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Her stroking fingers paused on the Christmas tree. “To do what?”
“It’s a surprise. I hope you like it. Just dress warmly—we’re supposed to have light snow—and be ready by two o’clock.”
She agreed and said goodbye. His mysteriousness only added to her sense of excitement in regard to spending time with him. He may have been secretive about the details, but she was fairly certain about one thing.
Nick Malone had just asked her for a date.
Chapter Five
She did as she’d promised and ate and slept well that night, feeling refreshed and stronger when she awoke. The morning was spent doing some light exercises and stretches, relaxing and reading. She was finishing brushing her teeth when she heard a car door slam.
She grabbed her coat, a scarf and some gloves when she reached the kitchen, slamming the door behind her as Nick paused in his ascent of the front steps. A red, black and white flannel shirt peeked from beneath his black insulated jacket. His hair was tousled and whiskers shadowed his jaw. He looked windblown and outdoorsy...and sexy as hell.
“Hi,” she said, suddenly feeling ridiculously shy when she looked into his gray eyes. The kiss they’d shared the other night had been smoking hot, but somehow, their stormy encounter yesterday had been more...intimate.
“Hi,” he returned, a small smile shaping his mouth.
Yes, something had definitely happened yesterday, Deidre confirmed when she saw his eyes move over her warmly. It was as if both of them had silently admitted that while there may be potential stress and unresolved conflict between them, there was also attraction—and plenty of it.
“Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, taking the hand he offered when she approached him. She gave him a smile and before she could take the first step on the stairs, he leaned down. A shiver of delight went through her when he touched his mouth to hers. He must have spent some time outdoors before he got in his car, because his lips were firm and cool. He’d meant it as a kiss of greeting, Deidre suspected, but it felt so good to be genuine in her attraction toward him. She put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back, warming his lips with her own. It felt wonderful to give herself permission to kiss him. He smelled like spice and fresh air. He tasted like he’d just eaten something sweet.
“That was nice,” she said quietly next to his lips when she sealed their kiss.
His gray eyes flashed.
“I’ll say it is,” he muttered, and suddenly he was the one kissing her. He took her into his arms and lifted her against his body, until her boots left the porch. While Deidre’s kiss had been airy and teasing, Nick’s was demanding and consuming. She let go—surrendered to the sensation of him for an untold period of time. She blinked open her eyes when the pressure of his mouth left hers a while later and his lips brushed her nose.
“I’m not sure I can control what might happen if you start to be nice to me,” he said quietly, his warm breath causing vapor to billow between them.
She leaned back an inch and examined him with mock seriousness. “Would you rather I stopped?”
“Don’t you dare,” he growled softly.
She smiled and kissed him again. He groaned, seizing her mouth in a quick, voracious kiss before he set her boots back on the stairs. “Come on, or your surprise will get cold.”
“My surprise?” she asked, as she followed him down the steps, her hand in his. “What is it?”
But Nick refused to give a word of explanation concerning the enigmatic surprise when they got into his sedan, and he drove several miles through the white and gray, barren country landscape.
“McGraw Stables?” Deidre asked in confusion when he turned down a wooded lane and she saw a large red, gold and brown sign featuring a large barn and several galloping horses. As they got closer to several buildings in the distance, she noticed the trees lining the lane were decorated with white Christmas lights. “But I told you when we were at Lincoln’s that I don’t ride,” she explained. Both Nick and Lincoln were horse aficionados. Lincoln reportedly owned one of the finest horse stables in all of Nevada and California.
“I know. You won’t have to ride for this,” Nick assured her as he pulled his sedan into a turnabout before a long, low building and parked. To the left, Deidre saw an attractive white farmhouse. Her attention was diverted, however, by the sound of jingling bells.
“Oh, how pretty,” she said breathlessly. A man led a horse with a sleek brown coat toward them. The horse was hooked up to a wooden wagon decorated for the Christmas season with evergreen garland and tinkling bells. The man paused fifteen feet or so away from Nick’s car. The horse tossed her head and stomped her front feet in an impatient gesture.
“We better get going. Maybelle doesn’t like to wait, apparently,” Nick murmured.
“Maybelle? Is that her name?” Deidre asked a moment later when they’d alighted from the car. Snow flurries pelted her cheeks as she approached the prancing horse. “Hey there, Maybelle. You’re a beauty,” Deidre crooned when the mare turned her head and looked at her with liquid brown eyes. She glanced over and met the stare of the man holding Maybelle’s bridle. He had a bland, unremarkable face, but his hazel eyes were warm when he looked at her.
“Hi,” Deidre said.
He nodded at her in greeting. “She’s all ready for you. Addy put a thermos of hot chocolate under the seat, along with some of those sugar cookies you liked this morning, Nick.”
Nick laughed as he helped Deidre up the wooden steps of the wagon. “If I rode at your stables regularly, Addy would put twenty pounds on me in a month or two. Addy and Evan own the McGraw Stables,” Nick explained to Deidre, nodding toward the man before he clambered up the steps after Deidre.
“It’s a perfect day for this,” Evan said, stepping back when Nick took the reins and sat next to Deidre. “Hardly a breeze. You’re free to use any of the paths on our property that you’ve ridden before, and the old lake road, as well. Everything’s been plowed pretty recently,” Evan explained. “When you get back, Addy will have an early dinner ready for you.” He winked at Deidre. “It’s all part of the carriage rental package.”
