Chapter 1

One

CAMMIE

“ Y es, Mom. I have everything I need,” I replied, trying not to sigh out loud.

“Are you sure you should leave during a blizzard?”

“We’re headed to the airport in a half hour. We’ll beat the storm and be somewhere warm while you guys are covered with snow.”

The weather was one reason I’d chosen to spend Christmas in southern Europe. I loved Winter Falls, the small town where I’d grown up. It was high in the mountains and sat at the base of the Winter Falls Ski Resort. It was just cold enough to keep the resort open all year, which meant constant tourism. And they loved that it was perpetually Christmas in our little slice of heaven.

Most of the time, I didn’t mind the weather, but every once in a while, I wanted to lie on a beach. Especially when epic blizzards blew through the area. The one headed our way was going to be the worst we’d seen in seven years.

“What if you’re kidnapped?” my mom worried, and I could practically hear the wringing of her hands.

“I’ll always be with my girls, Mom. I promise.”

“Cammie, honey. Are you sure you should traipse around Europe alone? A group of single women?”

Oh, good grief…here we go.

I tried to remind myself to be patient with her since my parents had been so great about the fact that I would be missing Christmas this year. But…sometimes the sarcasm just slipped out.

“Of course not, Mom. We won’t be alone. I intend to hook up with a guy in every place we visit. He’ll be our escort.”

My mother gasped, and I grinned, imagining her clutching her pearls.

“Cambria Ashley!”

“She’s a grown woman, Francie,” my dad yelled. “We didn’t raise her to be stupid. She can take care of herself.”

Thank you, Dad!

Unlike my dad, my mom had always been a bit old-fashioned, and she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around a situation where independent women, such as her daughters, could survive any level of responsibility without a man. She meant well and loved us to pieces, which was why we occasionally put up with her meddling and matchmaking.

But my dad was the best. He always believed in his kids—both his son and two daughters—and encouraged us to take risks and follow our dreams. That was why my brother Jake was a professional snowboarder who had just won an Olympic gold medal.

My sister, Raven, had been successfully running the family business for ten years—The Snowed Inn and Lodge—despite our mother’s worries that she couldn’t handle it alone.

And I was a nationally certified EMT with a master’s in Athletic Training and had just completed my clinicals and passed the National Physical Therapy Examination for my doctorate in physical therapy. Between school, my job as a medic and ski instructor at the resort, and traveling to amateur and professional sporting competitions to help as temporary medical staff, there hadn’t been time for much else. Especially a relationship.

After so many grueling years of nothing but work and studying, I just wanted to take a trip with some girlfriends and relax. So I’d planned the trip to celebrate completing my doctorate.

“I promise not to do anything that would put off my future husband, okay?”

“Now that you mention it, when you get back, you should meet Caleb’s friend. I’ll have him over for dinner and?—”

I groaned. “No matchmaking, Mother. I told you after the last time, never again.”

“Yes, but you’re done with school now. You have more time.”

“When I come home, I’ll be helping to set up the new facility.”

My sister’s billionaire husband had bought the resort when he married Raven. Since she and Colin had the inn running like, in her words, “smooth hot chocolate and whipped Irish cream,” there had been little for him to do since he’d quit his family’s real estate business. So he’d been working on expanding, and his latest project was a state-of-the-art Olympic training facility. He’d asked me to be the director of the medical department, and I’d jumped at the chance to have an amazing and well-paying job while still living in my favorite place in the world.

My mom sighed, doing her best to guilt-trip me. It wouldn’t work. The last time I gave in and let her set me up had been an utter disaster. The guy hated snow sports and lived on a Christmas tree farm outside of town. And, although he tried to hide it, I was fairly certain he didn’t even like Christmas.

“Mom, I need to go. The girls are waiting for me, and we need to get on the road so we don’t miss our flight.”

“Okay. Well, just be extra careful, sweetheart. You’re so beautiful, and I just worry…”

I smiled, and my voice was soft when I said, “I love you, Mom.”

“Oh, honey. I love you too.”

“Give Dad a kiss for me, and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

After hanging up, I grabbed my bags and rolled them out onto the porch. When I woke up this morning, the snow was coming down fast and thick, but now, only a few hours later, it was close to whiteout conditions. We needed to hit the road as fast as possible or risk the roads being closed.

I pulled my hat down over my ears and slipped my hands into extra warm gloves, then grabbed my suitcase and duffel, before traipsing out into the storm. It was usually only a few minutes’ walk to the Inn from my cabin, but it took me nearly fifteen, with the snow piling up faster than it could be shoveled. Entering through the back entrance, I smelled freshly baked cookies and detoured into the kitchen.

When I heard my brother’s voice in the lobby, my brows rose. He wasn’t supposed to be home until tomorrow. It would be nice to say Merry Christmas and goodbye, I thought, taking a big bite of a cookie that tasted exactly like Wassail. Our pastry chef was freaking amazing, and when she put her head together with Raven, they came up with the most delicious treats.

“Yeah, I injured myself,” my brother said. “It’s no big deal, so don’t make a fuss.”

I rolled my eyes at his brush-off. A concussion was definitely a big deal. Not that he’d told any of us. I’d found out from a medic friend who was working the competition where Jake was slammed into by an amateur, knocking him headfirst into a gate—one of the pairs of poles set up along the course that snowboarders had to navigate through while racing down the slope—on a practice run.

I’d waited to see how bad his injury was before deciding on whether to force him to tell the family. Jake was cleared a couple of weeks ago, so I let him keep his secret. Although, I’d put out the word to some friends to keep their eye on him and watch for any long-term effects.

“Anyway,” Jake continued, “I need a quiet place to think and recoup in solitude. Somewhere that doesn’t come with a hovering, nosy mother.”

I snorted and finished my cookie. Hovering and nosy. Now that was an understatement if I’d ever heard one. My mother loved us and meant well, but her matchmaking was one reason I needed to get away. I shoved another cookie in my mouth as I left the kitchen.

Colin, my sister’s partner—and honorary brother…as if I needed more than Jake and my brother-in-law, Caleb—replied before I heard the click, click, click of the computer keys. “I’ll just look at reservations and see what’s available for you to?—”

“Don’t worry about a guest cabin, Raven,” I announced as I strolled into the lobby. It didn’t make sense to lose money on a guest cabin when mine would be empty for two weeks. “You can use mine, Jake. I’m going on a trip with some friends for a few weeks.”

Jake frowned, and his eyes narrowed.

And cue overprotective brother in 3…2…1

“What friends? Where are you going? A few weeks? Can you be more specific? Are any of these ‘friends’ guys?”

I shot Jake a lethal stare, then turned it on Colin and Caleb, causing them to muffle their laughter.

I sighed and raised my hands, then ticked off my fingers as I spoke. “None of your business, Europe, yes, no, and none of your business. Did I answer all of your questions?” My smile was smug, and he scowled in return, but I ignored him and walked around the desk to crouch in front of my six-month-old twin nieces. I smacked a kiss on each chubby cheek, then opened my arms, and their older sisters, six-year-old Hailey and four-year-old Rachel, came rushing over to give me a hug.

“She’s a grown woman, Jake,” my sister defended me. “If she wants to take a ride on Santa’s sleigh, you don’t get any say in it.”

I couldn’t help snorting a laugh. I loved my sister.

Jake growled, “You better not be riding anyone’s sleigh, Cammie. You’re too young.”

“Oh, for the love of snowmen and their top hats,” Raven muttered, making me grin. I always got a kick out of her penchant for replacing profanity with Christmas words. She’d been doing it since we were kids.

The front door opened, letting in a gust of wind and flurries as a bunch of feet stomped inside. The five girls with whom I’d be traveling shook off the snow, covering their hats and coats. Glancing outside behind them, I said a brief prayer that this blizzard—which was worsening faster than expected—wouldn’t ground our flight.

“Cammie! Are you ready to go?” my friend Hannah asked.

Hannah and her best friend Wendy were figure skaters who had competed in the Olympic Games just under a year ago. Hannah had taken home the gold for women’s singles, and Wendy had won the bronze.

One of the other girls, Shelly, had been in my doctorate program and had also recently passed the National Physical Therapy Examination. Candice and Sian were doctors and had both recently completed their residencies, and Ardith had just passed the bar.

We were all celebrating a big change in our lives, and it would be really annoying if this storm put a kink in our plans.

Hannah was staring at her phone, probably checking the weather, when she added, “I need to get the hell out of Dodge.”

“Yeah, just let me say goodbye to my family, and we can hit the road,” I responded, then I gave my older nieces a quick kiss on each of their cheeks.

“Fantastic,” Hannah mumbled, her gaze still glued to her cell. “All these snowboarders are making me jumpy.”

I exchanged a look with Wendy and she shrugged with an exasperated sigh. Lately, Hannah was on edge whenever we were around snowboarders.

My brother slowly turned around, and it surprised me to see his blue eyes burning with fury and a brittle smile on his face. “And why is that, Hannah?”

Hannah jolted, and her head flew up, mouth forming a little O as her eyes met Jake’s.

“Afraid you’re going to run into the man you’re hiding from?”

“What?” I sputtered, my gaze bounding between Hannah and my brother. Confused, I asked, “Do you two know each other?”

“Yes,” Jake growled.

Hannah squeaked, “No.”

“Well, that didn’t clear things up,” Raven quipped, and I nodded in agreement.

“You don’t think being married qualifies as us knowing each other?”

I gasped, along with the rest of the women in the room—including Hannah, and Colin pressed his lips together while Caleb buried his face in my sister’s neck to muffle his laughter.

Then Colin jumped in. “How about Cara and I take the girls to the playroom?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just gathered up Hailey, Rachel, Molly, and Lucy, then disappeared to find his wife and kids and take them to the new kids’ play area they’d built last year.

My attention remained riveted on the scene playing out before me.

“A drunken wedding on Christmas Eve in Vegas might not be enough for us to claim we know each other.” Jake took a step closer to Hannah and lowered his voice even further. Not enough that we didn’t hear what he said next, though. “But what we did that night and for the next two days straight sure as fuck does.”

What. The. Hell.

I heard the jingle of keys and Caleb calling out, “Jake.”

My brother glanced back at him, then lifted a hand and caught a set of keys that went whizzing by Raven’s head. “Master key. First cabin on Holly Lane is vacant.”

With a devious smile, Jake pivoted around again.

“Let’s go, Hannah,” he demanded, holding out his hand.

She shook her head and backed up, but Jake followed.

“I’ll carry you there over my shoulder like a naughty child, but then you better be prepared for the consequences.”

My nose scrunched in disgust at the image. Ew…

Obviously, everyone else was stunned speechless because the room was so silent you could hear a snowflake hit the ground.

Suddenly, the quiet was broken when Wendy blurted, “You’re the Vegas hookup?”

Vegas hookup? I was incredibly confused about what was happening.

Jake practically snarled as he lunged for Hannah and tossed her over his shoulder. “Husband, not a fucking hookup!” he shouted as he rushed toward the back door with Hannah whispering furiously.

Again, there was silence as we all stared at the door in shock.

“Hot chocolate, anyone?” Caleb offered, making us all jump.

Raven was staring after our brother and his…wife? This was surreal.

“Maybe we should—” she started, but Caleb cut her off.

“Forget it, baby.”

“But what if?—”

“Let them work it out.”

“If I could just?—”

“Do I need to throw you over my shoulder and lock you in our cabin so you’ll keep your nose out of their business?”

I almost laughed when Raven slammed her hands on her hips and glared up at her husband. He was so much bigger than her; watching her try to intimidate him was hilarious. Although to be fair, it seemed to work most of the time. My brother-in-law adored my sister, and honestly, I was a little envious of their relationship.

Raven growled, “I’d like to see you try—” but she was cut off when Caleb scooped her up into his arms and stalked to the back door.

A wide smile spread across Raven’s face, and she waved at me before they disappeared.

“My family is insane,” I declared, blinking a few times as if it would clear the fog in my brain.