Bryce chuckled. “Mutts, all of ’em. I volunteer at an animal shelter in Boulder every Saturday. When we can’t find a home for any of the strays, I take them in. So for now, I just have the three. In the future, who knows?”
She couldn’t believe someone hadn’t snatched this guy already. He was just about perfect. Figuring she was on a roll, she asked, “What about children?”
He switched his skis to his other shoulder. “What about them?”
She laughed, shaking her head from side to side. “Do you like children?” There!
“Of course I like children. Ella is the best niece in the world, as I’m sure you’ve heard. Grace and Max are lucky. I hope to have a houseful of my own someday.”
Standing in the parking lot, Melanie started to feel the cold. At least that’s what she thought she was feeling. The more Bryce talked, the more she wanted him. And not just as a date.
“What about you, do you want children?” Bryce asked, all traces of his earlier humor gone. He leaned his skis against her Navigator, careful not to scratch the paint.
They were having a serious talk. In the parking lot at Maximum Glide. Okay, I can handle this.
Should she tell him about Miss Krause, and her desire to adopt a child? Would he want to take her to that little Italian restaurant if she had a child? She knew about Stephanie and Patrick’s beginnings, and Patrick’s fear of loss where kids were concerned because of his niece. Patrick hadn’t been too keen on kids at first because of this fear. But Bryce wasn’t Patrick, and she wasn’t Stephanie.
Melanie took a deep breath, the icy air burning her lungs. “Yes, I do, I’ve always wanted children. Being an only child, I always swore I would have at least four, but I’d settle for one or two. You know, being practical. I don’t want to be another Octo-Mom. Fourteen might be tough to handle.” She laughed. “Look, I would love to continue this discussion, but I’m freezing. My toes are numb.”
“Why didn’t you say something? Here.” Bryce took her keys from her hand, unlocked the driver’s side door, and hauled himself into the driver’s seat. He adjusted the heater controls on the dash, then led Melanie to the passenger side, where he opened the door for her, just like in her fantasy.
“Let’s go get Odie and Clovis, then you can drop me off at my car. We can finish this discussion at dinner.”
Chapter 10
Max and Grace were right. Giorgio’s served the best chicken marsala she’d ever tasted. Bryce had chosen the linguine and clam sauce. Both ordered caesar salads with their meal. The waiter brought a basket of homemade garlic bread that smelled divine. For a solid hour they did nothing but eat. When Bryce asked the waiter for a second bottle of wine, Melanie knew it was time to call it a night.
“I’m afraid I’m already a little bit tipsy,” she said. “Any more, and I won’t be able to drive safely. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much.”
He nodded his acquiescence. “How about dessert? Are you sure you don’t want any tiramisu?” Bryce asked. “Grace said it was the best she’d ever had.”
Melanie doubted she could take so much as a sip of water without exploding. “Nothing for me, thanks.”
She had picked Odie and Clovis up from The Snow Zone and driven home happier than she could ever remember. After she’d taken care of the animals’ needs, she’d soaked her aching muscles in the hot tub, washed and dried her hair, and even attempted to apply her makeup with a professional hand. She had agreed to meet Bryce at the restaurant because it was easier for both of them.
Now that the temperatures were dropping quickly, Melanie knew from experience that the back roads would ice over in a matter of hours. Back roads were always the last to be cleared. She didn’t want Bryce driving off the side of the mountain. If one didn’t know the road by the back of one’s hand, it could happen, had happened. More than once.
Ever the gentleman, Bryce took care of the check even though Melanie offered to pay her share. “Real men don’t accept money from their dates. Or at least this is what my father taught me before he passed away. And I always listened to my father; his advice hasn’t failed me yet.”
Melanie didn’t say it out loud, but she gave Bryce another mental high five. One to his father, too. The man just kept getting better and better. Surely there was something wrong with this guy, something she’d find out when she got to know him better. But then again, maybe not. Nice guys still existed, they were just extremely hard to find these days. Not that she’d spent much time looking.
After Bryce settled up with the waiter, he walked her outside to her Navigator. “I don’t want the evening to end,” he said. “It’s been ... let’s just say it’s been one of the best days I’ve had in awhile. A very long while.”
Melanie wanted to dissect his words, take them apart one by one, searching for a hidden meaning, but now wasn’t the time. She’d leave those thoughts for later. She wanted to be one hundred percent in the moment when she was with Bryce. She was falling in love with him. She’d never felt so alive, so excited to be with a man. That was love, or at least the beginning of the falling part. In spite of the chilling temperatures, she felt a warm glow flowing through her, like a brilliant ray of sunshine. Yep, this was love, had to be.
“I feel the same way, but as you know, I’ve got a couple of guys waiting for me at home, so I’d better head back.”
Without the bulky ski coats between them, Bryce captured her small waist, then pulled her as close to him as their winter dress would allow. He kissed the sensitive part of her ear, then trailed light butterfly kisses down the side of her neck, along her jawline, before touching her mouth with his. No longer on public display, Bryce covered her mouth hungrily. Melanie accepted his kiss and allowed herself to feel the passion. His tongue teased hers, and she teased back. He tasted of red wine and mint. He pulled away for a nanosecond, then his lips recaptured hers, but this time they were more demanding.
If they weren’t in the middle of the parking lot, Melanie knew this would lead to something much more intimate. And she wanted that, but not yet. She stepped out of his arms, a hand touching her lips. She smiled, suddenly feeling shy like a schoolgirl.
“Hmm, that was nice,” she said with a grin.
“That’s it, just nice?” He wrapped his arms around her neck and touched his cold nose to hers. “How about that? It’s the way Eskimos kiss.”
“I’m not going to feed your ego, Mr. Landry. I think you enjoyed that kiss as much as I did, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Okay, I admit it. I was fishing.”
Sighing contentedly, Melanie said, “You know what they say about men who fish?”
He cradled her head against his chest. “No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“I just made that up. I have no clue what they say about men who fish.”
He gave a hearty laugh. “You don’t play fair. What if I said, ‘men who fish are excellent lovers,’ would you agree with that?”
Oh boy, she thought. “I’ve never slept with a fisherman, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Fair enough.” A streetlamp provided just enough light for him to see her clearly. “What about a college professor?” He looked at her, and the double meaning of his words was very obvious.
She fought the urge to rip his clothes off, right there in the middle of the parking lot, but the cold and the fear of getting arrested prevented her from taking action. This certainly wasn’t the time or the place.
Taking a deep breath, and letting it out as slowly as humanly possible, Melanie spoke, her voice soft, seductive. “I’ll put that on my bucket list.” And without another word between them, Melanie unlocked the door and got inside the Navigator. She cranked the engine over and was about to turn the heater on when she saw Bryce tapping on her window. She hit the POWER button to roll the window down halfway. “What? It’s cold out there!” she said, even though she didn’t care how cold it was. Bryce didn’t want to leave her any more than she wanted to leav
e him.
He looked down at his ice-covered boots, then back at her. “This might sound ... well, never mind how it sounds. I’m asking anyway. I planned on taking a trip to Las Vegas next weekend. Believe it or not, I’ve never been there. Would you like to come along? I’ve got two tickets to see Cher.”
That was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. Vegas, of all places. And why did he have two tickets? Had some other woman canceled at the last minute? Was she just a convenient stand-in?
Before she could stop herself, the words flew out of her mouth. Sort of like the water incident.
He threw back his head and let out a great peal of laughter. “Actually, Mom was going to go with me but had to cancel at the last minute.”
His mother? This guy was good. Really good.
“I planned to decorate my Christmas tree this weekend.” She did, but also, what if the adoption agency called and she was out of town.
She’d given Miss Krause her cell number.
“Okay,” he said. “I can see where decorating your Christmas tree would take precedence over a trip to Vegas.” He turned away from the window, heading toward his Jeep.
Melanie rolled the driver’s side window down as far as it would go. “Bryce,” she called out to him, and he turned around. He appeared to be amused, not angry as she’d thought. “Do you want to come over and help me decorate my tree tomorrow? I need to do this before the weekend. I’m going to Vegas with a friend.”
He stared at her, then burst out laughing. “I knew you would see things my way.”
“Careful, a girl can change her mind in a split second. How’s noon sound? It’s about an hour’s walk from the condo. I have all the equipment.” She watched him and tried to suppress a giggle.
“You cut down your own tree?” he asked, apparently amused by this.
“Every year as far back as I can remember. You game or not?” She put her foot on the brake, shifted into reverse slowly, and eased the SUV out of her parking space. Bryce walked slowly along the side of her vehicle.
“Rest assured, I am game. I’ll see you at noon.”
Melanie smiled and punched the accelerator a bit too hard, fishtailed, and caught herself just in the nick of time, before pulling out of Giorgio’s parking lot. She looked in her rearview mirror. Bryce stood in the middle of the asphalt lot smiling from ear to ear.
Merry Christmas to me, she thought as she drove home to her condo.
Chapter 11
Melanie wanted to tell someone about her and Bryce’s evening but saw it was almost midnight. Too late to call Stephanie, too late to call her mother. If Mimi were still alive, she would’ve called her no matter how late. She’d had an extraordinary relationship with her grandmother and knew that Mimi was looking down on her from the heavens above. Melanie smiled at the image. Mimi would’ve told her to pack her best undies and bring her most expensive perfume.
And that’s just what she did after taking Odie out for an extra midnight potty break. Inside, she was too wired to even think about going to sleep. The animals sensed there was something different about her. They hopped on top of her bed and watched her as she went from closet to chest of drawers to luggage, their heads moving in perfect unison.
“Mom will take you two for the weekend. Dad might even grill you two a steak, but don’t tell him I know he does this, or I’m sure it’ll stop. Now, what’s left to pack?” She spoke to Odie and Clovis like they were people. She swore sometimes they could understand her.
She checked the contents of her luggage once more, making sure she had double of everything. Just in case. A slinky black dress, a slinky black sheer blouse, a slinky pair of formfitting black slacks. Black bikini undies with a matching bra. Yep, this would do for a weekend. She would wear her black leather boots on the flight, so she didn’t have to pack an extra pair of shoes. Seeing there was nothing left to do, she closed the luggage again, placing it on the floor next to her bed.
She couldn’t believe how her life had changed in just a matter of a few days. What a fantastic Christmas season. Now all she had to do was wait for Miss Krause’s phone call confirming that her background check was clear, which she knew to be a fact since she’d never had so much as a speeding ticket. Then she could honestly say that her life was close to perfect. Well, if you didn’t add that one teeny little element about marriage, then her life would be as close to perfect as it was ever going to get.
Odie yawned, reminding her of the late hour. Too keyed up to sleep, she retrieved her novel from the living room, then washed her face and brushed her teeth. She stripped down to her undies, slid into her favorite pair of sweats, and an old T-shirt from her high school days. Once she’d gently moved Odie and Clovis to their side of the bed, she opened her book and began to read about the latest saga in the vampire world. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.
Bryce finally gave up. In bed tossing and turning for the past two hours, he couldn’t have stayed still if his life depended on it. Shoving the heavy covers aside, he decided to get up and go downstairs in search of a snack. Grace always had some type of baked goods just waiting to be sliced into. Thankful there were no residents staying at Hope House, he didn’t bother putting on a shirt.
Downstairs in the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of milk, then spied a plate of brownies sitting next to the stove. He grabbed a saucer from the cabinet, stacked three large brownies on top of one another, and headed back upstairs.
It was going to be a long night, he thought as he entered the guest room. Switching on the lamp next to the bed, he placed the glass of milk and plate of brownies on the night table. Grace usually had a stack of fiction novels tucked inside a drawer. He opened the drawer on the night table and was not disappointed. James Patterson’s, Vince Flynn’s, and Harlan Coben’s latests were neatly lined up side by side. Grace must’ve known he wouldn’t be able to sleep, because those were three of his favorite authors. He hadn’t read any of the three novels, either. He picked up Vince Flynn’s newest. He read the jacket copy, read the dedication, then the prologue. When he realized he’d read the prologue but hadn’t a clue what he’d read, he closed the book.
Normally, after a day on the slopes like the one he’d had today, he would’ve crashed hours ago. Instead, he felt renewed, like he’d just run an easy marathon and won. It was Melanie. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d met her casually a few times, thought she was a knockout, but for some reason hadn’t pursued her. When she’d tossed that cup of water in his face, well, it’d been an opening for him. Not having a clue why she’d acted in such a manner, he was glad she had. Of course, he wouldn’t tell her that.
He couldn’t believe she’d accepted his invitation to spend the weekend with him in Vegas. It almost seemed too easy, but he wasn’t going to question his good fortune. Tomorrow, he would help her chop down a Christmas tree; heck, he might even chop one down for his room. Then they’d go back to her place and decorate. He’d never been inside her condo and found himself suddenly curious about her. Did she prefer the right or the left side of the bed? Tea or coffee? Sugar or cream or both? Such inconsequential things. But he found he wanted to know all about her. He wanted to feel her next to him when he woke up in the morning. He wanted to wrap himself around her, wanted to make love to her until they were both pleasantly exhausted. And he would, as soon as he felt the time was right.
He wasn’t the man-about-town a lot of women thought he was. Not that Melanie had implied this to him, but he knew what his so-called reputation was on campus, and somehow he knew it would follow him for the rest of his life. If only he’d had such luck in high school. Gangly and tall, with crooked teeth and the beginnings of acne, he didn’t seem to appeal to any one particular girl. He’d dated in high school and had his first serious relationship in his second year of college. He’d thought Diana was the love of his life until he caught her sleeping with his dorm mate. In his bed. A life lesson, Grace had said, and she was right.
Since Dia
na, he’d dated a few women, even slept with a few that he thought he cared about, but he’d never felt such instant attraction for any woman, nothing like what he was feeling for Melanie. Until now, he’d never believed in love at first sight, or rather, at first splash. He suddenly realized he’d never believed in it because he hadn’t experienced it. And now? He looked around the bare but quaint bedroom. Pine chest of drawers, two twin beds with the night table separating them. Max’s magazine covers framed and hung neatly on the wall opposite the beds. Everything looked the exact same way it had the last time he’d slept in this room.
The only difference: now he was seeing it through the eyes of a man in total, absolute love.
Love. He’d fallen head over heels. Big-time.
Chapter 12
“I can’t believe you’ve spent your entire life in the fine state of Colorado and never chopped down your own Christmas tree. It’s practically unheard of,” Melanie joked, as they trudged through ankle-deep snow. The day was bitter cold, but at least the sun was out. A perfect day to cut down a tree.
“Yeah? Well I know something else that’s unheard of,” Bryce said.
Winded, Melanie stopped to catch her breath. “What’s that?”
Bryce dropped the canvas bag of tools on the snow-crusted ground next to his sturdy boots. “This.” He wound his hand around her loose hair, something he’d been wanting to do all day. With his free arm secured firmly around her waist, Bryce kissed her with all the pent-up emotions he’d spent the past forty-eight hours confronting—kissed her because he wanted to and because he could. Her response matched his. Both were eager to take their passion one step further, but Bryce wanted to wait until the timing was right. Or that’s what his brain kept telling him. Another part of him said, forget timing, but that part would have to wait. He drew away from her but kept both arms wrapped around her waist. “You taste like chocolate.” He licked his lips, teasing her.
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