“Oh sure. What place?”

She smiled. “It’s a surprise.”

I smiled back. “Okay. How long do you need to get ready?”

“Forty minutes?”

“Sounds good. Knock on my door when you’re done.”

I took a shower and got dressed, then kicked my feet up on the bed to rest my eyes for a few minutes. A knock at the door woke me sometime after.

I opened the door, still in a sleepy fog, and found Maddie all dressed up in a slinky silver slip dress with spaghetti straps. Her red hair was blown out into soft waves, and she had on more makeup than I’d ever seen her wear. I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Wow. You look great. I guess I need to change.”

She took a step back and looked herself up and down. “Is this too much for downtown? I brought so many nice clothes. I’m not sure where I planned on going all dressed up since I came by myself, but I figured, why not use them? Though look at the back of this. Is it too much? Obviously I need to grab my coat before we go outside.”

She turned and showed me the low-cut back of her dress, which showcased creamy white skin and dipped to just above her ass. I salivated at the sight of the silky material hugging her perfectly round cheeks.

I cleared my throat. “Ummm… It’s definitely not your typical snow gear, but damn, you look sexy as hell. I don’t think we should tell people we’re brother and sister tonight, because they might think it’s fucked up when I drool looking at you.”

She blushed. “You’re sweet. But should I change?”

“Absolutely fucking not.” I nodded toward my room. “But come inside so I can at least put a collared shirt on.”

It had seemed like a perfectly innocent request when I made it, but the moment the door clanked closed behind her, that all changed. Maybe it was her being inside a room that was pretty much all bed, coupled with the way she looked in that dress, but suddenly I really wanted to see her gorgeous red hair fanned out all over my pillow.

Needing a distraction from that thought, I went to my suitcase and dug around while Maddie took a seat on the edge of the bed. She crossed one leg over the other, and I lost my battle with staring.

Damn, she has great legs, too.

And I hadn’t even noticed her sexy-as-fuck shoes. They were sparkly, with a thin strap that wrapped around her ankle and a tall, skinny heel. Never had I been so thankful for the stupendous job Colorado did clearing the walkways in these touristy areas before. Those things were a hell of a lot better than snow boots; that was for damn sure.

I’d been wearing a pair of black pants and a thermal, but I pulled off the thermal to change into a nice, gray dress shirt. As I pulled down the hem of the T-shirt I’d put on underneath, I caught Maddie checking me out again.

The feeling’s mutual, Mads. Totally mutual.

Out on the street, I offered her my arm. “I don’t want you to hit a patch of ice in those shoes.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She gripped my bicep, and together we strolled two blocks. I had no idea where we were going, but Maddie seemed to. Following her adventurous lead, I didn’t ask.

She stopped in front of a local bar. “This is it.”

The place had been around for years and was kind of a shithole. I was surprised she didn’t want to go somewhere fancier with the way she was dressed.

“I think they only have a bar menu, burgers and stuff. There’s a steak house on the next block, if you want something nicer.”

She smiled. “Nope. What I want is right here. You got to pick the last two adventures. Tonight it’s mine.”

I chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

Inside, a waitress told us to sit anywhere we wanted, so we grabbed a booth. I looked around. It had probably been eight years since I’d been here, but the place hadn’t changed a bit. It was dark, with wood-paneled walls and a concrete floor. Music played overhead from what sounded like a pretty decent sound system for such a crappy bar, and there was a small stage in one corner where two guys were working to set up equipment.

“Did you want to come listen to music or something? I can’t imagine you picked this place for the food.”

“I did come for the music.”

I nodded. That made a little more sense. Though I hadn’t noticed a sign in the window about a band. “Who’s playing tonight?”

Maddie smiled. “You. It’s karaoke night. The sign outside said it starts in ten minutes.”

I hated to be a buzz kill when Maddie had been so up for anything whenever I directed our adventures, but there was no way I was singing.