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I chuckled. Chloe tapped the start button on the coffee maker and turned to face both of my brothers. “Y’all live an amazing life. Stop fussing about snowshoeing.”
My two younger brothers eyed her, and Grady nodded slowly. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’ve never even been snowshoeing.”
“You wanna go?” I asked before I could think it through.
“On the trip today?” Her voice rose several octaves in surprise.
“Yeah, why not?” I thumbed toward my brothers. “They’re whining, but it’s fun.”
She hesitated. “I’ve never gone. I’m not so sure that’s a great plan. The guests are going to think I’m a fumbling idiot.”
“Snowshoeing is pretty simple,” I said.
“He’s right about that,” Asher chimed in. “You might be sore the next day because of the stride, but it’s easy to learn.”
“Well….” Chloe began. She looked interested enough that I waggled my brows, knowing that if I dared her, she would not be able to resist. I’d already caught on to that detail about her.
“Come on, I dare you. Let them handle the office today.”
Chloe grinned, looking between my brothers. “All you have to do is answer the phone, take notes, and I’ll return the calls tomorrow.”
Grady’s brows rose. “Handle the office?”
“I’ve never been snowshoeing and I really want to try it,” Chloe added.
“Be my guest,” Asher said, leaning forward and nudging her with his shoulder. She beamed.
“I love this. I’m going to do something new.”
Maybe that was part of why Chloe got to me so easily and so thoroughly. She had this spark where she genuinely absorbed any new experience. Seeing as she’d moved to Alaska having never been here, she was all about the snow.
She shifted her focus to me. “I’m in. What time?”
I glanced at the clock above the stove. “We leave soon. Follow me to the gear room. I’ll get all your gear situated. We need to make sure you have the right size snowshoes and boots to go with them.”
Chloe bounced on her toes. “But first I need more coffee,” I added. She turned and tapped pause on the coffee maker.
“Hey,” Grady said in protest. “I wanted that.”
Chloe ignored him as she topped off my coffee mug before tapping the start button again.
“Why, thank you,” I teased. When our fingertips brushed as she handed the mug over, electricity sizzled straight up my arm. Her cheeks went a little pink. She masked it by taking a swallow of her own coffee.
“Lead the way. I want to get geared up,” she announced a moment later.
Asher chuckled. “I cannot wait to hear how today goes. And, thank you, Chloe.”
She paused as she began to head toward the archway that led to the hallway. “It’ll be fun. I hope.”
As we walked down the hallway, she asked, “Were they both going?”
“No, we just need two staff,” I said as I reached her side. “We would have figured it out, but now it’s you and me.”
She bounced again. I took a swallow of coffee as we made our way toward the gear room. “Coffee’s delicious,” I murmured.
Her eyes flicked to mine, her cheeks still flushed. Fuck me. Just looking at her, I remembered the way she’d looked last night. Her lips damp and kiss-swollen, her eyes dark and a little hazy after it was all over. I gave myself a hard internal shake. I had a job to do, and right now that job was teaching Chloe how to snowshoe, not fantasizing about burying myself inside of her all over again.
