“Sounds silly.”
She laughed.“It absolutely is.Silly, childish, fanciful, and ridiculous.But it’s also fun.Come on.I dare you.I double-dog dare you.I’ll bet you I see more than you.”
“What’s the bet?”
Was that a smirk?
“Loser buys snacks at the first stop.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.You’re already starving.You could bankrupt me.”
“Hardy-har-har.You’re just chicken.Bawkaw.”She flapped her folded arms like wings.“Chick-ken.Chick-ken.”
“Fine.You’re on.”He stabbed a finger toward the window.“There.Delivery van.Three o’clock.Point to me.”His deep laughter rumbled down her spine, sending warmth rushing through her.
Suddenly dry-mouthed, she nodded to concede the point.He got the next three points, and as they rolled out of Calgary towards Airdrie, she got two in a row.“Ha, I’m catching up.”
Someone fired up a classic football movie on the built-in television system, and the screens on the back of the seats in front of them flared to life.“Oh, I love this movie.”Wanda rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
“It’s ancient.Couldn’t they find something current?”
“Couldn’t you find something positive for a change?”She jabbed a finger toward the window at a passing delivery van.“Point to me.This is an awesome movie.The underdogs win.There’s a sweet romance.Tons of angst and personal growth.”
“I saw it years ago.”He sounded bored.
She elbowed him again.“Come on, Eric.This trip will take an eternity if you don’t find the positive.I didn’t want to be here either, but I’m going to make the best of it.Now hush up so I can watch the movie.”
Wisely, he fell silent.
She watched the movie she’d seen a dozen times before, but half her attention was distracted by the man at her side.He gave off a warmth that called to her, and she barely kept from leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder.The attraction surprised her.She wasn’t used to instant attraction; normally, it took several dates to feel what she was feeling now.This buzzing in her veins was disconcerting, to say the least.
She sighed.
Dang it.Why does he have to smell so delicious?Like mint, spice, and something she couldn’t quite identify.Something yummy.
Shifting in her seat, she tipped her head slightly toward him…taking him out of her direct line of sight, trying to focus on the screen.Her mind kept drifting aimlessly, and she stifled a yawn.
Chapter Four
EricsmileddownatWanda.Her head rested heavily on his shoulder.For all that she proclaimed to love the movie which their guide, Brent, had chosen, she’d drifted off in less than fifteen minutes.As they pulled off the highway into a gas station between Calgary and Red Deer, he shifted his shoulder slightly.He didn’t want to jar her, but he did want to wake her gently.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low and gentle.“Wanda, wake up.Time to pay up on our bet.I saw more vans than you did.”
“Huh.”
He grinned at her drowsy response.
“We’re there?”
His heart skipped a beat at the sleepy confusion in her tone.“Well, not there, but we are at the first stop, and I saw eleven delivery vans while you slept.”
“I wasn’t sleeping,” she declared huskily in a voice that slid right through him, leaving him with a protective streak.“I was watching the movie.”
“You snore.And you drool.”
“I do not!”She jerked around to glare at him and surreptitiously wiped her chin.
“I thought you weren’t sleeping?”
