He stopped himself, just barely, from pointing out that it was only Saturday because he already felt like he’d been cross-checked into the boards. There was no reason to beg for her attention. They’d both gotten what they wanted, had fun, and now it was over. Just like they’d agreed. Great. Perfect. Fucking amazing. He couldn’t be happier.

Yeah, that’s totally believable if you don’t have two brain cells to rub together.

“I think this is for the best,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. “I’ll shovel my rental out and head back to the city. You stay. Enjoy the cabin just like you’d planned.”

Suddenly, a few days alone to drown himself in a bottle of scotch and feel sorry for himself seemed like the most miserable self-indulgent activity ever. It was fucking whiny. He might as well be a soccer player going into dramatics because he’d gotten bumped into on the field.

“I’ll head back, too,” he said. “I’ve lost interest in a weekend in the mountains.”

“You have a rental?” Alan asked, snagging a doughnut for himself.

“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t need a car in the city.”

“Is it a four-wheel drive?”

She shook her head. “I never thought there’d be a snowstorm this late in the year.”

He made a tsk-tsk sound. “Then I recommend you call someone to come get you down here. It might be a week before we can get the mountain roads plowed well enough for regular cars to travel safely.” He got up from the table and walked over to the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup. “Is there someone you can call to come pick you up? The local rental folks can get the rental once the snow melts. They do it all the time. Trust me, you are not the first tourists to find yourselves on the bad side of Mother Nature around here.”

Shelby looked down at her phone that was, for all intents and purposes, a very expensive door stopper at the moment. “I don’t know anyone’s number anymore.”

Ian reached for his phone and powered it on. “I can bring up someone with the team’s front office who can help. It would serve Lucy right if she had to come up here and get us.”

After fifteen eternity-lasting seconds, it came on. However, staring down at the Ice Knights logo on his home screen was like viewing it through a kaleidoscope. And when he hit the touchscreen, nothing happened.

“Don’t suppose the car rental place is open now?” Ian asked.

Alan shook his head. “Buck’s on vacation in Florida, the lucky son of a bitch. It’s closed until next week.”