We weren’t just traveling through the forest. We were exploring, and I was looking at things in a new way. Looking at Joe differently as well. The way he was always there for me. The way that I wanted to be there for him.
I came to a stop at the edge of an ice-covered lake. I turned off the engine and listened for that awesome quiet that Aunt Sue had talked about that night we got pizza.
Imagine a place where there are no engines, no motors. You don’t hear the sounds of any gears turning or people talking. All you can hear is the thump of your own heartbeat. The release of your own breath. You’re intensely aware of everything surrounding you, especially the guy who has his arms around you.
Joe kissed my neck and I was amazed that once again he’d somehow managed to find a tiny spot of bare skin. Then he kissed my chin, my cheek. He moved his hands to my hips and squeezed gently.
“Turn around, Kate,” he ordered quietly.
The moment of truth had arrived.
I had to stand up and turn around and sit back down in order to face him. I wasn’t exactly pleased with the results. Joe had long legs, his injured leg outstretched, so I couldn’t get very close to him.
As though reading my thoughts, he grinned, put his hands beneath my knees, and pulled me toward him until my legs were resting on top of his. I was now close enough to drape my arms over his shoulders.
I couldn’t figure out why, that first afternoon when the guys had arrived, that I hadn’t taken one look at Joe and completely forgotten about my interest in Brad. Because Joe was definitely better-looking.
And nicer.
And sexier.
Even out here in the great outdoors, with an injured leg, there was an intriguing quality to the way he studied me. He wasn’t an invalid. He wasn’t weak. He didn’t need a nurse.
And maybe that was the reason he’d gotten frustrated with me.
Because he wanted me to be with him, not because I had to be. But because I wanted to be. And I definitely wanted to be. Which he must have surely realized now, because like he and Aunt Sue had both told me—I was no good at hiding what I was feeling.
I wasn’t sure when he’d removed his glove, but he trailed his bare finger around my face, where cap met skin. And there was the tingling—all over—so different from when Brad had touched me.
“I’m trying to figure out how much I need to deposit into the Kate-have-a-good-time fund,” he said.
“It’s pretty empty. You might have to make a substantial deposit.” I couldn’t believe how breathless I sounded, like I’d been running beside a snowmobile instead of riding on it.
His grin grew. “I’m still strapped for cash.”
“You’re torturing me, you know that? Did you take lessons from Sam?”
“I’m torturing you? Geez, you’ve been torturing me since the day we got here.”
“Because I was interested in Brad?” I asked quietly, apologetically.
“Because you weren’t interested in me.”
“That’s not completely true. I was interested, I was just…confused for a while.”
“And now?”
“I’m not confused anymore. I know what I want.”
“Me, too. What I’ve always wanted since I first saw you.”
“Why didn’t you kiss me again after that first time, that night on the deck?”
“You didn’t give me any hints that you wanted another one.”
I wiggled up a little closer to him and looped my fingers behind his neck. “What would a hint entail?”
He held my gaze. “Exactly what you’re doing.”
“Then why aren’t you kissing me?”
He touched his nose to mine. “It’s cold out here. What if our lips freeze together?”
“I’ll chance it.”
He kissed one corner of my mouth, then the other. I slid my eyes closed, waiting, waiting…
“Kate?”
I opened my eyes.
“You have the prettiest eyes. That was the first thing I noticed about you the first time I saw you.”
“Where exactly was that?”
“In the hallway outside Sam’s room.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Joe. I don’t remember.”
“No reason you should. There was a group of us coming back from supper. That’s when I spotted you. You were laughing. You looked so happy.” He touched his thumb to my cheek. “So pretty.”
He put his hands on my waist, brought me a little nearer, then he kissed me, and I was happy again, happier than I’d been in a long time. Because he knew my name, remembered me, was interested in me, thought I was pretty.
A girl likes to know that a guy thinks she’s pretty.
I tightened my hold on him. He drew back.
“Is the fund full yet?” he asked.
I grinned. “Not even close. But when it is full, then we’ll go to work on filling up the Joe-have-a-good-time fund.”
“I’m already having a good time. A great time actually.”
Then we were kissing again.
That night Joe and I went to the Avalanche with Sam and Allie. While Sam and Allie danced, we guarded the table.
“Hey, guys,” Leah said, as she and Ian joined us.
“Hey,” I said.
“So I heard this rumor that Brad and Cynthia broke up,” Leah said.
“Apparently.”
She studied me, dropped her gaze to the table where Joe was holding my hand. She raised her eyebrows. “Something else happen today that I need to know about?”
“Nothing I can think of,” I said. I looked at Joe. “Can you think of anything?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“We did go snowmobiling,” I said.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. We saw lots of wildlife.”
Leah grinned. “And were you wild?”
“What happens in the forest, stays in the forest,” I said.
Leah laughed.
Sam and Allie came back to the table and sat down.
“Did you see who’s here?” Allie asked, pointing over her shoulder.
There, at a far off table was Brad…with Paige. Talking, laughing.
“That’s an odd match,” I said, smiling. “A bookseller with a guy who thinks reading is a four-letter word.”
“Think he’ll be packing up and moving in with her?” Allie asked.
I shrugged. “It’s not really any of our business, is it?”
And the truth was, I really didn’t care one way or the other.
“So, mates, anyone up for a game of darts in the back room?” Ian asked.
And the conversation drifted away from Brad and Paige. And actually everyone else drifted away to the back room for that game of darts.
Leaving me and Joe to once again guard the table.
“If you want to go play darts, I can hobble back there and watch,” Joe said.
“I like being right where I am,” I said.
“It doesn’t bother you seeing Brad—”
I pressed my fingers against his mouth. “I’m totally over Brad.”
I moved my hand away and shook my head. “That’s not entirely accurate, because there was really nothing to get over. I thought he was cute. I wanted him to notice me. But it wasn’t like I had any sort of real emotional attachment to him. So read my lips. He is so not on my radar anymore.”
“Think I’d rather kiss those lips.”
And he did just that.
Chapter 24
Girls Night Out.
It was Leah’s idea, because quite frankly, we’d come here together for winter break and we really weren’t seeing much of each other. And there was a football game tonight so we wouldn’t have the guys’ attention anyway.
And of course, where better to have a girls’ night out than at Aunt Sue’s.
We were all sitting cross-legged on a large mat on the floor. Aunt Sue had decided to go international on us, cooking us a traditional Ethiopian dinner, which mean
t serving yourself from a large community dish.
“How many countries do you think you’ve visited?” Allie asked.
“I stopped counting at twenty-five,” Aunt Sue said. “But I do have a map of the world on my computer, and I color in a country when I visit it.”
“What do you do when a country disappears or boundaries change to form new countries?” I asked.
“I don’t worry about it, Kate. The map is simply a tool to help me decide where to go next. It’s not my life’s goal to get it accurate.”
“Well, after I move here, I’ll be happy to take an occasional vacation with you,” Leah said.
“You really think you’re going to move here?” I asked.
Leah glanced around, then nodded. “Other than the fact that I absolutely adore Ian, there’s the snow factor to consider. I love it. I love the cold and the sports. Ian is teaching me to snow-board now. It’s awesome.”
“So how’d a guy from Australia end up here?” Allie asked.
Leah shrugged. “How does anyone end up here? He came on vacation and didn’t want to leave.”
“He’s legal, though, right?” Allie asked. “Isn’t he supposed to have some sort of permission to stay?”
“Yeah, he has a green card, but when I move here, I’m going to help him prepare to become a citizen.”
“Cool,” I said.
“I think so. I mean, that he wants to be a citizen.”
“Who would have thought you’d hook up with a foreigner?” I asked.
“Could have hooked you up with one—but no, you weren’t interested.” She smiled. “So how are things with you and Joe?”
“Terrific.” I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. I figured I was probably blushing, too. “I can’t believe that I spent so much time crushing over Brad and didn’t immediately move on to Joe. I just love being with him.”
“For a while Paige was totally bummed out that she didn’t have a chance to hook up with him,” Aunt Sue said.
“She had a chance at the party at the lodge. She was all over him.”
Aunt Sue gave me this knowing smile. “According to Paige, she didn’t have a chance. Apparently, Joe told her that he was keeping his options open, not planning to hook up with anyone.”
“Kate changed his mind. Good going, Kate,” Allie said.
I scooped up some food. “You wouldn’t happen to know Paige’s real name, would you, Aunt Sue?”
“Delilah Delfino. Her friends call her Dee-Dee.”
I was a little disappointed. I was expecting something to make me cringe or gag.
“I thought it would be something…worse,” I said.
“She just never liked it, so when she came to work for me, she decided it would be fun to change her name to something that would work in a bookstore.”
“Oh,” Allie exclaimed. “I just got it! Like a good book is called a page-turner.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I was that dense.”
“You had your mind on other things,” I said. “Like my brother.”
Allie nodded. “Yeah. I definitely had my mind on Sam. I figure you and I can go see him at the university sometime.”
“You can see him,” I told her. “I’ll go see Joe.”
“Is that where you’ll go to school next year?” she asked.
“I was always planning to. I don’t see a reason to change those plans.”
“So what are his kisses like?” Leah asked.
I felt myself blush again. “Can’t share descriptions, because I don’t want to hear about Sam’s kisses.”
A secretive kind of smile spread over Allie’s face. I really didn’t want to think about it, but I thought maybe my brother did have some moves after all.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to you liking him,” I said.
“I more than like him,” she said.
“Yeah, well, just so you’ll know…he’s allergic to saying the L-word out loud.”
Her smile grew. “Not with me.”
I was stunned. “You’re kidding me. He told you that he loves you?”
She looked like someone who had just scaled a mountain.
“Wow,” I said. “You and Sam are just full of surprises.”
“What about Joe? Has he told you that he loves you?”
“Right now, we’re still in the seriously like stage.”
“Seriously like is good,” Aunt Sue said.
Yeah, I thought. Seriously like was very good.
The football game was over by the time Allie and I returned to the condo. Joe was stretched out on the couch, Sam in the recliner. Without a word, Sam got up, took Allie’s hand, and led her down to the basement.
Which left me alone with Joe. I hung my jacket in the closet.
“Do you need anything?” I asked.
With a little moan, he swung his legs off the couch, making room for me. “I would say just you but that sounds way too corny.”
“I like corny,” I said, as I sat on the couch beside him.
“How was girls’ night out?” he asked.
“Nothing spectacular. We ate Ethiopian—oh! I just remembered. You don’t have to marry Paige after all.”
“Didn’t know I was even considering marrying her.”
“You were going to marry her so we could learn her real name.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Well, anyway, you’re off the hook. I know her real name.”
He gave me a wide grin. “Oh, yeah? What is it?”
I grinned back. He was in his sleeping clothes: sweats and a T-shirt. While I was still in my going-out clothes. I reached down and pulled off my boots so I could bring my feet up to the couch cushion. I snuggled up a little closer to Joe.
He put his arm around me. “What’s her name?”
“What are you willing to pay me to find out?”
“What did you have in mind?”
I pressed a kiss to his T-shirt–clad shoulder. “I’m not real good at being seductive.”
“Kate, you don’t have to try so hard with me. Just relax. Everything will happen when it’s supposed to.”
I wondered what he meant by everything. And if I wanted everything with Joe.
“Delilah Delfino,” I announced.
He made a face of disgust. “You’re kidding.”
“I didn’t think it was that bad. Aunt Sue said her friends called her Dee-Dee.”
“But she changed her name, because she didn’t like it?”
I shrugged. “Apparently. Thought it would be fun to be someone else I guess.”
“Man, I can’t see me with a Delilah or a Dee-Dee.”
“How ’bout with a Kate?” I dared to ask, my heart pounding as I waited for his answer.
Sometimes when you’re trying to tease or be flirtatious you say something and as soon as the words leave your mouth, you wish you could draw them all back in. Or that you could back up a few minutes and stop the words from coming out to begin with.
That was how I felt at that moment. Like I was suddenly insecure in his feelings toward me. That I was seeking confirmation that he cared for me. Even though he’d shown it in so many ways, always being there for me when I needed someone. Standing up for me when I was laying out rules. Telling my brother he was being a jerk when he was a jerk. Helping out at the shop. Talking with me. Not blaming me for his wrenched knee, which definitely, no matter how I looked at it, was my fault.
Joe took hold of my hips and drew me onto his lap. He threaded his fingers into my hair, looked into my eyes.
“Yeah,” he said. “I can see me with a Kate.”
Then we were kissing. He was so good at it. He’d kiss me for a while, then pull back, look at me, smile, and kiss me again.
It was during one of those moments when he seemed to take as much delight in looking at me as kissing me that I said, “I really think you should sleep in my bed tonight.”
“Kate, I’m not going to kick you out of your bed.”
I n
ipped his chin and gave him a daring smile.
“Who said anything about kicking me out of it?” I asked.
“What do you want to do today?” Joe asked.
I was sitting on his lap, on the deck, a quilt wrapped around us. The cocoon of warmth was heavenly.
Snuggling up against Joe was heavenly, too.
We were watching the sun come up. We always got up really early and came out here to watch the sunrise. I loved starting the day in Joe’s arms.
And okay, part of it, too, was because I didn’t want Sam to discover us in bed when he came upstairs for breakfast. After all, Sam still thought I was clueless about who was sleeping in his bed. He didn’t need to know who was sleeping in mine.
And truly, who a girl is sleeping with is no one’s business except hers and the guy she’s sleeping with.
And Joe was totally okay with how I felt. He knew I wasn’t ashamed of him or us. It’s just that some things should be private.
I’d actually gained respect for my brother because he was keeping things private as well. Especially since it involved my best friend.
So now I was sitting here, snuggled up against Joe, trying not to think about how few days we had left to be together.
We’d already started making plans to get together over spring break. But that sounded so incredibly far away—another time. Definitely another place.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Whatever you want to do.”
“My knee’s feeling better. Maybe we could just go walking. Do a little shopping.”
“Shopping? A guy who likes shopping? You’re a girl’s dream guy come true.”
“I was thinking you need a bathing suit.”
“A bathing suit?”
“Yeah. I really want to take a dip in the hot tub before we leave.”
I nuzzled my cold nose against his warm throat. “I don’t need a bathing suit for that.”
“No?”
I shook my head and nestled my face in the crook of his shoulder. “How ’bout tonight after everyone else goes to bed?”
“I’m there.”
I sat up and kissed him.
“And until tonight?” I asked.
He gave me a devilish grin. “We’ll think of something.”
And I knew that we would. We’d ride the gondola up to the highest peak and have lunch at the restaurant at the top. We’d visit with Aunt Sue and sip hot chocolate.