She bit her lower lip, her eyes opening when he pulled back far enough to meet her gaze.
“That wasn’t very hospitable of you, now was it, Princess?”
Stifling another giggle, she shook her head. “You’re paranoid.” Her voice wasn’t nearly as confident as she’d needed it to be.
Leo cocked his head to the side. “You don’t want to start a snowball fight with me, Princess.” His eyes lowered to hermouth and he slanted his face even closer. They were a hair’s breadth apart.
“Why not?” she whispered breathlessly, her attention now on his lips as well.
“Because you’d lose.”
She could barely hear his voice over the roaring of her pulse in her ears. What was he doing to her? This wasn’t the Leo she’d met in the summer—the Leo who couldn’t stand to be around her. No, this Leo was another breed entirely. He was a rare kind of man who could get past her defenses. He was the kind of man who could really see her for who she was. He was perfect for her.
Leo’s intentions were made perfectly clear when his eyes flicked to meet hers. He was going to kiss her, right here, right now.
What he didn’t know was that she’d had a backup plan. She just needed to gather the strength to pull away from his intoxicating presence. Before his lips met hers, Kat ducked down. It was harder than she’d expected seeing as Leo’s large frame truly did cage her against the building. But she managed to scramble onto her hands and knees. The position gave her the chance to grab a handful of snow, and while it wouldn’t be enough for a snowball, it would do the trick.
Kat jumped up, spun around, and clapped her gloved hand, snow and all, against his cheek. She rubbed in the frozen flakes with a raucous laugh before sprinting away. There was no chance she would be sticking around for Leo to retaliate no matter how much she wanted to see his shocked expression.
He’d been the one to tell her she needed to enjoy life. He’d insisted that there needed to be a balance.
Well, she was only doing what he recommended.
Her laughter echoed against the structures and trees that surrounded her as she stumbled through the snow. She squealed with excitement when she heard him crashing after her. As much as she’d like to believe she could escape him, she knew better. Leo’s legs were longer and he had more stamina than she did.
He would catch her.
And perhaps she could have extended their little chase if she hadn’t looked over her shoulder to see how far back he was. Her hair whipped around her face, and she screamed just before he made contact with her.
Leo practically tackled her to the ground, turning himself so he landed beneath her in the freshly fallen snowbank. Their combined laughter was the most wonderful melody she’d ever heard. His arms were wrapped around her and after their laughter subsided, they were left staring into each other’s eyes.
He lifted a hand to her cheek and she leaned into him.
“Did you have a good girls’ day with Jane?” he murmured, his thumb trailing against her chilled skin. His hand was surprisingly warm.
Kat nodded. “It was nice to get out and do something fun. I never really had friends I could do that with in New York.”
“Really?” He frowned. “Why not?”
She rolled her eyes before pulling away and settling into the snow at his side. They both stared up at the bright blue sky overhead. “No one understands the complexities of my job or why it’s so important to me.”
“And Jane does?”
“Of course she does. She’s sorta me but the cowboy version.”
He snorted. “Don’t let her hear you say that. She’s the furthest thing from being a cowgirl.” Leo turned his head to look in her direction. “But I suppose she is a western version of what you do. She has to juggle a lot, too.”
Kat rolled her lower lip between her teeth. “I wonder how she does it.”
“How she does what?”
She shifted onto her side and rested her cheek in her hand as she propped up on her elbow. “The balance. She does so much with the charities and supporting Noah with all his ventures. And she told me she wants to start trying for kids. I never thought it was something that was possible.” Her confession was more of a surprise to herself than anyone. Was she really admitting that she wanted to have it all? That it could be something worth trying?
Leo reached out and tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Anything is possible, Princess. You just need the right people to support you.”
Maybe he was right. Goosebumps erupted along her skin despite the warm clothes she was wearing. She didn’t like to think her father was incapable of supporting her mother through her desires, but it was a possibility.
“I wonder if we opened a branch out here… it if would be possible for me… too.” That confession was supposed to stay locked up in her head—it was definitely not meant for Leo’s ears. But based on the surprise and blatant excitement she read onhis face, she couldn’t deny that he’d likely been hoping for her to admit she wanted to stay.
