When Eve’s eyes first feasted on Beaver Creek ski resort, she felt as if she had stumbled into a fairy tale. The snowy Colorado mountains were awe inspiring, and the lodge was massive and flanked with shops and boutiques that she just knew were way out of her league. She’d probably be fined for just for stepping inside.

“Damn, Brie’s parents must be loaded,” she breathed to Milo. He was weighed down with both of her huge suitcases and his much more modest duffle bag. “I can’t believe this place. I’ll go check us in.” Eve bolted toward the front desk, and as soon as she had the room key in her hand, she passed it to Milo and sent him up with the bags. She was breathless and rosy with excitement. Any second now, she might be on those slopes, or in a Jacuzzi, or sipping champagne by the roaring fireplace. This place was a sensory overload of beauty and grandiosity, and she intended to make the most of it.

While the concierge checked her in, noting that Mr. Justin Timberlake would be in attendance this week, and that he’s probably the nicest of their celebrity guests, Eve looked over the lobby. There were animal heads, exquisite leather furniture and polished wooden steps that gleamed. Everything was bathed in a light warmed by the contents of the room. The place made her think of warm rich cocoa and roaring fireplaces.

“Eve!” a familiar male voice boomed out from behind her. Eve whirled and her mouth split into a wide grin.

“Joshua!” Eve bolted toward her little brother, wrapping him in a hard, strong hug. She exhaled deeply and relished the warmth and softness of her brother’s body. Josh had wheat blond British hair where Eve had inherited her mother’s dark Irish locks. Their emerald eyes and inch-deep dimples marked them out as siblings. “I can’t believe this place,” Eve whispered against Josh’s chest. “How on earth are Brie’s parents affording it?”

“Shh,” Josh commanded her, pulling away and bopping her nose with his index finger. “Rich folks like them there know money talk is vulgar, milady.”

“But seriously,” Eve insisted, “how much even are these rooms?”

“That’s neither here nor there,” Josh answered mysteriously.

“That’s not true,” Eve countered reflexively. “It’s here. It’s exactly here. Have you looked at this place?”

“Did you hear that Tom Hanks is going to be here?”

Eve’s jaw dropped. “Shut up!” she cried, slapping her brother playfully. “Hey, where’s Brie?”

“Actually, we got a complimentary spa visit, and she wanted to go early after that long drive” His eyes suddenly focused on some point over Eve’s head. “Oh hey!” he called out. “Cliff! Hey, man!”

Eve widened her eyes at Josh, trying desperately to impart to him that he should not be calling Cliff over right now, but Josh wasn’t even looking at her anymore. He was wildly waving his hands. No! “Cliff!” Josh yelled, oblivious.

Realization spread over Josh’s face, and the rosiness in his cheeks drained away. He glanced at Eve from the corner of his eye and hissed, “Shit. Oops. I’m sorry.” But it was too late; Eve could already see Yoga God Cliff Bauer threading through the crowd toward them. He hadn’t seen her yet either, she was sure. There were a lot of people in this lobby most of whom were much taller than her. He’d see her all too well in a second, though.

Eve sagged and met Josh’s eyes. “It’s not a big deal,” she whispered. “We’re on friendly terms. It’s fine.” Back-to-back lies.

“I totally forgot,” he whispered in reply. A cluster of Beaver Creek patrons cleared out of the way and there he was, just as gorgeous as the first day she’d ever seen him. He wore a green fleece sweater and corduroy pants with a knit green, yellow, and black beanie and boots caked in snow. He looked warm and strong, and as handsome as always. Eve’s heart, and pussy for that matter, gave up a little throb. It wasn’t the clothes that did it. It was the sweep of that powerful jawbone, and how his eyes looked like summer storm clouds, dark and full.

He looked straight at Eve for a split second, and only a body language expert would see the flame of heartache flare in his eyes. Then Cliff’s eyes turned to Josh and warmed with true brotherly joy.

“My man,” Josh exclaimed, slamming into Cliff with a solid bro hug. “How’s it goin’, Cliff? I’m so glad you could come, man! I mean, look at this place.”

“It’s not understated, that is for sure,” Cliff replied, coming out of the bro hug by shaking Josh’s hand vigorously. “Congratulations, Josh. Thank you so much for inviting me. That really means a lot to me.” His eyes turned slowly to Eve, as if they didn’t want to, but they had to. “Hey, Eve,” he breathed, and even Josh blushed a little. He must have realized that she was lying about how “cool” they were now, because the tension was practically edible. “It’s good to see you, too.”

Eve glanced down self-consciously, immediately inspecting her apparel for its sexiness. She wore brown leather snow boots with an explosion of fake white fur coming from the top, marbled gray tights, and a burgundy denim mini-skirt with a gray and white knit wool sweater. Yes, she felt adorable as fuck when she looked back up and caught eyes with Cliff again. He had also paused to give her a once-over.

“I’m glad you came; I didn’t think you would,” Eve blurted.

“I’m going to head up to my suite and check out the wet bar,” Josh announced, obviously desperate for an excuse to be anyplace else. “Come by and say hi once you get settled, Eve. Mom and Dad are in the cottage next to mine.”

“Cottages?” Eve shrilled, to which Josh only grinned. He sidestepped her and patted Cliff on the shoulder. “See you out on the slopes, man?”

“You know it,” Cliff replied. They slapped high-fives and Josh left. It was kind of funny to get this little window into Past Cliff, the Cliff who had played intramural sports with NYC Social and built networking profiles for companies and had been married to that cheating bitch, Allison—as opposed to Present Day Cliff, who spent his time on pursuits of a spiritual nature and seemed to be attempting to reach some kind of asexual peace. As soon as Josh was gone, however, Present Day Cliff returned. She had no idea how he was so sublime and mellow on the surface, and yet underneath there was this primordial fire that screamed for orgasmic release.

“Where’s Milo?” Cliff asked.

“He went to go put our bags in the room,” Eve answered. “You should come up and take a look. We’re in some part of the resort called Arrowhead… or maybe it’s Sparrow Sled? No, that’s stupid. It’s Arrowhead. Anyway, it’s supposed to be very nice, and I think they only got those rooms for relatives. You should come see!”

“I don’t think so,” Cliff replied automatically. “It sounds lovely, but—after the other night—I don’t think I can. I need some space. I need to get my head straight, and I can’t do it around you. Even less around you and Milo.”

Eve stared at Cliff wistfully. She was somehow sure that being alone with her and Milo was exactly what Cliff needed to get out of his funk but he was scared. He was afraid to cross over to the other side.

“All right,” She answered reluctantly. “I guess I can’t fault you for that. Even if last time was totally fucking amazing.”

Her eyes sought his, but Cliff couldn’t look at her anymore after that outburst. He was keeping them trained on the distant help desk and the busy concierge. “Thanks for understanding,” he said, stepping past her. “I’m going to go check in now. Maybe I’ll catch you on those slopes tomorrow too, huh? Have a good night,” he called over his shoulder.

Eve watched him go and felt totally powerless, for a second at least.

“Wait!” Eve suddenly called, surprising herself. She darted after Cliff and caught him by the elbow. “Look here.” She pressed her own key card into his hand. Milo had the only other one but she didn’t care. She was on her way to visit with her brother and her parents, anyway. She knew, if she needed to get into her room, she could always show the concierge her identification and get another key. What she really wanted was just the possibility, the mere suggestion that maybe Cliff might change his mind.

But the only way to do that was to plant the seed.

“Take this,” Eve said, “and, if you change your mind, we’re in Arrowhead Suite number three.”

* * *

Cliff held Eve’s key card in his hand as he checked into his own suite. He held her key card in his hand as he walked the long corridor to his door, and it shimmered and cooed from his bedside table as he unpacked, begging him to pick it up again, to just consider it. Cliff tried his hardest to ignore it. It was just a plastic square. Why was it speaking to him, calling him like this?

He filled his drawers with four days’ worth of folded clothes, then he opened the complimentary wet bar and allowed himself a hard cider, then he stared out the window at the crisp, wild landscape beyond. While he was doing all these things the key card continued to call. This place, with all its glamour and its enormity, was lonely. He could see the stars in the sky as clearly as if he was looking through a telescope. Unfortunately, a sky that cold and that deep only made an individual soul feel more disconnected and alone.

Cliff scooped the key card off his night stand and snatched his coat from the hook on the back of the door. Fuck it. He didn’t want to be alone in this winter wonderland.