Page 27 of The Snowflake Effect

Tender Kolton is a beast I’m ill-equipped to handle so soon after the Breakup of the Century. One month on my own after five years with Richard is hardly time to heal. I don’t know why I told Kolton about part of my unenjoyable youth, why I let him in just now. Something about his vulnerability, lying here in pain, has me itching to heal him. But this intimacy is suddenly too intimate. Too much, too soon. I pull my hand from his.

“Do I need to find one of those toboggans to drag your ass down?” I ask him.

He sits up and rubs his shoulder. “I’m good. In fact, I could still smoke you in a race.”

I sit up, too, and glance his way. His profile hasn’t changed: strong jaw, the generous curve of his lips, the crease at the corner of his eye. Visually, he’s as sexy as ever, but instead of unzipping his fly, I want to curl into his arms. Instead of yelling at him, I want to kiss his cheek.

Instead of doing any of that, I nudge his boot with mine. “How about a wager?”

Those chocolate eyes of his shine, his focus on me now, his perusal drifting lower. And lower. Okay, maybe I still want to unzip his fly.

“What’s up for grabs?” he asks.

I lean so we’re nearly nose to nose, our helmets touching. “If you get to the bottom first, I’m yours for the last day and a half of this trip. If not, them’s the breaks.”

It’s a race I’m happy to lose. I may not be ready to pursue emotional intimacy, but no way am I giving up the best sex I’ve ever had for the remainder of this trip. In three days, he’s become my conductor, my body his symphony. He knows which strokes make me sing, the chords that push me over the edge.

He narrows his gaze, and I raise my eyebrows.

“Deal.” Grinning, he jumps to his feet, still babying his arm. “Hope you don’t mind a little snow in your face as you eat my dust.”

“Like you have a shot. But since you’re injured, I’ll give you a head start.”

He balks at me. “Not on your life.”

We race to our gear, him all awkward with his arm, me struggling to get my equipment straight. There’s a chance I knock my skis over on purpose. A slight possibility I struggle more than necessary with my bindings. I maybe hold back some power when easing into my turns.

I totally let the guy win.

CHAPTER 12

KOLTON

Mumford & Sons pump from the speakers as the bartenders put on a show for the packed room. Colorful drinks are poured into vintage glassware, the guys behind the bar looking like they stepped from a 1930s catalogue: bowler hats, vests, pressed shirts. I scan the crowd and spot those wild brown curls I love, the ones that were tangled in my fingers earlier.

Shay, Lily, and Raven have their backs to me on the short end of the L-shaped bar, the three of them talking and laughing.

Shay tips her head back, a wide grin softening her face. No trace of annoyance. No frown. Like the way she was lying with me on the hill yesterday. That afternoon, she insisted on coming to the pharmacy with me to get some pain meds and chatted the whole time. Even last night, she sat beside me at the pasta place Raven chose, including me in conversation, touching my arm or leg to get my attention. Her affection felt…nice.

Then, when Sawyer brought up my video game record, she laid into me about gratuitous violence and the state of the world.

Thirty minutes later, we were groping each other in the bathroom.

A blast of cold hits my back. “They here?” Sawyer asks as he steps beside me. I nod to the ladies, and he smiles. “What are you waiting for?”

I shrug as they dissolve into another fit of giggles. “Nothing.”

He crosses his arms. “Bullshit.”

I shove my hands into my jean pockets but don’t bother answering.

“Look,” he says. “It’s obvious you and Shay are messing around. Those fuck-me eyes that pass between you are enough to make me gag, and you’ve ditched us every day to ski with her.”

“Okay. Fine. We’ve hooked up. Just don’t tell Lily and don’t let on to Shay you know. She’s hell-bent on not talking to her friends about it. Something about telling them she’s sworn off guys.”

“Sure, whatever.” He steps back to avoid a server carrying a tray of drinks. “You two going to keep in touch after this?”

Sighing, I dig my hands deeper into my pockets. The tips of my fingers hit a stray coin. I roll it around…and around. “Nope. When she hops on her flight in four hours, that’ll be the last I see of her.”