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“That sounds horribly selfish of me,” he’s saying while I get lost staring into his green eyes. “I hate that you’re cold right now and that you’re miserable out here and…I even feel bad that you’re stuck withme,your least favorite person ever, but,” he smiles and my heart trips all over itself, “it would really suck to be out here alone.”
“Agreed,” I say, shivering into him. “If you weren’t here, I’d have either passed out from panic or I’d be frozen.” My arm is around his waist now, as we huddle to stay warm. “And you’re not my least favorite person ever.”
“Hmm. Not buying that yet, but noted.”
“What’s the story with Ava?” I ask.
He looks at me and I shrug.
“I need a diversion.”
“I’m just surprised that’s what’s come to mind—a text you saw a couple of weeks ago. Ava…I don’t know why she texted that. We talked a few times but never…” He shakes his head, frowning. “One of our mutual friends tried to set us up and when I found out she was a cheerleader for my brother’s team, I said it’d be best if we didn’t go out. I didn’t want any bad vibes if it didn’t go well and then I’d be running into her at my brother’s events.” He makes a face. “But it backfired on me becausethatmade her mad and now I still have to see her and her bitterness.”
I feel a strange solidarity with Ava, knowing how she must feel. But it makes me entirely too happy to hear his explanation.
I play it cool and lift a shoulder. “Didn’t seem to bother you much when you first got to Landmark Mountain and saw me here. Bad vibes if it didn’t go well…”
“Yeah, I probably should’ve proceeded more carefully from the get-go there, right?” He lifts an eyebrow at me and I make a face.
I deserved that.
“I’d already had way more with you than I ever had with Ava,” he says. “There’s no comparison. I’d regretted not getting your number—seeing you was such a happy surprise.”
“Really?” I whisper.
“You were haunting my dreams for weeks, I was so happy to find out who you were, where you were…I still can’t believe you’re here.” He laughs and I shiver.
His hair is full of snow and he shakes a bunch of it off with his glove.
“Do you need to borrow my hat for a while? Is your head freezing?” I ask.
“No, I’m not going to put you through that torture when I should’ve worn a hat. It was practically balmy when I decided to come out here. What happened?”
“The sun went in and…I can’t believe I didn’t realize it was going to snow. I usually can tell and it didn’t cross my mind. I’ve been a little…distracted. What if…what if they did forget us?” My voice cracks and I take a shaky breath. “I’m glad the dogs are safe with Sutton and Owen.”
“Let’s talk about them. Maybe it will help us not think about how cold we are if we think about Lucia’s warm coat.”
“She sheds like crazy. If I don’t brush her twice a day, there are huge clumps of hair around the condo. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole thing at first, but now she falls out every time I start brushing.” I mimic her on her back, her paws up to her chest, Jamison’s laugh like a reward. “I have to make her sit upright so I can get her back…otherwise, she’d have me brush her belly all day.” I smile just thinking about them. “And Delgado gets cuter all the time. He lives for these chicken treats I give them. Lucia likes them, but Delgadoreallylikes them. I’ve taught them both to sit and Lucia can shake…”
By now, we’re cuddled up and shivering into each other.
“I’d love to see that. Are you teaching them any other tricks?”
I go into detail about the tricks I’m trying to teach them and how they end up tricking me by getting more treats out of me without even doing the tricks.
It’s almost another hour before we hear the sound of a motor running. We sit up and look around to see Bo on a jet ski.
“I’m so sorry, you guys,” he says. “So sorry. Harry thought the people in front of you were the last and I was helping Regg with something on the opposite side—sorry, you don’t want to hear all my reasons. I’m just—I feel terrible about this and hope to God you don’t fire me, boss…es…”
He waves his hand, jumping off and gathering his supplies. A few minutes later, Danny and Regg pull up and help Bo.
Danny apologizes profusely too, blaming himself for not coming to look for us when we didn’t return our gear. Danny and Bo help Regg get all hooked up and then he goes to the closest pole and climbs up to the top, while Danny acts as the belayer below.
Once Regg has hooked all the appropriate things to each other, he starts the gradual slide down the rope toward us. He helps me into the sling, checking that everything is attached where it should be several times.
His eyes are full of mischief when he says, “It’s been a while since you’ve held onto me like this.”
“This’ll be the last time too,” I tell him.
