probably had all sorts of survival and medical training. I’m sure we’ll be fine if we have to hunker down here for a while.”

  He scrubbed his palms down his face and sighed. “You freaking out wasn’t what I was worried about.”