“I kissed you first, I admit that, but it would have been over in under a second if you hadn’t kissed me back. Holly would have walked out of her bedroom and found me standing there, reeling from rejection.”

“Reeling?” The tree pressed into her back, blocking her escape. “I wish you were reeling.”

She’d never met a man she couldn’t easily keep at a distance.

She was always the one in control. She set the boundaries. Dinner, eight o’clock? I’ll meet you there. She never took men back to her apartment, and she never stayed the whole night at theirs. Her dates were interesting, attractive and easy to let go. Usually she did it by text.

Sorry, but this isn’t working out.

Occasionally there would be an attempt to persuade her to change her mind, but she wasn’t Christy. She had no problem with difficult conversations. She didn’t respond to emotional manipulation. She didn’t feel any guilt ending a relationship. She didn’t have a soft heart.

But here was Zac, refusing to back down, sparring with her.

“You’re being intentionally annoying.” Oh what the heck. All this snow was too tempting. She pelted him, and he ducked, scooping up snow in the same movement.

“I am annoying. I’m on a mission to get you to feel things, and I’m willing to start with frustration. Even frostbite.”

“I am feeling so many things right now.” They were both so wrapped up in their own exchange that they didn’t hear the others approach.

“I’m pleased you’re having a good time, but it’s not a good idea to get too cold!” Robyn’s voice came from behind Zac, Alix’s view blocked by the width of his shoulders.

She realized that for a few minutes she’d forgotten the existence of other people. She hadn’t even thought about Holly.

She gave him a push and walked toward Robyn.

“We were—”

“Having fun. I know.” Robyn smiled. “It’s hard not to when there’s this much snow. It’s incredible, isn’t it?”

Fun? Alix frowned. They’d been having a fight. Couldn’t Robyn see that? With snow, admittedly, like children. But it wasn’t a game. It was...it was...

She sighed.

It was fun. But she wouldn’t be admitting that to anyone, least of all Zac. Even admitting it to herself took a bit of getting used to.

She dusted snow from her jacket, trying to recover her dignity. Only now did she notice how cold she was. “We’re done.”

Holly had her arms round Suka. “We’re going to have hot chocolate.”

“We are. Definitely time to warm up, I think.” Robyn guided them to a little wooden hut hidden by trees. Erik had already started a fire, and they sat covered in thick blankets, toasty warm as they sipped mugs of creamy hot cocoa and ate sugar-encrusted pastries flavored with cinnamon and cardamom.

Robyn removed a camera from her backpack and took some shots of Holly and also of the forest.

They returned to the cabin with their tree, and Alix saw immediately that Erik had made the right choice. It rose to the ceiling, filling the room with the most delicious scent of Christmas.