Her face was on fire as she snatched up her towel—acutely aware that she had to bend over right in front of him to do so. “What are you doing here?” she spat, struggling to secure the towel around her.

“Vacation,” he shrugged. He was back to normal now, but she’d caught that glimmer in his eyes. He’d looked at her in a way he hadn’t since that time six years ago at the party. Right before she’d vomited all over him. In the years since, she’d seen him a few times. At the inaugural ball, of course, and damn if he didn’t look incredible in a tux. Other times there had been occasional get-togethers, parties hosted by Eli, and other excuses to gather for one celebration or another. However, each of those times, he’d been reserved. She’d tried, at first, to search his eyes for some hint of what she’d seen once, but it was never there. Until tonight.

“Vacation?” she asked, wrapping her arms across her chest. What’s the point? He’s already seen everything.

“I didn’t expect…” he began. “Well… it makes sense that you would be in hiding, but…”

“You’ve seen the video. Great,” she said. “That’s just great. I guess everybody’s… I’ll be right back.”

Rushing upstairs to her bedroom, Ellie pulled on the first thing she saw. She couldn’t believe Henry had seen the video. Naturally, everyone had. It had gone viral and was even picked up on national and global news stations. All the “juicy stuff,” as Sam called it, was blurred out of course, but you could still tell the girl Sean was ramming was a ten. A ten. Seriously, Sean? You had to go and show the whole world that I wasn’t good enough for you?

Pulling on faded jeans and a thin T-shirt, she cringed again and again over what had happened downstairs. Of all the people to walk in on her here, Henry was the last one she could have imagined. Every time she’d seen him in the past few years, from birthday celebrations to the occasional run-ins at the store, he was always with a pretty blonde glued to his arm. Always blonde, always. He really does have a type, she thought. And I’m clearly not it. It’s a good thing he’d never met Sam. There would be no stopping that power couple. And there was no way she could handle her best friend marrying the only guy that had ever made her feel like this.

Besides, for two of those years she’d had Sean. Or at least she thought she had. Damn, and she’d been so careful about picking out her first official boyfriend, too. Everyone had said what a great guy he was, so intelligent and caring and compassionate. He’d spent a summer in Nicaragua volunteering to build community water wells, for Christ’s sake! And he had the nerve to cheat on her?

At first she’d been thrilled to show him off like some kind of prized pony. “He’s majoring in pre-law,” she’d told Henry and the random blonde of the moment the first time they’d met.

“Oh, well good for you!” was Henry’s reply. She’d been so pretentious. Had she really thought that would impress anyone, especially Henry? Henry had earned his MBA while in the military and completed three tours. Why on earth would some barely legal kid majoring in pre-law impress him? Remembering that moment made her cringe even more. And the worst part? Seeing him tonight, even after the towel dropped, her heart squeezed the same way it used to—in a way she thought it never could again.

His footsteps echoed on the stairs. Why couldn’t he have been that loud when she was downstairs in just a towel? She held her breath when he reached the landing, listened as he shuffled through something in the room next door. What is he doing? Is this… is this when something is supposed to happen between us? If she was supposed to move now, make some kind of noise or give a hint that he should come in, she just couldn’t. She was frozen. When she heard him shut his door and head back downstairs, she could finally exhale.

Glancing in the mirror above the bedroom vanity, she made a face and a brief attempt to smooth her brows and pinch her cheeks. You’re a mess. A mess! She hadn’t even washed her hair, just folded it under a towel. Without a whit of makeup, she felt truly naked and wholly vulnerable. If she’d known Henry was going to see her naked, she would have done things differently. Brazilian wax, salon-worthy blowout, and that no-makeup makeup look Sam had been trying to teach her. I really am just a kid, she thought. Nothing, not even a degree from Georgetown, was going to change that.

That same familiar feeling pulsed from her center, but she forced the thought away. Stop acting like a lovesick teenager, she scolded herself before going downstairs.

“Groceries?” she asked, watching him unpack the bags on the counter. “Looks like you plan to stay awhile.” He shrugged again, lowering his gaze. “Must be some fascinating… frozen broccoli there,” she said.

His laugh was a polite one. “Sure.”

“What are you really here for?” she asked.

“I told you that already.” His face hardened, and he turned his full attention to putting away frozen foods and pantry items.

She wasn’t having this. This was her getaway. Following him around the kitchen, brow furrowed, she goaded him on. “Well, I’m planning on staying here indefinitely,” she said. “Eli said it was okay.” She knew she was acting like a brat, but she couldn’t help it. She’d barely been here for a day, and already her plan of complete and utter solitude was ruined.

He paused, one can in each hand. “He did?”

“Yep.”

“Then this little… mix-up… is my fault. I didn’t tell him I was coming.”

She raised a brow. “Oh. Are you expecting some company?” This is just perfect. When can we expect the next little blonde in your string of so-called relationships to show up? As if Sean humiliating her in front of the entire world wasn’t enough, now she had to put up with Henry flaunting some blonde flavor of the month in front of her.

“No. Are you?”

“Me? No! No, my boyfriend… well, ex-boyfriend… he…”

Henry just nodded. “I get it. I’ll leave you to it. If it’s okay, I’ll stay tonight, then figure out where to go.”

She chewed on her lip. Should she invite him to stay? Just the two of them, like she always imagined. However, those harsh words from six years ago still rang in her head. You’re too young for me, and you always will be. It was tempting, but she knew herself better at twenty-two than she did at sixteen. He was a vice that she shouldn’t play with. Besides, he’d already made it perfectly clear that he had no feelings for her. And never would.

“Well, I guess we should have something for dinner,” she said, breaking the awkward silence. If there was a sliver of room for an invitation, she just closed it.

“It seems like all you have are frozen French bread pizzas and apple slices,” he murmured, digging through the fridge.

She blushed. How did he always put her on edge—and on the defensive? “Yeah. I’m not much of a cook.” Stop making excuses! He’s the one who showed up here uninvited, not you. You don’t have to explain anything to him.

“Luckily for you, I am.” He gave her that half-smile that always made her feel like a middle school kid with a crush. “I brought plenty of options. How do you feel about steak?” He pulled two prime chops out of a bag and held them up for her to inspect.

“Uh… great?”

“You’re not so sure, huh? Don’t worry, you will be after I whip these up.” With another half-smile, he shooed her out of the kitchen. Her kitchen. How did he do that? “You can snack on your apple slices if you’re really starving,” he called after her.

“Oh, be quiet and get to cooking!” she yelled back, curling into the couch and turning on the TV. The weather reports had been calling for heavy snow tomorrow—perfect for her mood. The cabin had been covered with a generous dusting when she arrived, but she missed out on seeing the big, fat flakes for herself. Nothing else compared to snow at the cabin, cuddling against the fire and having no distractions, no worries, and no notifications of yet another hateful comment on the video that had ruined her life.

The sounds of solid, knowledgeable cooking were a comfort. Ever since her mom had gone full-on globetrotting yogi, she’d largely given up on the feeling of a traditional home. But this, the warmth from the fire, the moon lighting up the crystal snow on the porch outside, and the scent of delectable steaks searing in the kitchen, this she could get used to.

Ellie leaned forward so she could catch a glimpse of Henry at the stovetop. His sleeves were rolled up, allowing his forearms to flex while his hands expertly worked the skillet. Deep in her chest, her heart squeezed tightly again. She never would have believed this all those years ago. Henry and her, alone in an isolated cabin, him cooking them a romantic dinner. It was too good to be true, and she knew it all too well. Just for tonight, she’d let herself entertain the fantasy of them being together, even if all it ended with was a delicious dinner.

It was a good thing he was leaving tomorrow.