Okay, so. I would have never, ever said that I was the type of girl to be turned on by macho manliness. Or male dominance. Or violence.
I dated a pastry artist for over a decade, for goodness sakes.
But then, I went and married a hockey player.
And ho-ly, I am still tingling hours after the confrontation as I replay Seb’s huge, hulking form filling the kitchen doorway. The way his big hand tightened on the frame like he was trying to rip off a chunk of it as he assessed the scene in front of him, then wasted no time throwing down for me with Adam.
The man looked like he was out for blood, and I’m not gonna lie, it was quite possibly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Actually, second sexiest thing. First place goes to the way he looked at me after we kissed in the hot tub.
Or the way he stroked my hair last night and kissed the side of my forehead before I drifted off to sleep.
In any case, one thing’s for sure: I’ve got it bad for Sebastian Slater.
“Eeek!” I shriek as I—completely lost in thought and certainly not looking where I’m going—step onto an icy patch on the snow-covered hiking trail and almost go flying into a dense patch of frozen pine trees and pokey bushes.
Seb, who’s walking right behind me, has me steadied and upright in moments. So quickly, in fact, that I can’t work out if my erratic heartbeat is from my almost-plunge to the ground, or the woodsy, masculine scent coming off his warm, flannel-clad body.
Jax turns and takes in the pair of us with disinterest. “Watch your step.”
“You watch your step!”
“Sick burn. Really got me there, Mads.”
I kick snow at him. My brother’s just bugging me ‘coz he doesn’t believe in romance (ergo, he’s all aloney lonely on our little winter hike today), while I have a knight in flannel to save me from falling on my butt.
“It’s becoming more and more evident that you two can’t possibly be blood related.” Seb points towards Jax—dressed in a sporty (read: mildly insane) waterproof, windproof, everything-proof winter parka and hiking boots with crampons on the bottom—and then, at me—wearing a very cute, very thin pair of slate-gray leggings, ankle boots, and a sweet button-up peacoat whose designer clearly cared more about fashion than warmth.
Meanwhile, Seb is somehow a mix of the two of us, wearing a thick, flannel jacket-shirt with lumberjack vibes, dark jeans, and proper winter boots. Plus, he’s wearing his beanie again—which he ADORABLY refers to as a “tuque” in his native language of Canadian—and he looks good enough to eat.
Jax chuckles. “Well, if I can give you one piece of advice to survive being married to my sister, it’s to never, ever take the woman camping.”
“I sense a story here.” Seb smiles as we step off the snowy path and into a clearing.
After a couple of hours spent walking (and, in my case, slipping and sliding) along the hiking trails close to our cabin, we’re at the edge of the village now. A little relieved thrill fills me as I make out the distant sounds of laughter and caroling, mingled with the smells of hot cocoa and wood fires.
As we continue our walk towards the town center, my brother, of course, wastes no time launching into a long, drawn-out and entirely unhilarious story about how I lost all of my sensibilities and decided to go camping with him one time.
The only time. For very good reason.
I didn’t want to venture into the backcountry—the Jax life is not the life for me, and I value things like flushing toilets, and running water, and, yanno, having actual chairs to sit on. So, we loaded up Jax’s old VW campervan with all of the supplies I thought I could possibly need, and drove up to Cloudland Canyon State Park to stay in a campground. Which was, actually, really beautiful.
Until nighttime came and the campground was pitch black and I was bursting to pee. My phone was dead and I couldn’t find a flashlight to walk to the campsite bathrooms, so I decided to do the smart and reasonable thing: creep around the back of the van, and just… be at one with nature.
What I hadn’t factored in was the RV parked in the campsite next to us being equipped with a motion sensor light. Which turned on, blinding me entirely, while the occupants came rushing out to find a very full moon shining back at them.
Needless to say, I shall never go camping again.
Also needless to say, Jax loves to whip out this story whenever he thinks I’m in need of a little healthy embarrassment.
See… revenge really does run in the family.
But between my brother and I, at least, it’s always good-natured.
Seb is laughing so hard at this point that he’s crying, tears leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes.
“That is absolutely priceless. I am so glad I know this now.” He wipes away a tear, grinning at me like a maniac before his eyes grow wicked. “And to return the favor, would you like to hear the story of how Maddie and I met?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” I shriek.
“I would love nothing more,” Jax says. “Please, enlighten me.”
“Well.” Seb gives me a look through heavy-lidded eyes that makes my heart pound. “It all started in a men’s public bathroom which Maddie happened to be frequenting.”
Jax is already howling. I mock-scowl at both of them, leveling my pointer finger. “I’m not sure I approve of this little budding bromance.”
But I’m lying. Seeing Seb and Jax get along like this is making my heart soar.
Seb’s about to launch into the story, but his phone chimes and interrupts him. He fishes it out of his coat pocket, then frowns at the screen. “I’d better take this, it’s my agent. I’ll meet you guys at that cafe on the corner?” He gestures in the direction of the sweet little bakery and coffee shop where he picked up my tea this morning.
“Sounds good.”
He gives me a lingering smile before swiping his thumb over his phone screen and walking away, his posture suddenly rigid.
I watch him walk away (believe me, it’s a pretty sight) until Jax waves one gloved hand in front of my face. “Hello? Earth to Maddie.”
I snap out of my butt trance. Which is, apparently, now a thing.
“Sorry. Was…”
“Admiring the view,” Jax supplies wryly.
I shove him.
We walk into the coffee shop and join the line, and my icy cheeks begin to defrost. And after a few minutes, I realize that Jax is staring at me.
“What?” I say, my hand rising to my cheek. “Is there something on my face?”
“No, I…” Jax sighs. “Ugh. You know I’m no good at this serious, heart to heart stuff, but I’m just… happy you’re happy. With someone who’s not Adam. Someone way better than Adam, actually. Like, not even in the same league as Adam.”
“Thanks, Jax.” I’m oddly touched. “I am happy.”
In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was this happy.
“I’ll admit. I was very, very skeptical at first. But he looks at you like… like everything you say is the most interesting thing in the world.”
“Really?”
Jax raises his eyebrows cheekily. “Yeah, I don’t get it either.”
“Har har,” I drawl, crossing my arms.
Jax holds up his hands in surrender. “I just mean that he’s clearly crazy about you. And I know you’ve always been a romantic. And misguided as I believe that to be, I’m glad that you’ve found someone who truly loves you. Weird as the whole sudden-marriage thing still is.”
I glance through the window of the coffee shop at Seb, who’s still on the phone and pacing. A blush crawls up my face. Could that beautiful man out there really be crazy about me?
The notion floats through my mind, sweet and fluffy as cotton candy. I don’t have the words to reply to this (actually really sweet) sentiment from my love-hating brother, so I give him a spontaneous little hug. He squeezes me for a second before letting go, and I’m left feeling entirely warm and fuzzy inside, like I’ve curled up in front of the fire in my pajamas with a cup of cocoa and a good book.
“Not weird,” I tell my brother. “And you should try it sometime.”
“What, marrying a hockey player out of the blue?”
I shove my brother. “No, you goon. Finding someone special.”
“I don’t need anyone special, I already have Edna.”
“I am going to be entirely unsurprised if I turn on the TV one day, and you’re on that show about people who fall in love with their cars.”
“Edna’s a van, not a car. And that would then make two of us in the family who’ve been embarrassed on national television.” I glare at him and he relents. “Too soon?”
I bite my lip, considering this for a few moments, then shake my head. Because the whole Incident that inspired this little revenge plot couldn’t be further from my mind.
In fact, the revenge plot itself couldn’t be further from my mind… all I’m thinking about right now is Seb.
“Sorry, sorry.” As if he could sense my thoughts, Seb suddenly appears, lighting up the room with his smile. There’s an energy about him that I can’t quite read. “That took forever.”
“Everything okay?” I lean towards him, tilting my head so that it rests on his shoulder.
“Everything’s great.” Seb gives my arm a little reassuring squeeze. “Let me get this one. Jax, what’re you having?”
Jax takes a step backwards. “Actually, I’m gonna bounce. Go for a real hike and let you two have some quality time together.”
“You sure?” I ask. Seb echoes the sentiment.
Jax nods and rubs his hands together. “Definitely. You kids have fun.”
And with that, he’s gone.
“He okay?” Seb asks, looking after him.
I shrug. “The mountains were calling, I guess.”
“Your brother’s a bit of a lone wolf, huh?”
“That’s one word for it.”
Seb laughs and wraps an arm around me. “Well, I’m not complaining,” he says in a low voice, his breath warm by my ear as he pulls me close. “Because this means I get you all to myself for the rest of the afternoon.”
Like I said, this Christmas keeps getting better and better.
“This can’t get any worse!” I groan a few hours later, as I take another frozen step forward and stumble. My teeth are clacking together and my socks are soaked in my boots. It feels like hypothermia is about to set in at any second.
“I mean, it could.” Seb smirks, putting his hand under my arm to steady me. I have no idea how he’s still in good spirits—I’m two missteps short of curling up on the ground in the fetal position and waiting for the bears to find me when they wake up next spring.
Which might sound dramatic—fine, definitely sounds dramatic—but ho-lyyy it’s cold out here. Even with Seb’s coat over mine. Which he insisted on giving me, thoughtful guy that he is.
“You’re right,” I mutter. “Maybe those families of elk and bears and moose and whatever else lingers in the woods will come out for revenge because we disturbed them last night. Snowstorm be damned.”
It came out of nowhere. It was so pleasant when we walked to the village with Jax earlier—not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining warm on our faces.
After getting a couple of hot chocolates at the cafe, Seb and I wandered around the village for ages, ducking in and out of candy stores and handmade gift stores and bookstores. Stopped so that Seb could sign autographs for a bunch of pre-teen boys who recognized him. It was the sweetest thing ever, watching him interact with his fans. Not only was he patient and kind, posing for a bunch of pictures, but he showed interest in each of the boys, asking what hockey positions they played.
It was a perfect afternoon, which faded into a perfect evening. So perfect, in fact, that we decided to have dinner at a cozy little bistro together. It was a long dinner, complete with dessert. We really wanted to make the most of our last night in Aspen sans Adam and the family drama.
But it all went wrong after dinner.
Though it was already dark, we decided to walk back to the cabin along the forest trail instead of taking the main road, like normal, logical people would.
Which was fine until it started snowing. And snowing. And snowing. Add some howling wind and exceedingly diminished visibility resulting in a wrong turn or three, and you’ve got yourself more of a Blair Witch Project vibe than a Hallmark Snowed Inn For Christmas feel (double N intended, because there’s ALWAYS an Inn when it’s a Hallmark holiday special).
Now, Seb must sense my plummeting optimism, because he applies a little pressure to my elbow, halting me in my tracks so he can hug me close. “Don’t worry, Mads. I’ve got you. We can’t be far now.”
“I thought I knew where I was going,” I say dully with a shake of my head. “Thought I might have gleaned something from having an absolute mountain man of a brother…”
He takes my hand. Squeezes. “One step at a time, love. We’ll get there. We’re fine.”
I feel entirely responsible for this. Yet Seb is the one comforting me. And he doesn’t even have a freaking coat on.
And so, we trudge on. Hand in hand, me stumbling every so often. My phone battery died not too long into using the flashlight, and we’re down to 15% on Seb’s phone. Seb also doesn’t have the number of anyone in my family, so it’s not like we can call and let someone know what’s happened.
They probably think we’re still in the village, all cozy-like in front of a fireplace, drinking hot apple cider…
I think my toes have frostbite.
But Seb is my anchor in the storm, steadfast and unwavering and making light of the situation to keep my spirits up. I have no idea if he’s internally freaking out, but if he is, he’s doing a perfect job hiding it. If he wasn’t here right now, I’d be terrified instead of just angry as a pissed-off trash panda whose trash has been taken away at my dumb decision to take the road less traveled. Which anyone who has studied the poem knows is not necessarily the better choice.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the trees seem to become more sparse.
And then, I see it!
A little light, in the distance.
“Aghhhhhhhhh,” I gargle like a gargoyle, my mouth practically foaming with excitement.
“We made it!” The relief in Seb’s voice is palpable—maybe he was more worried than he was letting on.
We turn to each other, and his blue eyes glint in the faint light, before he scoops me into his arms like a groom carrying his new bride over the threshold for the first time. He breaks into a jog and I fling my arms around his neck, squealing and protesting that I’m too heavy, but he’s totally surefooted as he runs, holding me like I weigh nothing.
By the time we get to the front door of the cabin, we’re both breathless and laughing with relief. We step inside, and it’s warm. Oh so warm. And quiet.
“Everyone must’ve gone to bed?” I wonder aloud as I slip off my wet boots and double layers of coat. My hands and feet are like blocks of ice, and my nose and ears hurt like hell from the cold.
Seb stops unlacing his boots for a moment and glances at his phone. “I guess it is after 11pm.”
“What?! We were lost for freaking ages. We can never, ever let Jax know about this. He’d probably enroll me in some terrible wilderness survival course that would end up killing me.”
Seb’s mouth twitches in quiet laughter, then his eyes move over me for a few moments, the corners crinkling in concern.
“Come on.” He reaches for my hand. “Speaking of not keeping you alive, we need to get you warmed up as quickly as possible.”
Seb leads me to the kitchen, grabbing a blanket from the hallway closet as we go. He wraps me in the blanket almost tenderly, squeezing me tight before pointing to a chair and ordering, “Sit.”
“Bossy much?”
“Woman, do you want hot tea or not?”
“Want!” I immediately relent, dropping my butt into the chair.
We grin at each other for a moment, and then I grab for the candy bowl in the middle of the kitchen table and tuck into the Lindor truffles. All the while watching Seb busy himself with filling the kettle and placing it on the stove.
“Aren’t you cold, too?” I ask around a mouthful of chocolate.
“Canadian.” He shrugs. “We handle the cold much better than you wussy southerners.”
“I would protest, but I think you might be right. You’re a veritable yeti.”
“The sexiest yeti that ever was,” he responds blithely, turning back to the stove.
I reach into the candy bowl, grab another truffle, and throw it at him.
Without even turning around, he puts a hand out and catches it. Unwraps it and pops it in his mouth without missing a beat.
“How do you do that?!” I gasp.
“I keep telling you, Maddie. I’m an excellent multitasker… among other things.”
The smile he gives me makes me feel meltier than the truffle in my mouth.
“I like being your wife, Seb,” I find myself saying. Because I do. I love seeing him like this, learning all the secret sides of him that nobody else gets to see.
“And I love being your husband, Maddie,” he replies simply. Casually. Like he didn’t just seamlessly weave a four-letter word into that sentence that makes my heart thump in double time.
When I meet his eyes, the heat blazing in them is enough to scald my entire body.
I am beyond smitten with everything about Sebastian Slater.
Seb pours two steaming mugs of tea and I wrap my fingers around my mug until my palms are tingling. Seb, meanwhile, takes a seat across from me at the kitchen table, letting one big hand rest on my thigh. It might be the contrast of cold to heat, or the adrenaline from almost spending the night as elk food, but the place where we connect feels almost painful with electricity. We don’t say much as we sip at our drinks, but I’m blisteringly aware of him, of how hard my heart’s beating, of where his eyes pass over me as though to make sure I’m warming up and doing okay.
After a couple minutes, Seb’s blue eyes meet mine, and there’s a flicker in his gaze that doesn’t look unlike stoking a fire. “Should we head to bed?” he asks quietly, in this low voice that probably isn’t meant to be nearly as sexy as it is.
All I can manage is a nod.
With our mugs half-full, we creep up the stairs, and once we’re safely in our room, I flick on the bedside lamp as he sets the mugs down. He immediately sheds his sweatshirt, which is damp from the falling snow. His shirt comes off with it, leaving him bare chested.
Our eyes catch.
Suddenly, I don’t feel cold at all anymore.
Instead, I notice the pebbles on his taut skin and I take a step towards him. Run my hands up and down his arms in an attempt to warm him up. Just as he tried (and succeeded) at warming me up.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done out there without you, Seb. What I would’ve done without you on this trip.” I shake my head. “I believed that being here would be unbearable, but you made it… okay. Made everything okay. Helped me see things that I’ve never noticed before, especially in myself. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”
He tilts his head slightly and there’s a beat of silence as his blue eyes meet mine. “I don’t know what I’d do without you in general, Maddie.”
His voice is low and husky, and his eyes become hooded and hungry, as his hands move to my waist. He wraps them around my middle possessively, pulling me close.
And I’m suddenly so overwhelmed—with what I feel for him, with his comforting, sexy scent, with the feeling of his strong arms around me—that I can’t hold it in anymore.
“Sebastian…” I say, and his name comes out like a plea as his mouth finds mine. His lips are cold at first, sending shivers through me, but as we kiss, the heat builds between us like a fire set alight. It’s a perfect kiss, soft and slow and deliberate, yet just as passionate—maybe even more so—than our makeout in the hot tub last night.
Something about this feels… deeper. More meaningful.
He’s got me.
One of his hands moves to caress my face, the back of his knuckles dragging over my rapidly flushing skin. “Madelyn,” he murmurs, barely breaking the kiss, and my name sounds sweet on his lips.
He kisses my jawline. My neck. His hands slide under my sweater and across my stomach, sending a million butterflies coursing through me as his mouth returns to claim mine again, sweet and sure and entirely incredible. I want to live in this moment, in this sensation, forever.
I pull back from the kiss and run my hands over his bare torso, gratified to feel him shiver beneath my touch. The trail of goosebumps that now follows my fingers.
“I want…” I start, my voice shaky. Unsure.
His eyes darken as he waits for me to find my words, and the sight of him—lips swollen, hair tousled, eyes focused on me like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him—makes me entirely sure of what it is I want to say.
“I want to be husband and wife for real tonight,” I confess, my cheeks reddening.
I can see on his face that he wants this—wants me—too, and his hands tighten slightly on my hips as if he’s restraining himself. He hesitates.
“Are you sure?” His voice is ragged and his eyes are a dark pool of longing that I want to dive right into.
“Always with the thoughtful,” I say through a smile as I throw myself into my husband’s arms. He picks me up and my legs circle around his waist as he holds me close, kissing me and kissing me and kissing me while carrying me to the bed.
“I’m assuming that’s a yes?” he murmurs as he presses an open mouth kiss to the base of my neck, sending a bolt of heat all the way to my stomach.
And I realize I have never, ever wanted something more than I want my husband right now.
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes,” I reply.
And it’s all the assurance he needs for tonight.
