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‘It’s not?’ She leaned back a little, looking up as if she was trying to spot the flaw.
‘No,’ he said as he reached the tree and stretched his hand through the branches to catch hold of the trunk. ‘Too much snow.’
He started shaking the tree as she screamed, covering them both in the tumble of snow from the branches. It fell thick and fast, sliding down his neck and making him shiver.
Grace fell backwards with a shriek, laughing as she fell.
She lay there for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath. He pulled his hand back and stepped over her. ‘Okay down there?’
She was lying looking up at the sky. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I’ve been hoodwinked by a crazy Scots man.’ She held her hand up towards him.
He grabbed it, steeling himself to pull her upwards. But Grace was too quick for him. She gave him an almighty wrench, yanking him downwards to her and the heavy snow.
He landed with a splat, face first in the snow next to her, only part of his body on hers.
Her deep, throaty laugh echoed through the wood. Once she started, she couldn’t stop.
He sucked in a breath and instead sucked in a mouthful of snow, making him snort and choke. He tried to get up on his knees to clear his mouth, but Grace grabbed hold of his arm. ‘Oh, no, you don’t.’ She was still laughing.
He spluttered again, this time getting rid of snow and starting to laugh himself. She’d got him. She’d got him good.
‘You promised me something,’ she said.
The laughing had stopped and she sounded deadly serious. He lay down next to her in the snow. ‘Okay, then. What did I promise?’
She reached over and touched the side of his cheek. It was the tenderest of touches. ‘You promised me snow angels,’ she whispered. ‘And I plan on collecting.’
He only had to move forward a couple of inches. Maybe she was talking about snow angels. But the heat between them had been rising all day; it was a wonder they hadn’t melted all the snow around them.
He captured her sweet lips in his. Her cheeks were cold. The hat she’d pulled from her pocket earlier had landed on the snow, letting her hair fan out in the snow—just as it had on the pillow last night. That memory sparked a rush of blood around his body.
He pulled his hand from his gloves and tangled it through her hair. Her other hand caught around the back of his neck, melding her body next to his. It didn’t matter that the ground was freezing and snow was getting in places it just shouldn’t. He didn’t care about anything other than the connection to this woman.
Somewhere deep inside him a little spark was smouldering. Willing itself to burn brighter and harder.
Grace responded to every movement, every touch, matching him step by step. He didn’t have any doubt the feelings were mutual. He was surprised when she slowly pulled back and put one arm against his chest. She was smiling though.
‘Parts of me I didn’t know could get wet, are wet.’ She sighed. ‘I guess this would be the right time to collect on the snow angels.’
He laughed and nodded. Kissing lying in the snow wasn’t an ideal arrangement. He knew that. He just didn’t care about the wet clothes.
He looked over at the piece of ground a little away from the trees. ‘To make snow angels, we need to do it where there are no other marks. Let’s go over there.’
He took her arm and pulled her up. They’d only walked a few steps when she stopped dead. ‘Look!’
‘What?’ He looked around near the trees and bush she was pointing to.
‘Holly,’ breathed Grace. ‘It’s holly.’
She was right; the jaggy green leaves and red berries were poking out from underneath the snow. She grabbed hold of his arm. ‘Can you cut some? Wouldn’t it be gorgeous to have some fresh holly in the house?’
There it was again. That infectious enthusiasm. If she could bottle it and sell it she could be a millionaire. He put his arm around her waist. ‘Snow angels first, then the tree, then the holly. You could freeze out here.’
She nodded and shivered. ‘I think I already am.’
He took her hand and led her across the snow, turning around to face the castle. ‘How about here?’
She nodded as she looked at their trail of footprints in the snow.
‘Then let’s do it.’ Finlay grinned as he held out his arms and fell backwards in the snow, landing with a thud. ‘Oof!’
Grace looked a bit shocked, then joined in, turning to face the castle, holding out her arms and falling backwards. Her thud wasn’t nearly as loud.
They lay there for a few seconds. The clear blue sky above them, the white-covered world all around them, with the majestic grey castle standing like a master of all it surveyed.
