“You rocked those diamonds back in the day,” I mumbled, trying to concentrate on something other than her touch. I sure as fuck wasn’t deprived. It might have been a long week apart, but we thoroughly reacquainted ourselves last night in my brand new Cal-king, which she thoroughly appreciated, and again this morning in my tub. I still had an issue with my overused shower, but I realized the free-standing cast iron tub my designer insisted upon was good for more than just resale value. Her slippery wet form had molded against my chest and my dick sat perfectly between her ass. If I had anything to say, we were going to be spending some quality time soaking in there. Fuck, my mind so easily wandered.

“Hey, you keep that up,” I removed her hands from their downward track and kissed her palms, “and that flight I’ve been promising you isn’t gonna happen.”

Her eyes widened. “Today, really?”

“Yup. You and me.” Another first. “And don’t stress, the house is full of ski equipment. If the jacket doesn’t work, I’m sure Avery will have extras. She’s all about looking the part, has a new jacket yearly, and I’m sure this season won’t be any different.” Her eyes went wide and her brow crinkled, questioning me. “Or I’ll just buy you whatever you need on the mountain.” I shrugged, she didn’t. Oops.

“Oh, your sister is going to be there? That’s, um, great. Why didn’t you mention it?”

“What? You love surprises and just the other night you said how much you missed Maggie. Surprise.” I shrugged, she didn’t. Oops.

“Maggie, too? Why do I feel like there’s more?”

“Because you’re brilliant.” I planted a chaste kiss against her forehead, unsure how it was going to fly. She didn’t blink, so I spilled. “Annual Craig getaway, the whole fam treks up, kids and all. My nieces are getting older with more and more shit going on. My parents, too. We don’t know how many more years Dad will have it in him to make the trip. Trying to keep it up as long as we can. That being said, it’s been a great excuse to get everyone together. Hit the slopes, enjoy après-ski, cook some good food, laugh and reminisce. Super relaxed and a lot of fun. I promise.” I was rambling, laying it on thick, fully expecting a little hesitation. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about her springing an imminent family reintroduction on me, but then again she was an only child and her parents were both dead. Shit, I hadn’t taken that into account.

She cupped my cheeks and cocked her head to the side, making her smile a little crooked. “You want me there, you want me to be a part, then there is nowhere I’d rather be. Craig Family ski getaway it is.”

Her smile got bigger and I felt lighter, like a small weight had been lifted. I had never, not once introduced a woman to my family, and more importantly, to the only four women that—up until now—mattered. This was a page I never planned on writing, let alone actually following through with. And oddly enough, I was bringing my woman home to re-meet them. Son of a bitch, what was I getting myself into?


“We’ll see, Tal.” It was the probably the fiftieth time she asked about lessons since we landed and got into our rental car. No shock, she loved flying. It was exhilarating, technical, and tranquil. And dangerous. There it was again, shit, this was foreign. Risk never crossed my mind—I never cared.

“You do realize, I’m not asking permission, right?” Her sass redirected my mind’s random safety tangent. I needed a topic change since her learning to fly wasn’t an option. And for some reason I wasn’t looking forward to breaking that news.

“Top three unexplored warm destination picks. Go-” She cocked an eyebrow, but no answer. “Somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“Besides changing the subject, where are you going with this? I know you.”

Hell, I liked the sound of that.

“Just shoot.”

She paused for a moment then lifted her thumb. “The Italian Riviera, I’ve always wanted to hike the five points.” Then her index finger. “The Great Barrier Reef, wouldn’t it be amazing to scuba dive there?” Middle finger joined. “And can you believe I’ve never been to Hawaii? Practically right around the corner from me, just no time. I heard hiking through some of those waterfalls can be very secluded.” Her lips curved up seductively. Both of us flashed back to our last waterfall hike; both knowing that the next time was going to end very differently.

We weaved through the mountains and charged up the last incline before turning onto the snow covered pebbled road that led to the house. A few snowflakes began to fall.

“It’s snowing!” She beamed.

“Gotta love that about Vermont.” My smartass response earned a backhand to my bicep.

“True, good point.” She chuckled and focused forward. “Oh, this is gorgeous.” Snow covered evergreens flanked the long driveway giving way to the slopeside cabin. But I guessed she was referring to the panoramic views of Stowe and Smuggler’s Notch, not the chalet. “It’s the quintessential ski house, like the HGTV dream home.” Or not.

Stopping the car in front of the garage, I laughed at her remark before opening my door. Of course she watched HGTV. A rush of cold crisp Vermont air filled in around us. She wiggled her light blue hat down a little further over her ears and smiled. Her straight blonde hair trailed out the bottom and her cheeks pinked. She was wrong—she was the gorgeous here. Her hand weaved its way into the back of my hair, sending a surprising tingle down my spine, not surprisingly landing in my groin. I leaned across the console and captured her lips.

“Happy,” I mumbled. She knew what I meant.

“Me too.” She grinned.

“Come, let’s go inside, it’s cold. Since you didn’t follow my advice and skipped the ice cream and burgers, and the HTs didn’t work, you might be in need of some warming up.” I leisurely dragged my hands along her sides.

She eye rolled me. “Lame.”

I rounded to her side and swatted her ass. She squealed and I chased her back to my side and hugged her. “Lame, huh. We’ll see later when you change your tune.” I captured her warm lips and tongue. That was a promise I had every intention of following through on. “You ready?” I lifted my chin toward the front door.

“Can’t wait,” she answered sincerely.

It had to be weird to revisit a part of your life you thought you left behind. Hell, it was a little weird for me too. I gave no advance warning. My family had no clue either.

We stepped through the front door. The fire was burning. The music was playing; otherwise, it was quiet. Too quiet. We continued into the open living room and kitchen facing the floor to cathedral ceiling stone fireplace. Encased by mirrored wood railings, the second floor housed the nieces and their giant loft consisting of multiple bunk beds, a giant flat screen, and foosball. A kid’s dream, in my opinion. Three separate wings separated the main living area on the first floor, each with two bedrooms and private baths. There was no shortage of space.

“Bet they’re out back on the deck—hot tub, and a perfect hill for the kids to sled.”

“Asher?” Maggie’s voice echoed through the mudroom.

“Hey, Ma.” She turned the corner unhooking her scarf and removing her coat. She stopped in her tracks. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Talia?” Maggie recovered without hesitation. “Oh my goodness, it’s so great to see you, dear. Wow, it’s been a long time. Did you two just run into each other? Asher, you didn’t mention you and Talia were back in touch.”

“Mrs. Craig, so nice to see you. Actually Asher and I bumped into each other a couple months back and have been spending some time catching up.”

My mother shot me lethal eye daggers for the first time ever. I laughed out loud and was pretty sure Tal elbowed me.

“That’s wonderful. And please call me Maggie—I tried when you were kids, now I insist. Take off your coat, and make yourself comfortable. I’m thrilled you’re joining us, are you staying for the week?” Maggie was dying inside, had to be. First time her son ever brought a woman home, let alone an extended stay, she wanted to bombard her with fifty questions. Or me. Selfishly, it was the exact reason they hadn’t been privy.

“Oh, I wish I could but I have to get back to work.”

“Talia has a dermatology practice out in San Diego,” I interrupted.

Maggie’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. Guarantee all she heard was San Diego, undoubtedly worrying about the distance. Well, so was I. Then my mother said, “What an accomplishment, sweetie, I can’t wait to hear all about it, but please say you don’t have those god awful hours like our Chase.”

Tal smiled back. “I’m definitely busy, but luckily derm is a far cry from neurosurgery. Fortunately for me, not a lot of emergencies.” She slipped off her new white North Face. Mom in the room or not, I couldn’t help but stare. Her calf high brown riding boots accentuated her long legs, while her dark skinny jeans tugged at her perfect ass. And I might have just learned what a cowlneck was this morning, but it suddenly became my new favorite style. All I wanted to do was suck and nip at the exposed strip of skin along her collarbone. She continued with removing her hat and lifting her hands to throw her hair into a quick, messy ponytail. My focus moved to the smooth tease of skin above her waistband and where it led. I had zero fucking clue what she and Maggie were gabbing about while I was off in TP-La-La land until she poked me.

“Restroom?”

Snapping back from undressing her with my eyes, I pointed her in the direction.

“Where’s everyone, Ma?” I spoke first, not giving her a chance to go there.