I laugh caustically. “Yeah? Where was all this knowledge last year? Suddenly you have everything figured out, but you didn’t back then. No. In fact, I think that’s what this is really about. You’re taking your anger out on the wrong person, Aiden. It’s you who messed up. It’s you who moved away when you should have stayed. You think I’m going to welcome you back with open arms? You think you can spout out some bullshit about wanting me and suddenly everything will fall right back into place for you?”
Our waiter is at our table now, trying to get our attention. “Uh, excuse me. I’m sorry. Could I…just…the other guests have noticed a disturbance.”
My sister is crying now. She and Ford compete for the loudest sobs.
We’ve completely ruined the evening for not only our own table, but the tables near ours too.
Just great.
I stand and grab my purse, but before I walk away, I can’t help but throw one more taunt his way. “Wonderful job.”
I’m barely halfway to the door when I feel him in my wake.
He’s not going to leave well enough alone, and that’s fine. I have a lot of anger built up inside of me. I could continue this all evening.
We both storm through the main dining room, back toward the host stand, neck and neck as we reach the front entrance.
I get to the door first, and there’s no waiting for the attendant to rush forward and hold it open for me. I slam my hand against it and fling it open as cold air blasts me in the face. I grimace in anger.
Over loudspeakers, Christmas music plays a jarringly merry backdrop to our current standoff.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer…
Aiden hisses as the cold air hits him next. I don’t wait around for him to regain his senses. I start to head for home.
This was a mistake.
Coming here. Seeing Aiden again.
I should have stayed in Texas.
I should have spent the holidays by myself. I should have heated up a pot pie in the microwave, turned on the Hallmark Channel, and called it a day.
Aiden and I stomp down the street, close enough that we’re feeding off of each other’s negative energy but far enough away that I couldn’t reach out and push him into a snowbank if I wanted to. Ah, wouldn’t that be nice.
In fact…
I stop dead in my tracks, bend down, and start forming snow into a compact ball.
My hands are freezing. My legs are freezing. My freaking face is freezing, but what do I care? I have a war to win.
I finish making the snowball as Aiden stops near me.
“What are you doing?” he asks, just before I turn and launch it right at him.
My aim is off.
I miss him by a good two feet, but what do I care? It’s Colorado—snow abounds. I have so much ammunition at my fingertips.
“You’re insane,” Aiden says, sounding almost amused as I bend down to form a second snowball.
“Yes, and you’re insufferable!”
I don’t take my time with the second projectile. I fling it at him as soon as I have a solid handful of snow. This time, it slams into his chest. A mess of white flurries covers his shirt and jacket.
He looks down slowly, comically. Like he’s in utter disbelief that I actually hit him.
“What the—”
He doesn’t get the rest of the sentence out because I’m throwing more snow at him. He really needs to catch up. I’m winning this snowball fight handily.
“Maddie! Can I just—”
“What? What could you possibly have to say that you haven’t already?!”
I’m so close to him now, and it’s out of necessity. I want to ensure every last throw hits its mark.
He reaches out and tries to grab hold of me, but I evade him like some kind of super assassin.
More snow rains down on him and, with a growl, he finally bends down to form his own snowball.
He glances up at me with a wild glint in his eye, and panic spikes my blood.
Aiden is officially entering the fight.
Oh shit.
I turn and run like my life depends on it, which isn’t all that easy because I’m wearing heels and a short dress. My entire body has gone numb from the cold.
I’m expecting a snowball to collide into my back at any moment. With Aiden’s strength, it’ll take me down and I’ll perish on the sidewalk in the middle of Vail Village. I zigzag back and forth, trying to make it harder for him to take aim, but I was mistaken. Aiden was never going to throw that snowball at me. No.
He catches me and wraps his arm around my middle, bringing me clear off the ground as he holds me against him.
He waves the snowball in front of me like he’s wielding a dagger. It’s a warning: Be good, or else.