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Prologue
Jake
This had to be a joke. A colossal, the-world-gets-off-on-fucking-with-me kind of joke.
I stared in disbelief at the flashy red car stuck in a snowbank on the side of the road. A convertible Jaguar sports car? In the Rocky Mountains in November? No. Surely not. Whatever it was, it was blocking the long, secluded road to my cabin. I’d already met my quota of being social for the day, since I’d just finished my weekly run into town to stock up on groceries, so I was eager to get back to the solitude of home. Unfortunately, as much as I would have liked to just steer my truck around the ridiculous vehicle, my instinct to help kicked in, and I took my foot off the gas to let my truck roll to a slow stop, so I wouldn’t end up in the same predicament as the clueless driver in front of me.
A blur of white climbed out of the sports car as I stepped out of my own vehicle (after making sure to angle my tires and set the emergency brake like a sane person). My battered snow boots hit the icy ground with a thunk, and I grabbed my heavy parka from the passenger seat before slamming the truck door closed.
“Need help?” I asked unnecessarily while shouldering on my coat and zipping it up. The person–I could hardly even tell if it was a man or a woman at first–squeaked and hopped around to face me right before slipping on the icy pavement. I grabbed their arm to keep them from taking us both down and a shimmer of warmth cascaded through me as the slim body crashed into mine. My own feet began to lose traction as the figure let out a muffled “oomph” against my chest. I somehow managed to keep us both upright, but I had to grab onto more firm flesh than I would have preferred in order to do it.
“Shit! Hell, sorry!” the person blurted before locking eyes with me. And then it was like time itself came to a complete stop.
Magical blue irises sparkled in the late afternoon sun and fair skin bloomed pink in the cold winter air. The tall pine trees all around us gave the scene a kind of peaceful hush as the two of us just stood and stared at each other through a few inches of frosty air.
A man.
I could see that now. He was fucking gorgeous. Beautiful, like a… like a movie star or a famous singer, maybe. The kind of look that made sure you couldn’t look away. Was it just his eyes? Or was it…
What in the hell was he wearing? I was on sensory overload as I took in his long white-blond hair, which was covered by some kind of fur-lined cable-knit beanie that I swear to god looked like it was spun from the hair of angels. Angora? Was that a thing? I skirted my eyes lower to take in the rest of him and nearly went blind at the sight of all the white.
Because everything he was wearing was white.
Everything.
A chunky turtleneck sweater that framed his face perfectly, tight-fitting wool pants of some kind, and, Jesus Christ, were those Ugg boots? Please, no.
“Yooo-hooo,” the man said after pulling one of his arms free from my hold and waving his ungloved hand in front of my face to get my attention.
I snapped my eyes back up to his face and shook my head. “Uh, yeah?”
“I said I don’t need any help,” the man said as he stiffened his spine and jutted out his chin just a little bit. I almost laughed at both his words and his posture.
“Yes, you actually do,” I corrected, stepping aside. Before I approached the back of the convertible, I heard a high-pitched squawk from somewhere inside the car.
“Do you have a baby in there?” I asked. If so, the poor, poor child.
The man’s big, beautiful, fucking mesmerizing goddamned eyes widened. “Me? Hell no. Me? A baby? Oh, hell no. No. Just… no.”
I held up my hand in an effort to calm him. “Okay, fine. No baby. Who’s crying inside your incredibly inappropriate car?”
“What’s wrong with my car?” he asked in confusion. “It’s brand-new and has excellent safety ratings.”
If he hadn’t asked the question with complete and utter naïveté, I would have been certain he was just fucking with me. Before I could point out the ridiculousness of his statement, the flawless ivory skin of his forehead creased, and he threw his hands up slightly. “Oh, that’s Boo. Boo, baby! Ohmygod, Boo. It’s okay, BooBear. Daddy’s here,” he cooed as he slipped and slid his way to the open driver’s door of the car and leaned in, causing the back of his sweater to ride up and reveal a strip of perfect, creamy skin above the low waistband of his trousers.
