"I’m telling you, if anything more serious had happened—"

"Yeah, but it didn’t, did it?” the man interrupted angrily from the other end of the phone. We had been engaged in a heated discussion for the last twenty minutes, ever since I had arrived at the hospital with Kari. The man who had crashed into her had seem genuinely concerned at first, but ever since I’d started chewing him out, he seemed less bothered about giving this much thought.

"I could still sue you," I warned him. "And I might. If I get even the hint that she’s anything other than completely fine—"

"Excuse me, sir?”

A woman’s voice sounded beside me, distracting me from the call I was in the midst of making. I pressed the phone to my chest to quiet the man on the other end and turned my attention to her.

"What’s going on?”

"Your friend is awake," she explained to me. "I think you should come see her."

"Thanks." I nodded to her and finished up the call quickly.

"I’ve got your number, don’t forget that," I warned the man on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I get it, trust me," he replied, sounding exhausted. He had given me his cell number in case there was something he could do to help out with Kari, but it seemed as though he was regretting it now.

I hung up the phone and stuffed it into my pocket. I was so damn mad at what he had done. He could have done some serious damage to her. I could still remember the jolt of panic that had lanced through me when I saw her hit that tree, slide down it like she was in an old-school cartoon, and slump onto the snowy ground below. I should have taken her home, ignored her desire to ski down the slope just one last time, but I found I was having a seriously hard time asking her to do anything she didn’t want to do. Kari was someone I wanted to please, more than anything else, and that was a dangerous precedent for us to set this early into things.

As soon as I’d reached her, I had scooped her up into my arms and rounded on the man who had crashed into her. He was a little younger than me, and he’d looked panicked – I would have felt sorry for him if it hadn’t been Kari he had just smashed into.

"What do you think you’re doing?” I’d demanded. "You’ve hurt her!"

"I know, I know, I’m so sorry," he’d burbled. "I meant to be on the smaller slopes, but then I skidded and I—"

"Shut up," I had snapped at him. "Find me a medic. We need to get her to a hospital."

I’d examined her for injuries as the man had scuttled off to do as he was told, and I had been relieved to see that she didn’t seem to be sporting anything too rough. A few grazes that would turn into a nasty bruise or two, but nothing serious. Still, she was out cold, and that meant I was going to get her to a hospital and make sure that she wasn’t dealing with a concussion. The last thing I needed was to send her back to the real world with no memory of what had happened between us. That was how it worked, right?

I had taken the man’s number when he’d returned and had rushed her to a hospital, carrying her to the ambulance myself; when they had asked about insurance, I’d brushed it off, promising I would pay whatever it took to get her patched up alright. Once we’d arrived at the hospital, they’d hustled her off to a private room, and I had made the call to the guy who had caused this whole mess. And I had given him a piece of my mind. If there was so much as a broken bone on her, I was going to drive back there, and I was...

As soon as I laid eyes on her in the hospital bed, the rest of that thought dropped away, unimportant all at once. She smiled at me and gestured down to her strapped-up ankle as I entered the room.

"I guess now at least I have an excuse not to be the best on the slopes, huh?" she remarked playfully. I had no idea how she could be so upbeat in the face of what had just happened. If it had been me taking that spill, I would have been on my feet, demanding to know who would pay for this at once. But I guess that was what made us different. That was the reason I had reached out to her in the first place. Because she was patient, kind, and gentle, and I could do with learning some of those traits myself.

"I guess so." I took a seat next to her. The doctor wasn’t in the room, but there was a chart on the end of her bed – I scanned it briefly, and nothing caught my eye in terms of being too bad to deal with.

"Was that the guy on the slopes I heard you yelling at out there?” she asked, and I winced.

"You could hear that?”

"It’s what woke me up," she replied.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I didn’t mean to—"

"It’s okay," she assured me. "And honestly, I appreciate the passion. But I don’t think that guy needed you to go in on him like that, did he?”

"What are you talking about?"

"He probably already feels bad enough about it as it is," she pointed out. "He might have been a beginner, just like me. These things happen. It’s not a big deal, really."

"But he hurt you—"

"Remember how all of this started because you needed to rehabilitate your image?" She raised her eyebrows at me pointedly. "I think you would do well to remember that right about now."

"I guess you’re right..."

"And yelling on the phone at guys who just made a mistake probably isn’t going to help, especially since you have to assume that at least a few people in here know who you are," she continued. Her voice was gentle but firm.

"I don’t want you following up with him anymore," she told me firmly. "It was a mistake. We all make them. I’m okay; I’m not mad."

"But what about your ankle?” I gestured to the strapped foot that was dangling a few inches off of the bed.

"It’s going to be fine. I just need to be gentle with it for a few days," she replied. "So maybe no more skiing, huh?”

"Maybe not," I agreed. Before I could say anything more, the doctor bustled back into the room. She picked up the chart and looked over it briefly, then turned her attention to the two of us.

"Alright, Kari, so you’re not in too bad a state," she told my companion with a kind smile. "We’re going to send you home with some painkillers and some instructions on how to take care of that ankle, alright?”

"Anything else?" Kari asked.

"Well, since you passed out, we’d like to keep an eye on you for concussive symptoms," she replied. "The chances are pretty low, but—"

"I’ll do it," I jumped to my feet at once. "Just tell me what I need to look out for, and I’ll keep an eye on her."

"Are you sure?” Kari asked, reaching out to touch my hand. "You don’t have to do that. I could just head back—"

"No, no, it’s fine," I promised her, the flicker of her fingers on my skin all the convincing I needed.

"Okay," she smiled at me and then turned back to the doctor. "Tell him everything he needs to know. I trust that he’ll be able to take care of this."

And with that, the doctor filled me in on everything I had to watch out for with her for the rest of the evening. To my delight, she assumed that we were a couple, and I decided it would be rude to dissuade her of that notion. Once she was done, I went to settle up anything that was owed, and then I returned to help Kari out of bed.

"You didn’t have to pay for all of this, you know," she grumbled good-naturedly as I helped her to her feet.

"I’m the reason you got into the accident in the first place," I pointed out. "It wouldn’t have been right if I had just let you take care of yourself."

"So what happens now?” she asked. "What did the doctor say to you?”

"She said you would need to rest up and take it slow," I replied. At that, she pulled a face.

"That’s not so fun," she groaned. "Maybe I should just go home—"

"No way," I replied firmly. "There’s still lots we can do without getting crazy."

"Like what?" she asked, chewing her lip as we headed for the exit.

"Well, I’ll need to keep an eye on you for the rest of the night, of course," I replied with a long sigh, as though it was some great irritation.

"And what did you have in mind for that?”

"You could go rest up, get a little work done," I suggested. "And then we could head out for dinner."

"Together?” she blurted out.

"Of course," I laughed. "Oh, and by the way, the doctor seemed to assume we were together. She said that I would need to keep an eye on you overnight. You know, to make sure you’re not actually concussed."

She flushed bright red, and the twinge of a smile flicked up her lips.

"Yeah, well…let’s get through dinner first, huh?" she hedged.

"Whatever the lady wants."

"Right now, the lady wants to get back and call Clara and get a little work done to make sure she’s not falling too far behind on anything," she replied as I helped her into the car. She wasn’t putting too much weight on her ankle, and it took everything I had in me not to just sweep her up into my arms and carry her to the car. I got the feeling she wouldn’t much appreciate that, though.

"Then let’s get you home," I replied, pulling the car out of the lot and starting back toward the cabin.

She closed her eyes and laid her head against the glass for the duration of the trip, and I found my eyes drawn to her, over and over again. She was just so delicate and beautiful; her accident had been a reminder of just how unsteady she was, just how small and frail she was compared to me. And instead of putting me off of her, it just made me want to wrap her in my arms and make sure the world never got close to hurting her.

I lifted her from the car when we got back, and her feet landed in the inch or so of snow on the ground below us with a satisfying crunch. She smiled down at the dusted earth and then looked at me.

"You know, my kids would just love this so much," she admitted. It was exactly what I’d wanted to hear from her. She was wavering on bringing them here; I could sense it.

"I’m sure they would," I agreed as I rubbed my hands together and headed for the cabin. "Come on, let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here."

The sun had dipped entirely behind the mountains now, and whatever warmth it might have cast over the ground was gone. But inside the cabin, the automatic heating had switched on, and it was perfectly balmy in here. She pulled off her jacket, and I took it from her.

"When did you become such a gentleman?” she remarked with a smile.

"When I started trying to convince people I’m more than just an asshole," I replied. She laughed and then stretched.

"Can you show me where to set up my computer?" she asked. "I need to get in touch with everyone..."

"Sure thing. Come with me." I gestured to my bedroom, and she followed me into the suite. I couldn’t help but wonder what else we might be getting up to in here tonight if she wound up feeling better come this evening, but I tried not to dwell on it. I wish it hadn’t happened this way, but at least she was going to be sharing a room with me tonight.

"Your laptop’s with your stuff, yeah?” I asked, and she nodded. I brought her suitcase from her room and laid it out on the bed, quickly going through it to find her laptop case.

"Ah, here you are," I handed it to her. She nodded in thanks and then sighed, leaning back in her seat and eyeing me for a moment.

"I’m sorry about this," she gestured to her ankle. "I know it’s put a wrench in the plans. I won’t be able to go skiing again..."

"You have nothing to apologize for," I assured her. "Really. This just means I’ll need to use my imagination and come up with something new for us to do, huh?”

"I guess you will," she replied as she glanced around my suite.

"What’s up?"

"Nothing. It’s just still..." She tried to find the words to express what she needed to say but came up blank.

"Nothing," she corrected herself, and she turned to the computer to take care of her work.

I grabbed a script that I had brought along with me from my bag and tossed myself down on the bed to start reading. Or at least, that was going to be my defense if she looked over at me. Truth was, I was watching her. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, actually. Which was ridiculous because she wasn’t doing anything that interesting: she was just typing away, replying to emails, her eyes scanning this way and that as she took in what was in front of her.

But it was the way she reacted to everything she was doing that was captivating; she was so expressive, so natural, and so uncaring about what anyone else thought. I lived in an industry of people who always acted like they were being watched, and it was refreshing to see someone just...be. The way she wrinkled her nose when she was concentrating, and the way she rolled her eyes when she was irritated, and the way she suppressed a smirk when she was amused – watching Kari was addictive. Kari was authentic and uninhibited in ways she didn’t even realize, and I found my eyes pinned to her even as I held the script in front of my face, pretending to give a single damn about what was written in front of me.

Eventually, she leaned back from the computer and stretched.

"Damn, I’m hungry," she remarked, and she turned to me with a hopeful smile on her face. "Think we can go somewhere for dinner?"

"I know just the place," I agreed, offering her my hand.

"I think I need to get changed first." She grinned at me as she got to her feet and headed to the bathroom to pull on some clean clothes. I wanted to follow her in, but I knew I had to let her come to me. That was how this worked now. She had to be the one to kick things off.

She emerged a few minutes later, dressed in a gorgeous green dress, similar to the one she had worn that very first night we had met. I gave her the once-over and grinned widely, and she did a little twirl for me.

"Appropriate for where you’re taking me?” she asked.

I nodded. "Sure is..."

And with that, I led her out to the car and drove her to the restaurant I wanted to take her to. It was expensive and exclusive, and they kept a table especially for me – a booth in the far corner near the log fire so that I could hide out and not worry about being disturbed by overenthusiastic fans. When we stepped through the door, she gazed around in astonishment.

"This place is..."

"Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?" I remarked. It was a classic building that had been around for more than a century – an old hunting lodge, small but gorgeously appointed with deep red velvet on the seats and glittering gold accents scattered all over the place.

"Your table, sir?" the host greeted me, approaching us with a smile.

"Yes, the usual, please." I gestured for him to take us there, and he led on. I let my hand drift to the small of Kari’s back as I guided her to the seat, and she bit her lip and glanced at me. I was glad to see that my touch was having as much of an effect on her as it was on me.

We took our seats, and the waiter brought over the menus for us. The evening was soon in full flow. She drank a couple of glasses of wine, and I had one as well. Soon enough, we were talking about anything and everything – my films, her charity, her kids, her divorce, even. She spoke quickly, waving her arms around to illustrate the points she was trying to make. She was so cute when she was excited.

The food was as incredible as ever, reminding me why I always came back to this place even though there were a dozen others that would welcome my patronage. The atmosphere was cool and laid-back, and soon, I found myself shifting around the booth to get closer to her. After the plates were cleared away, Kari continued to talk, the two of us barely inches apart.

"It’s just been so long since I’ve been out for a dinner that wasn’t connected to work," she sighed. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I thought this was supposed to be work?” I reminded her. She giggled, lowered her gaze, and then looked up at me once more – her eyes were shining, glimmering in the light the candle was casting on the table before us.

"I thought it was, too," she agreed. "But maybe..."

And with that, she leaned over and kissed me. And everything else in the room ceased to exist.

As soon as our lips touched, I forgot we were in public and that this was the kind of gossip fodder the tabloids went crazy for. I just wanted her near me, as close to me as I could have her. I reached across, sliding a hand up her thigh, pulling her onto my lap, and kissing her deeply. She wound her arms around my neck and moaned softly. I could already feel myself growing hard, wanting her, needing her—

"Sir?”

The two of us sprang apart, looking up to see the waiter standing there with an amused expression on his face. He was holding a small leather-bound book, which he pushed across the table to me.

"Your bill," he reminded me. I was still breathing hard, and I could see that Kari had flushed red beside me. I took the bill from him and placed my card down, not looking twice at the price. I shifted in my seat. I should have been embarrassed, but I just wanted to get her home and finish what we had started here.

We slipped into the car and headed back to the cabin; I slid my hand onto her knee, resting it there to let her know that her advance from before was far from forgotten. When we arrived back at the cabin, she lingered just inside the door, clearly not sure how to make the next move.

"The hot tub," I suggested, suddenly remembering the tub I’d had installed outside a few years before.

"I don’t know..." She peered outside to the snow on the ground. "Won’t it be a little cold for that?"

"It’ll be good for your leg," I promised her. "Come on, it’s beautiful and warm in there..."

"Alright," she conceded. "But I’m keeping my underwear on, alright?”

"Anything you want," I replied. "Meet me on the back porch in five?”

"Will do," she agreed. I watched as she made her way to her bedroom to get changed, my mind already thrilled at the thought of her half-naked and drenched in the hot tub beside me.