Julia gripped the edge of her seat as her stomach swirled with renewed anxiety. The airport cab driver recovered the vehicle from careening into a ditch, and slammed the gas pedal.
Glancing out the dirty, frosted window, she released the death grip on her iPhone—which didn’t have service out here anyway—switched it off, and set it on her lap.
Staying in a cabin outside Denver, Colorado, with its snow drifts as tall as street signs wouldn’t usually be her first pick for a weekend getaway. But it wasn't going to be the location that would make the trip worthwhile, it was the company.
When she’d told Ashley she planned on spending Christmas alone in L.A., her old college friend had insisted that Julia join her, Bruce, and their good friends Eli and Betsy in their family cabin and wouldn’t take any form of no for an answer.
Not relishing being alone for the holidays, Julia bought a last-minute flight. She’d been lucky enough to procure a taxi willing to take her all the way out here, as the weather had gotten dangerous. But her confidence in the driver inched upward once he brushed off the ice, sleet, wind, and snow—coming down sideways—as “meh, nothin.”
“Whoa, Nelly!” he bellowed, as if the vehicle were a team of horses. Julia gasped as, without warning, her fearless driver slammed on the brakes. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed, splaying one hand on the window, the other on her seatbelt.
After a few seconds of sliding on the ice-slick road, they cruised to a haphazard stop. The man turned his head and beamed a smile. “We made it!”
Christmas miracle number one. “We’re here?” She sighed in relief, rubbing a circle on the foggy glass.
“Like I said!” He unlocked the doors and got out.
How did he ever see the address? Julia saw nothing but frost.
She buttoned her coat, opened her door, and climbed out. Just as she put her feet to the frozen ground, the driver plopped her luggage beside her. “Sorry I can’t get you any closer, young lady,” he apologized. “The driveway hasn’t been plowed and I don’t wanna get stuck out here.”
Icy drops pelted her face with a skin-numbing force, and she pulled her red wool hat lower on her ears. “It’s okay.” Ashley’d better have something hot and delicious waiting for me. She finally noticed the address on the mailbox a few feet away; this was it. Down the long driveway stood a quaint cabin, lit up inside and out. Cute. With a teeth-chattering smile, she reached in her pocket for her wallet.
“Think you’ll make it in those things?” He pointed at her stylish but unpractical black ankle boots.
Did she have a choice? “I’ll have to.” She handed him cash for the fare. “Thank you so much.”
He grinned at her generous tip. “Bless ya. And Merry Christmas!”
“Same to you.” Seconds later, his tail lights beamed red before he threw it in drive and left her to fend for herself.
Gripping the lapels of her coat closed with one hand and dragging her suitcase with the other, she marched through the driveway with giant, clumsy steps. Snow fell into the tops of her boots with every footfall, melting in her socks. Good thing there was no one around to hear her cursing like an angry sailor.
Julia felt salvation at last when she reached the front steps. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be much activity going on. Looking around, she only saw one car, and it was buried deep in snow.
She tried the front door and it opened. “Hello?”
Although the lights were on and a fire was burning, no one answered. She stepped in and wiped her shoes on the mat. “Ashley? Bruce?”
The spacious cabin was silent. Maybe she should give them a call. Puzzled, Julia patted her pockets for her cell phone, hoping she’d get a signal this time. She froze, not finding it. Digging through her purse, it took her a couple minutes to accept she didn’t have it. Did she leave it in the cab? Did it fall out when she paid the driver? Who knew? It was either with him or buried in a mountain of snow somewhere in that quarter-mile obstacle course. And she was not braving that again, even for her precious iPhone.
With a sigh, she took a seat on a bench near the door and removed her soaked boots and socks.
It was difficult to stay angry when the cabin’s décor made her feel like she stepped into Town and Country Magazine. The overstuffed, earth-toned living room furniture evoked comfort, arranged around a sturdy, wooden coffee table she knew Bruce had made with his own hands. A huge Christmas tree, over seven feet tall, stood off in the corner, neatly trimmed and sparkling in the soft firelight, filling up the space with its signature scent. Julia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply; it smelled like Christmas in here: warm apples, pine, and nutmeg. The only things missing were the hosts.
Checking around, she noted the cabinets were stocked full. A picture of Ashley and Bruce was stuck behind a magnet on the fridge, the cute couple smiling at each other with the cabin in the background.
The two small rooms downstairs were neat and tidy, ready for guests, and a glance in the loft bedroom looked lived in.
She assumed they’d left to pick up Betsy and Eli, and decided to get comfortable while she waited, picking up a magazine and plopping on the sofa. Almost fifteen minutes later, she heard heavy footsteps on the porch and the turn of a knob, and she rose in greeting.
When the door flew open, she couldn’t contain her grin. “Merry Christmas! I was starting to get cabin fever all by myself...”
Gavin Beckett stepped in, carrying an armful of firewood, snowflakes atop his almond-colored hair. Her mouth dropped open as shock and disbelief collided. An elf with a sack of diamonds could’ve walked through the door, and Julia would’ve been less stunned.
He stopped, and their eyes met, his lifted brow conveying his own surprise as he kicked the door shut behind him. “Wow.”
“Gavin?” she breathed.
“Julia.” His deep voice carried over the space between them like a vibration, instantly igniting little sparks down her back, even though it had been over a year since they were face-to-face. After the initial shock wore off, her face transformed to swift irritation. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes narrowed into slits at her tone. “I was invited.”
She crossed her arms. “So was I. By Ashley. She never mentioned you. I can’t believe she lied.”
He walked over to the fireplace to set down the logs. “Technically, she didn’t lie if she never mentioned me.”
Where in blazes was Ashley? As Julia’s heart pounded, she scrambled to make sense of this situation. Her friend knew how she felt about Gavin…knew that even though Ashley and Bruce were his friends too, she wanted to avoid social situations that involved him.
She looked at him with suspicion. “Did you know I’d be here?”
“No. Obviously if you knew I was a part of the group, you wouldn’t have shown up. Ashley knows how you feel about me.” His voice turned wan. “I certainly do.”
Ouch. Well, what did she expect? They’d spent only a few weeks together, but every moment, every emotion of it, was branded in her memories. Including the one when she decided to sneak out of his apartment, leaving nothing but a short letter behind.
They’d met at Ashley and Bruce’s Halloween party, and at first, she’d considered it a fling. Gavin wasn’t the type of guy who’d go for anything else, if you believed the tabloids. A little over a month into their fling, though, and she found herself in love with a man she never thought she’d fall for: a pseudo-celeb with the reputation of a ladies’ man. Vivid memories jump-started feelings of humiliation and despair all over again. She thrust the memory away to focus on the shocking here-and-now. Julia could barely check the anxiousness in her voice when she asked, “Where is everyone?”
“I don't know,” he said with a shrug. “When I got here over an hour ago, the cabin was empty. Bruce’s cell went straight to voicemail. Though the service out here is always spotty.”
Now what? Stuck in a cabin with a man that, at one time, had her so hot she’d begged for more as he made love to her? Julia cast her eyes to the ceiling. She needed a Christmas miracle number two out of here!