It felt too good. This was not something she could have. It wasn’t something she wanted, not beyond the weakness of the moment. She couldn’t get seduced by the momentarily buoying sensation of a hug like that, because ultimately, she had to buoy herself in this world. And she most definitely couldn’t get herself into a position where she was noticing things like hard chests and fluttering pulses. Maybe someday, but not yet.

Max stared at her for long enough that she started to feel awkward, but then he cleared his throat, breaking the spell, and turned and contemplated their angels. “Well, that’s not going to win any awards. So much for a pristine outline.”

“It looks like our angels got in a . . .” She shivered—a big, involuntary one. “Catfight.”

“You’re freezing.” He moved behind her and started brushing snow off her shoulders and upper back. As he made his way down toward the butt zone, he pulled the coat away from her body and brushed the snow off the fabric without touching her body. At the hem of her coat, he crouched with his hands poised over her calves. “May I?”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

Another thing that felt too good? Max’s hands, which were improbably warm, on her legs. It was only her calves, and he was only brushing snow off them, and there was a layer of pantyhose between his skin and hers.

He finished the snow removal, and for a moment, his big hands squeezed her calves, like he was trying to warm them up. It worked too well. There was a kind of zingy sensation on her skin beneath his fingers. She stepped away from him—again.

“This was a terrible idea.” He stood. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it was fun.”

“Still, I think I should call the car. Do you agree?”

She could not deny that she was wet and shivering in earnest but also dealing with the echoes of those odd zings his hands had summoned. “But isn’t the car on its way to Long Island with my mom in it?”

“Oh, but there are more cars where that one came from.”

Of course there were. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

He produced his phone and had a murmured conversation while he led her to the path, and by the time they’d made it back to Central Park West, another magical Mercedes was waiting.

The driver had a blanket for her. She would have rolled her eyes—it was too much, almost—except she was so cold she took it gratefully.

Once they were installed in the back, Max said, “You want to swing by Bergdorf’s on the way home, or are you too cold?”

“I would love to swing by Bergdorf’s.”