One Snowy Night Read online

  “A mistake,” she said. “You were collateral damage, and I’m so very sorry, Max.”

  He got that. He appreciated that. But the past was the past and he had some things to say too. “Listen, I was a teenage jerk and I thought the world revolved around me. It never occurred to me that you were in trouble, that you weren’t even targeting me. I was that self-­absorbed, and I hate that.”

  She started to shake her head and say something more but he covered her lips with a finger. He needed to finish, to get this out, because he was realizing a ­couple of things. He’d wronged her in much the same way everyone else in her life had, and that was a hard pill to swallow because he prided himself on always trying to do the right thing. “You’re done apologizing to me,” he said. “I was a complete dick about it earlier, but I was wrong. Then and now.”

  “Max—­”

  He applied gentle pressure on her mouth. “There’s nothing to forgive, okay? You were only doing what you had to to get through and I get it. Now it’s my turn to apologize to you.”

  This startled her into silence. He smiled, his fingers stroking her jaw while his thumb rasped over her lower lip. “I should have listened to you. But also I should’ve known there was more to the story. I should’ve asked you, but maybe it’s better that we waited because we’re old now and . . . ” He stopped to smile when she choked out a laugh. “And with all this dubious maturing I’ve realized something.”

  She sucked in a breath and lifted her worried gaze to his. “What?”

  With a slight shake of his head, he bent a little and brushed his mouth over hers. “There’s something I want.”

  “Another kiss?” she asked, her voice a hopeful whisper that made his chest both swell and ache at the same time.

  “Yes,” he said. “But more.”

  “A bunch of kisses?”

  At the hint of laughter in her voice, he smiled. She’d relaxed and was teasing him. “More,” he said softly.

  She blinked. “You . . . want to sleep with me?”

  “Oh yes,” he breathed, pulling her in. “I want that, Rory. And I want it bad too. But still more.”

  “I . . . don’t understand.”

  “I want something between us.”

  She froze. “Like . . . a condom?”

  He laughed and pressed his forehead to hers. He kept thinking about what his sister said, about him giving the next woman he felt something for a shot. A real shot. He really hated to ever admit Cass might have been onto something, but he honestly had never felt this way about another woman before. “A relationship,” he said and watched her mouth fall open.

  “I—­ You—­” She gulped in air. “With me?”

  Now they were on the same page. A damn long time coming too. “Yes,” he said and kissed her, liking the way she melted into him as if her body was way ahead of her brain at this point. “You in?”

  She stared up at him. “I’m not very good at relationships,” she said very seriously.

  “Says who?”

  This seemed to stymie her. “Every guy I’ve ever dated?”

  “Then you’ve been dating the wrong guys.” He rubbed his jaw to hers. “Take a chance, Rory. Take the risk.”

  Her hands came up to his face, her fingers slipping into his hair, and it felt so good he tightened his grip on her.

  “I’ve got a bad track record with the ­people in my life,” she said quietly and shook her head when he started to speak. “No, you know it’s true. I’m not a good bet, Max. In fact, I’m a really bad one.”

  That she absolutely believed this broke his heart. She’d survived a shitty childhood and then a rough stint on her own in San Francisco. But she had survived, even thrived. And then there was how she’d handled tonight and all the storm had thrown at them without blinking an eye.

  And yet this, with him—­which should’ve been one of the easier things in her life—­scared the hell out of her.

  “You need to believe me on this,” she said, backing free of him. “I’m not built that way, I’m not good at relationships. I’m not good at letting ­people in and keeping them. I don’t know how.”

  He caught her and reeled her panicking body in. “It’s okay,” he said very gently, cupping her face, tilting it to his to make sure she heard him. “Because I do.”

  While she continued to stare up at him, he lowered his head and gave her a soft kiss. And then a not-­so-­soft kiss that he seemed to have trouble tearing himself free of. “You have no idea, do you,” he murmured, “why I bring Carl in every week to get groomed. And it’s not because he needs it. It’s because we’ve both got it bad for you. We use all available opportunities as an excuse to see you.”

  She choked out a surprised laugh. “That is a costly way to do it.”

  He laughed. “I know. Do you trust me, Rory?”

  “Yes,” she said without a beat of hesitation.

  “I wanted to drive you here,” he said. “I wanted any reason at all to spend time with you. I’m serious about you, and if I’m being honest, that’s been building for a long time.”

  He could tell by the look on her face that she was serious about him too, scared to death or not.

  “I think about you,” he told her.

  She shook her head. “When? When do you think about me?”

  “When I’m sleeping. And working. And not working.” He stopped to take in her smile. “You’re the one for me, Rory. And I think you feel the same way about me.”

  She could’ve lied her way out of that if she wanted. He knew she had the skills. But she didn’t. Holding his gaze in hers, she backed him to the bed and then, still holding eye contact, gave him a shove to his chest that had him dropping to the mattress.

  He laughed but that laughter stuck in his throat when she got on the bed and slowly climbed up his body, letting him feel her, all of her, and with a groan he began to wrap her up tight in her arms and—­

  That’s when they were jumped by 150 pounds of dog wanting to get in on the fun, panting dog breath in their faces, making Rory laugh.

  Max loved the sound and smiled at her as he reared up to kiss her, having to reach around Carl, but Rory stopped him with a hand to his chest.

  He stilled. “Problem?” he asked. “Other than the heavyweight road block named Carl?”

  At the sound of his name, Carl barked, excited they were finally having all the fun.

  “I think maybe he’s trying to tell us something,” Rory said.

  “Like?”

  “Like . . . like maybe we’re moving too fast.”

  “I don’t think Carl’s that deep of a thinker,” he said. “Down.”

  Rory started to shift but he gripped her and with a laugh said, “Carl. Carl, down. You stay.”

  Carl promptly rolled onto his back on the bed, taking up nearly the entire thing and showing off all his bits as he did.

  “Well, you did say down,” Rory pointed out. “He listens. He laid down. What a good boy,” she said to his dog. “Are you a good boy, Carl?”

  Carl’s tail thumped the bed staccato style.

  Max pointed to the floor.

  Carl hefted out a sigh and slunk off the mattress. Slowly. One long leg at a time, with a look back at Max as each limb hit the floor like he was hoping he’d change his mind.

  Max didn’t. Instead, he tucked Rory beneath him, entwined his fingers in hers, and slowly slid their hands over her head as he lowered his.

  “So,” he said. “Where were we?”

  Chapter Nine

  RORY STARED UP at Max, mesmerized by the warm look in his eyes. “I think you were about to rock my world,” she whispered.

  He smiled. “Was I?”

  Her heart sped up. God, he had a gorgeous smile. “I hope so,” she said fervently.

  He pulled her sweater slowly over her head. It fell to the floor and she heard him suck in a breath, which was reassuring in a sexy, “ohmigod this is happening” way because it meant she did it for him every bit as m