Mitchell hops into the driver’s seat of my car, and Leo jumps behind the wheel beside me. He gives a reassuring smile. “Here goes nothing.” He does some skilled maneuvering and successfully frees my car from its snowy prison. I give a victory whoop, and he laughs. As a firefighter, he probably has to do things like this a lot, but I’m glad to have a front row seat to his heroics.
I watch as Mitchell backs onto the road and flicks on the hazards.
“What now?” I turn to Leo.
He shrugs. “Up to you. Mitchell and I can head back to Silver Creek, and you can choose wherever you’d like to go. Though I recommend following us back because it’s getting bad out. Or Mitchell can take my truck to the station, and I can hitch a ride with you.”
Simple answer. “Option B. But with an addendum.”
“Shoot.”
“I have to get to Midge’s by five, and I want you to drive me there.” I’m so ready to be a passenger princess.
“Midge’s?”
“Yeah, she owns an antique shop in Sugarvale. She’s got your nativity set and?—”
“Greta,” he says with a gravelly undertone. “You drove out here in all this.” He jerks a thumb outside. “Because of me?”
“Of course. I told you how crazy difficult it is to find that set. Midge is a trusted dealer.”
He rakes a hand over his face. “I don’t know whether to scold you or kiss you.”
I freeze in my seat, and I spot the second he catches what he said. If I expect him to get embarrassed about the topic of kissing, I’d be wrong.
His smile builds slowly. “Though now that I think about it, I know exactly which one I’d choose.”
My skin heats, and my mind places me back in his arms in front of his tree. The ambiance of it all. The passion in his touch. “Uh …”
A tap at my window makes me jump.
Mitchell. “Forget about me?”
I totally did. I open the door and hop out. “You’re unforgettable, Mitchell.” I reach up and pat his cold cheek. “Thank you for helping.”
He nods. “Stay home next time,” he says in his cop voice.
“Doubtful.” I grin, then give Leo the come-hither look—that’s less romantic and morelet’s go before we’re too late. Not sure if he catches all that, but I prop myself in the passenger seat of my car all the same.
After a minute, he tosses his bag in the back, then settles in the driver’s seat. It’s like we’re playing musical cars. I wave at Mitchell as he drives off in Leo’s truck.
Leo amps up the heat. “You sure you want to attempt this?”
“It’s like a thousand-to-one chance that we find this set. More or less. My mathing is iffy, but I think we should try.” The only reason why the odds are higher in Ohio is because Rene Vallerton was a local artist. So one may pop up occasionally, but again, they go fast.
“And if we get stuck in the snow again?”
“Technically, I didn’t get stuck because of the snow. It was a rogue Rudolph,” I say this as the plow truck barrels past, laying salt down and splashing my car with slush in the process. “Look, he’s clearing our path. How convenient.”
Leo puts the car in gear, and we’re heading toward the prize. Everything’s going smoothly. We’re making excellent time, and the skies have cleared. I’m just getting comfortable when Leo turns down Michael Bublé and clears his throat. “So are we going to discuss last night?”
I look pointedly out the window and ask in my most innocent voice, “What about it?”
“You know what I’m talking about. The kiss.”
“Oh, that.” I give a wave as if I make out with gorgeous guys on the daily.
“Yes, that.” He flicks the wipers and tosses me a look. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
