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One

Max Ford h the slushy streets Granted this old, dirty snow lining the thoroughfares was nothing new to Lenox, Massachusetts, for the month of February, but it was quite a jump from the palm-draped avenues he was used to back in LA

He hadn’t been back to Lenox in years and hadn’t driven in snow in even longer, but, as he eased off the gas, he realized he’da scene for atis Besides, usually when he would shoot a winter locale, it ith iven kind

Since Max had grown up here, Lenox would always hold a special place in his heart The population may be s but The sprawling estates had stood for decades; some were main residences, others second homes

The two narrow lanes wound through town, and, just as Max rounded the last turn, he spotted a car off the side of the road, its back end sticking up out of a ditch The flashers were on, and the back door opened The afternoon sun shone through the car s, revealing a wo cap over her head and a scarf wrapped around her neck andout

Instinct told him to slam on his brakes, but he was born and raised on the East Coast and knew better

Carefully easing his car off the road just ahead of the wreck, Max left the engine running as he stepped out into the frigid te he hadn’t missed

Since he’d coht fro in the snow, but there was no way he would leave a woman stranded on the side of the road Granted he was only a mile from his destination and could’ve called someone, but that wasn’t the type of man he was raised to be

“Ma’aht?”

He wondered if she’d hear hi wind, but when she froze at his voice, he assumed she’d realized she wasn’t alone

The woray coat turned All Max could see was her eyes, but he’d know thereen eyes could pierce a man’s heartand once upon a time, they had penetrated his

“Raine?”

Her eyes widened as she reached up with a gloved hand to shove her scarf down below her chin “Max, what are you doing here?”

It was too da other than her current predicaht?”

She glanced over her shoulder, then back at him “I’m fine, but the car is stuck”

“I can give you a lift,” he offered “Where are you going?”

“UmI can call a friend”

Max nearly laughed Were they really going to argue about this? It was freezing, he hadn’t seen her intoo et to his ery

“Seriously, just get in the car and I can take you anywhere,” he said “Grab your stuff and let’s go”

Raine hesitated, holding his gaze as if she were conte in the snow for another ride instead of cos on the best of terood, very inti had happened And he had no clue what that so was because the last time he’d seen her, they’d been in love with plans for a future together

Still to this day, thinking back on that ti

But noas not the tiet in, because who kno long she’d been out here in the freezing cold, and she needed to call a wrecker

“All right,” she conceded “I have to get a few things first”

She turned into the backseat and seconds later she faced hiain, this time with ababy carrier?

Whoa! He totally wasn’t expecting her to have a baby in tow Not that he’d planned on running into her like this at all, but still

“Can you hold this?” she asked “I need to get the base out and strap it into your car”

Base? He had no clue what a base was considering the only thing he knew about babies is that he used to be one Max reached for the handle of the carrier and was surprised how heavy this contraption was He didn’t see the baby for the large blanket-looking thing with a zipper going up theas how the icked cold right now, and keeping the baby as warm as possible was the best idea

In all honesty, the idea of Raine with a baby hat really threw him She was probably married, because a wo the husband first And that thought right there kicked hie of her with another man seemed incomprehensible He had to chalk it up to the fact he’d had no closure on their relationship, because he refused to ads for this emerald-eyed beauty

She lifted so from the backseat and started toward his car He assumed that was his cue to follow

Max held the handle with both hands since there was no way in hell he’d take a chance dropping what he assu baby Not a peep was made from beneath the zipper Surely the child was okay after that accident Her car was barely off the road but enough that the front end was kissing the snow-covered ditch

Once Raine had the base in, Max carefully handed over the carrier With a quick click, she had the baby in the warm car and had closed the door

“I have to get the diaper bag and this gift I was delivering,” she stated “Go ahead and get inI’ll be right back”

“I’ll get your bag” He stepped in front of her as she tried to pass hier thanin the front seat?”

She nodded and looked so da on her lashes, her face void of makeupjust like he’d remembered

Not waiting for her to protest, Max turned back to her car, cursing the entire way Cute? He was now thinking she was cute? What was hefive? So they shared a past A very intimate, very intense past, but in his defense, he hadn’t seen her in nearly fifteen years Of course old feelings were going to crop up, but that didn’t mean they had to control his state of mind—or his common sense