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“We’ll handle that in a second,” he shoots back, already headed for the door.
Jason puts the robe back over my shoulders. “Just in case,” he whispers and drops a kiss behind my ear. It sends fluttering sensations down my spine as I wrap myself up and lean into him.
We leave the kitchen and join Matthew in the entryway just in time to see who dropped by unannounced. I feel my eyebrows arching upward as I recognize the woman from the woods. This time, she’s wearing a tight woolen dress in red and black stripes, and a short fur coat on top. Gold bangles and earrings jingle with each movement as she gives Matthew a broad smile. Her boyfriend is right beside her, looking around as I can almost hear the wind blowing between his ears.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Matthew blurts out.
I’m stunned by the aggression in his voice. Only now do I see the anger gathered between his shoulder blades, the stiffness of his frame and the way in which he holds the door open—tight enough to turn his knuckles white.
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” the woman replies, her voice high and sweet as honey. It feels disingenuous even to me, and I’m not sure what to make of it.
But then I feel Jason stiffen like a brick wall beside me. I see the icy darkness in Sully’s eyes as he glares at her. The woman seems unbothered by their collective reaction, though. She’s still smiling and breezy and ever the friendly neighbor as she takes a step forward. Almost instantly, Matthew takes a step back, as if terrified to let her get closer.
“What’s going on?” I whisper to Jason.
He doesn’t hear me. Or he can’t hear me. I’m not quite sure. But the air in the house has suddenly changed. It’s loaded with unspoken words, dark tension, and the kind of muted fury and guilt that makes me want to do a double take at every person standing before me. The woman then glances my way and waves as though we’ve been buddies forever.
“Hey, you! I told you I’d see you again.”
Matthew gives me a terrified look. “You’ve met?”
“In the woods, earlier today. Why?” I ask. “What’s going on?”
I’m getting nervous at this point, and I hate being on the outside looking in, especially when it comes to three men who have come to mean a whole lot more to me than most other people. I feel as though the safety and the peace of my haven here is about to shatter into a billion pieces, and I am nowhere near prepared for the downfall.
“I never got to introduce myself,” the woman says and gives me a wink. “I’m—”
“Cynthia, you’re not supposed to be here,” Matthew cuts her off.
But the name has already reverberated across the room. It hits me hard in the chest like a hammer. It knocks the air out of my lungs and the sense out of my mind as I swiftly understand who this woman is.Cynthia. The notorious Cynthia, whose diary nobody knows I’ve been reading. The Cynthia who was once the center of Matthew, Sully, and Jason’s universe, if only for a winter season.
The one woman I know who can disrupt and destroy everything I’ve managed to build here just by showing up. And the reality comes back to bite me like a hungry great white shark. I can almost feel its jagged teeth tearing me apart.
12
Selina
The name I never thought I’d hear in this cabin. The one person I genuinely feared because of how close, of how intimate she was with my men—MY MEN—not that long ago. My heart is beating so fast, my pulse is racing, and every single one of my insecurities rears their ugly head as I make myself smaller between Jason and Sully. They never leave my side, but Matthew’s shadow looms large across the room as Cynthia giggles and hands him a bottle of what appears to be a very expensive champagne.
I could never afford a vintage like that.
“I brought this as a winter-warming gift,” she says, rather nonchalant and uncaring of the tension she has caused within our nest. “Lance, my boyfriend here, and I have taken one of my cabins for the holidays, and I figured it would be nice to drop by and say hello sooner rather than later.”
“Hey, guys,” Lance says, waving at us.
Matthew gives him a nod of acknowledgement but doesn’t bother to shake his extended hand. “Nice to meet you,” he says instead, his voice flat and cold.
“So, um, you guys are friends, huh?” Lance asks, clearly unaware of what is obviously a much more complicated history than what I’ve read so far from Cynthia’s diary.
“The best of friends,” she declares, her eyes never leaving Matthew. “We’ve had so much fun during previous winters here.”
I look to Sully but he doesn’t notice me, he’s too busy staring at her. Jason is licking his lips in a nervous manner I’ve never seen before. I want to scream at the top of my lungs and stop this dreadful charade from unfolding, but the misery currently blanketing my heart is too heavy. My tongue is tied.
“Thank you for the champagne,” Matthew mutters.
“Only the best for my three favorite gentlemen in the whole of Aspen. Hey, Sully. Hey, Jason. You two look fantastic. The winter air does wonders for you, doesn’t it?” Cynthia says, waving at the guys but neither responds.
“How long will you be staying again?” Matthew asks. He gives me a quick side eye, and I can see the guilt swirling in the gray pools of his sad eyes.
