Oliver
“Now this is more like it.”Frankie sipped on her coffee and did a little shimmy in her chair, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around her like a shawl.
I chuckled. “See? I told you you’d like this.”
“Only this part,” she corrected. “I could have done without the first portion of the morning.”
It had taken us nearly two hours to get from the car to a giant yurt settled on private ranch land. Giles had mentioned that this was a popular spot for guests of the lodge, and I thought it would be the perfect excursion to take Frankie on. I hadn’t quite anticipated how much she would dislike snowshoeing, but overall, I’d say it was a win. She even stopped us at one point on the walk up here to snap a picture of the view. Maybe she wasn’t hiking’s biggest fan, but at least she’d stopped to appreciate it for a second.
The yurt was covered in thick rugs and had a wood-burning fireplace that heated the whole place. Less than ten tables were scattered around. There were a few other groups of two and one family in the back corner. All had passed us onthe trek over here. We were the last to arrive, but thankfully, the breakfast hadn’t run out. The pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee were still piping hot when they set plates in front of us upon our arrival. With each bite and sip of coffee, I could see the life returning to Frankie’s eyes.
“At least you’ll be more energized for the walk back,” I said when she’d taken a particularly big bite of toast.
Her face crumpled. “Why would you bring that up right as I started relaxing?”
I burst out laughing. “Or—if you’re really against the walk back—there’s a shuttle that’ll take us back to the parking lot.”
She gasped dramatically and held her hands together in a pleading gesture. “I’m really, really, really opposed to the walk back. Please, Oliver. You can’t get me all content and full in here and then force me back on that trail. That’s what people call cruel and unusual punishment.”
“I think they actually call it fresh air and exercise.”
“Spoken like a true masochist.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I sputtered.
“For wanting to be comfortable? Call me ridiculous all day long, because I’m not apologizing for that.”
“Whatever,” I said, smirking as we continued to eat.
Before getting to know Frankie, I would have considered a dislike for the outdoors a major deal-breaker in a woman. But now, I couldn’t get enough of her. Challenging her beliefs and getting her to try new things was fun as hell.
“I’m having a good time,” she finally admitted. “Snowshoeing wasn’tthatbad.”
I pretended to fall out of my chair in surprise.
“Hey!” she giggled, throwing her napkin at me as I righted myself. “I mean it. Thank you for dragging me on this.”
“Happy to be of service.”
“I can’t even remember the last time I hung out with a guylike this.” Her eyes widened as if she realized how that sounded. “I just mean?—”
“Haven’t gone on a date in a while?” I chuckled.
“I date, okay?” Her tone did little to convince me. My face must have given away my disbelief because she folded her arms across her chest. “I do,” she insisted.
I shouldn’t press the subject further. I should drop it. Frankie’s dating history wasn’t any of my business. In fact, I couldn’t care less. And yet… When was the last guy she had kissed before me? Had she kissed anyone since? My gut said that wasn’t likely. I was way more social than she was and I sure hadn’t. Honestly, I had no interest in seeking out other women. I’d been far too busy thinking about the girl I’d met the first night I got here…
“When was the last real date you went on?” The question toppled out of my mouth before I could snatch it back.
Her eyebrows shot up. “We’re talking romantic history now?”
I tried to play it cool. “Dating falls into the category of having fun. And since I’m helping you do that right now…”
She gave a sharp laugh. “Dating? Fun? That’s a good one.”
“You don’t think dating is fun?”
“Not the ones I’ve been on,” she muttered, sighing. “The last guy I dated was nice enough, but our schedules never lined up. Before that, I dated some douche at work. He was cute and hard to get. I think the challenge tricked me into thinking I liked him or something. Anyway, those were both forever ago, and I’ve barely had so much as a second date since then.”
