Page 11 of Snowed In with My Ex

Now that I heard it out loud, it sounded… Jesus fucking Christ, it sounded fucking stupid.Fucking hell, I am an idiot!

“I see a couple of lightbulbs turning on in there,” she sarcastically teased.

“Yes. No.” I groaned, running my fingers through my hair. “What the hell was I thinking?” I rested my head on the headrest of my car and looked out at the empty street.

“You’re a man,” she stated, as if that explained it all. I blinked and turned to look at her. “You were eventually going to fumble shit.”

“Fumble?”

“That’s a term your kind understands, isn’t it?”

“Kind?” Jesus, this girl was not afraid at busting a guy’s balls.

“A man. Male. Guy. Whatever. Look, this whole thing you did? Well, there is no nice way of saying this, you’re an idiot.” I couldn’t agree with her more.

She was absolutely right.

I was an idiot.

“Well…” she continued, her blue gaze set on me. Her tone changed, turned serious, and I straightened. “Now that I know why you were acting like a tool, and it wasn’t because you met someone else or you were bored with Allie, which, by the way, is impossible!”

“I agree! And god, no, there is no one else. Wait, is that what she thinks?” That thing in me, the ache and worry, grew in the pit of my gut. Piper opened and then shut her mouth.

“What did you expect her to think when you started to shut her out, out of nowhere?” she asked softly and without judgment. I didn’t say a word because I knew she wasn’t wrong.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, and she squished her nose.

“Well, now that I know you’re just a dumbass, there is probably something you should know.”

“What?” I frowned.

“She’s not coming back,” Piper announced. I blinked, trying to figure out what she meant.

“What?”

“She packed her car last night. I helped her.”

“Packed—“ An ugly feeling started to grow in my belly. “Piper, where is she going?” I demanded too harshly. She rolled her eyes before explaining shit that only made me fall harder and deeper in love with Alaska Villanueva.

“She’s going to Colorado? Today?”

“Yup.” She nodded.

“Do you know where she’s staying?” I asked, trying to figure out how the hell I could get there before her.

For a long moment, Piper stared at me. I could tell she was trying to decide whether or not she could trust me. “You better not make me regret this,” she finally said, giving my heart wings filled with hope.

“I won’t. I promise.” She chewed on her bottom lip before airdropping me an e-mail with an address.Why the hell is Allie going to a cabin in Alpha Mountain, Colorado?

“Thank you, Piper. I promise I won’t let you regret this.”

“One more thing.” She chewed on her lip, and I frowned.

“What?” That’s when she shared about Allie’s jerk of a boss. I’d tagged that asshole’s less than honorable intentions the moment I caught him checking out her ass the first time I’d gone to pick her up for lunch.

Fuck. I’d done this. Left her unprotected and vulnerable.

“I’ll take care of that, too,” I vowed.