dance?”
“That’s right. Thanks, but no thanks,” she said hesitantly. “Good luck with your search.” She tugged her hand out of his. But why, Katherine asked herself, did her spine tingle as she walked away from him?
“Wait!” Jack called out.
Her breath snagged in her throat.
That’s why. And so unfair
. She paused for a couple of heartbeats, then swung around.
“Are you still going skating?” he asked, her forgotten boots dangling from his hand.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, retrieving her skates. Oh-oh, too much information. She should have taken her skates and made a run for it. Damn. What was it about him that pulled her in?
“You’re not worried about injuring yourself on the ice? What about your last dance on Saturday night?” Jack asked, studying her closely.
“It’s like walking, only gliding; it gets the blood flowing on a day like this.” Not that she needed it with him around. Why was she even explaining anything to this man?
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he couldn’t hide the laughter in his eyes.
It was obvious. He wanted an invitation to join her. She was not going skating with this man. Just the way he looked at her spelled trouble. And if she weren’t careful, she’d find herself at the dance with him—and then what?
He spoke again before she had time to grab her skates, make excuses and scamper off. “Would you mind if I came along—only to watch, of course. I’m a skier not a skater.”
A mischievous idea flowered in her mind, and it was just too sweet to let go. A slow smile worked its way from her mouth to her eyes. If he agreed to her conditions, this would make an interesting morning. And cut his charm off at the knees.
“You can come along on one condition; that you join me on the ice—with a pair of skates.” That should stop him. Being a skier not a skater, he was bound to pass it up, and she wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. She noticed a shift in his manner; his eyes twinkled and his face erupted into a wide grin.
God, now what?
In a flash, she had an inkling of what he was planning and quickly added, “The skates of course have to be on your feet.”
Ha, gotcha!
She pointed to his boots and tried to suppress a giggle while watching his face closely for any sign that he might think her request unfair. But there was nothing of the sort. He simply gave her a wicked look.
“You’re on,” Jack said, meeting the challenge.
Her heart behaved as if she were at a debut performance. Damn, he hadn’t wimped out as she’d expected. Skating was a difficult sport for the uninitiated, yet he’d embraced her dare with a sense of humour.
As soon as this is over
, she told herself firmly,
you’re putting an end to it. No more falling for his cheeky good looks
.
After collecting a pair of skates at the winter-sports hire shop, they strolled to Spruce Valley Pond. It occurred to Katherine, as they walked side by side, how attentive Jack was. She’d heard about men like him, the ones that shortened their stride for you, the ones that walked on the kerbside to protect you from passing cars and muddy splatters. The ones that drove all logic from your brain and had you in bed before you knew what you were doing. Her whole body stirred with feelings she couldn’t control—didn’t want—but found impossible to ignore. She took a deep breath to steady herself. The cold air hitting her lungs didn’t help control her nerves, as if on the edge of something, a cliff. She gave herself a mental slap and tried to focus on what lay ahead as they took a path through snow-laden firs.
The vista opened wide to reveal an icy pond, and a scene straight from a Christmas card. Colourful skaters skimmed across the ice to music floating out of speakers sitting on top of two light poles. Smoke rose from a chimney on a portable diner, where skaters recharged on hot chocolate and cinnamon doughnuts.
Katherine sat on a bench, tied her skates on and walked
“That’s right. Thanks, but no thanks,” she said hesitantly. “Good luck with your search.” She tugged her hand out of his. But why, Katherine asked herself, did her spine tingle as she walked away from him?
“Wait!” Jack called out.
Her breath snagged in her throat.
That’s why. And so unfair
. She paused for a couple of heartbeats, then swung around.
“Are you still going skating?” he asked, her forgotten boots dangling from his hand.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, retrieving her skates. Oh-oh, too much information. She should have taken her skates and made a run for it. Damn. What was it about him that pulled her in?
“You’re not worried about injuring yourself on the ice? What about your last dance on Saturday night?” Jack asked, studying her closely.
“It’s like walking, only gliding; it gets the blood flowing on a day like this.” Not that she needed it with him around. Why was she even explaining anything to this man?
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he couldn’t hide the laughter in his eyes.
It was obvious. He wanted an invitation to join her. She was not going skating with this man. Just the way he looked at her spelled trouble. And if she weren’t careful, she’d find herself at the dance with him—and then what?
He spoke again before she had time to grab her skates, make excuses and scamper off. “Would you mind if I came along—only to watch, of course. I’m a skier not a skater.”
A mischievous idea flowered in her mind, and it was just too sweet to let go. A slow smile worked its way from her mouth to her eyes. If he agreed to her conditions, this would make an interesting morning. And cut his charm off at the knees.
“You can come along on one condition; that you join me on the ice—with a pair of skates.” That should stop him. Being a skier not a skater, he was bound to pass it up, and she wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. She noticed a shift in his manner; his eyes twinkled and his face erupted into a wide grin.
God, now what?
In a flash, she had an inkling of what he was planning and quickly added, “The skates of course have to be on your feet.”
Ha, gotcha!
She pointed to his boots and tried to suppress a giggle while watching his face closely for any sign that he might think her request unfair. But there was nothing of the sort. He simply gave her a wicked look.
“You’re on,” Jack said, meeting the challenge.
Her heart behaved as if she were at a debut performance. Damn, he hadn’t wimped out as she’d expected. Skating was a difficult sport for the uninitiated, yet he’d embraced her dare with a sense of humour.
As soon as this is over
, she told herself firmly,
you’re putting an end to it. No more falling for his cheeky good looks
.
After collecting a pair of skates at the winter-sports hire shop, they strolled to Spruce Valley Pond. It occurred to Katherine, as they walked side by side, how attentive Jack was. She’d heard about men like him, the ones that shortened their stride for you, the ones that walked on the kerbside to protect you from passing cars and muddy splatters. The ones that drove all logic from your brain and had you in bed before you knew what you were doing. Her whole body stirred with feelings she couldn’t control—didn’t want—but found impossible to ignore. She took a deep breath to steady herself. The cold air hitting her lungs didn’t help control her nerves, as if on the edge of something, a cliff. She gave herself a mental slap and tried to focus on what lay ahead as they took a path through snow-laden firs.
The vista opened wide to reveal an icy pond, and a scene straight from a Christmas card. Colourful skaters skimmed across the ice to music floating out of speakers sitting on top of two light poles. Smoke rose from a chimney on a portable diner, where skaters recharged on hot chocolate and cinnamon doughnuts.
Katherine sat on a bench, tied her skates on and walked
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