He wasn’t making excuses. He wasn’t trying to get himself out of trouble. He accepted that he had messed up, and he apologized. And, strangely, I appreciated that.

I let out a deep sigh, my shoulders dropping. “Just try to remember next time, all right?” I said. Maybe I was letting him off too easy. Perhaps I should make him feel even guiltier for standing me up. But what would be the point? Why prolong the unhappiness of us both?

“I will, I promise,” he swore, and I almost cringed. I promise. Why did it feel as though he was setting himself up to fail by uttering those words?

Maxx hoisted his book bag up higher on his shoulder, and his smile returned. “Can I take you somewhere?” he asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

I rubbed my hands together, trying to keep them warm. “You want to take me somewhere?” I asked him, raising my eyebrows.

Maxx chuckled. He chanced a look around before he reached out to cup the side of my face. “Somewhere special. Is that okay?” he asked, his thumb stroking my cheek.

I closed my eyes briefly, knowing I’d cave. “Fine,” I said.

Maxx’s grin was contagious, and I couldn’t stop my own smile from making an appearance. “Let’s go then,” he said, dropping his hand from my face and grabbing my hand, not caring who saw us.

He headed me toward the parking lot. He opened the passenger door of his car, letting me inside. My stomach fluttered every time he did that.

Once Maxx was inside, he started the car and cranked the heat. He took my hands between his and blew his warm breath over them. He kissed my fingers one at a time, smiling into my skin.

The snow was falling more heavily now; it was settling in a thick coating on the grass. So far the roads seemed to be okay, but I worried about how safe his car would be on the road.

“It looks like it’s getting pretty nasty out. Maybe we should do this another day,” I suggested, peering out my window.

Maxx shook his head. “No way. This is perfect weather for what I have in mind,” he enthused, wrapping a hand around mine as he maneuvered his car out of the parking lot.

“Why does that make me nervous?” I teased as Maxx pulled into traffic.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll take care of you,” he stated with total sincerity. I really wanted to believe him. When he was like this, relaxed and carefree, it was easy to let myself trust him.

Maxx drove with little concern for the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. The snow was coming down in heavy bands. “Maybe you should slow down,” I suggested, gasping as Maxx took a turn a little faster than I liked.

Maxx snorted. “I can tell you’re from the South. Aubrey, this is nothing. I’ve driven in worse weather than this,” he placated.

“Not with me, you haven’t,” I muttered, and Maxx laughed, though he did slow down considerably, much to my relief.

A few minutes later, he parked along a nondescript residential street.

“Where are we?” I asked, surprised when Maxx got out of the car. He came around to my side and held the door open for me to get out. He tilted my chin up and softly kissed my mouth, cold, wet snow mixing with the heat of his lips.

“You’ll see,” he said, his eyes dancing. He went around to the trunk and popped it open.

“Put these on,” he said, handing me a clunky pair of black snow boots.

“No way will these fit me,” I scoffed, holding them up by their laces.

“Just tighten up the straps on the sides. They’ll be fine,” Maxx assured me, leaning down to put on his own pair of boots.

I did as he asked and took off my sneakers and handed them to Maxx, who tossed them into the trunk. I slid my feet into the boots, which were easily five sizes too big. I tightened the laces and buckled the straps on the sides as much as I was able to, though I knew I still looked ridiculous.

I put my hands on my hips and gave him an irritated scowl. “Are you going to explain why you’re having me dress like Bozo the Clown?” I asked.

Maxx handed me a thermos while he grabbed two final items from his car. He had obviously come prepared.

“Sleds?” I asked incredulously.

Maxx tucked the two red plastic sleds under his arm and smiled sweetly.

“Yep, these are sleds,” he teased.

He slammed the trunk closed and cocked his head in the direction of a wooded path between two houses. “Come on.”

I clomped after Maxx in the snow, which had already accumulated up to my ankles. Walking in Maxx’s boots slowed me down considerably, and he had to stop periodically to allow me to catch up. He led me down a small lane that cut through a shaded group of trees.

I could hear laughing and yelling off in the distance. We broke through the trees to find ourselves at the back end of a subdivision. Behind the row of houses was a steep incline that ended at a soccer pitch at the bottom.

The place was teeming with kids. Obviously, the schools had been dismissed early because of the snow, and most of the local children had congregated at the most epic sledding hill I had ever seen.

“This is where you wanted to take me?” I asked Maxx, looking up at him in astonishment. By this point, I should have given up on being surprised by anything Maxx did. But I couldn’t reconcile the man I had come to know with the person standing beside me now, holding two children’s sleds and looking as ecstatic as the kids around him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and took in the scene in front of him, a distant look in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips. “My mom used to bring me here on every snow day. It was something special that was just between us. She would let me sled down that hill until I couldn’t stand, and then she’d give me some hot chocolate and carry me back to the car.”

I didn’t say anything, not wanting to ruin this rare moment of transparency. Maxx pointed to an outcrop of stone at the bottom of the hill. “I broke my arm after I hit a rock down there.”

He laughed, and it was a sad and lonesome sound. “My mom freaked out. I got to ride in an ambulance, which for a nine-year-old was the coolest thing ever. So I didn’t think a lot about the fact that my bone was sticking out through my skin.”

His smile faded and twisted into a grimace. “I haven’t been here since I was ten,” he murmured, staring ahead, lost in his memories.

I felt my throat tighten and my eyes burn. I knew what he was doing, even if he didn’t realize it. He was giving me a piece of himself, a part of him that belonged to a time before the drugs. Before the club. Before his life had derailed.

I took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to calm the erratic thump of my heart. How could I not lose my heart to the man who stood in front of me, giving me the most precious thing he had? His memories. His happiness. The parts of his life that were untainted.

Maxx blinked a few times as if reminding himself of where he was. He turned back to me, his lip quirking upward slightly. He took the thermos from my hands, set it down beneath a tree, and handed me one of the sleds. “It’ll be fun. I promise,” he said, pulling his beanie out of his back pocket and putting it on.

There were those words again. I promise.

But this time, with his eyes sparkling and giddy, I actually believed him.

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, if I don’t break my neck first,” I deadpanned, and Maxx kissed the tip of my nose.

“Stop being so pessimistic,” he chastised, grabbing my hand and heading toward the crest of the hill.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I watched little kids zip down the hill, screaming the entire way. I could admit I was a bit of a wimp. Plus the incline was really steep, and I had already witnessed a few wipeouts.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure.” I hesitated as Maxx settled down on his sled. We were getting some strange looks from the children around us. I’m sure it was more than a little odd seeing a couple of adults playing in the snow alongside them.