My gaze finds Luke’s, and uncertainty flickers back at me. Before I can change my mind, I grab the hem of my dress and pull it up over my head. I shiver as the cold air rushes over my bare skin, but don’t stop. I kick off my shoes and give Luke a challenging stare.
He shakes his head with a smile, hastily removing his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt to catch up with me. I focus on his delicious arms to distract myself from the cold. He toes off his shoes, drops his pants, and stands there in his boxer-briefs.
We are now standing a few feet apart, in our underwear, hesitating.
I glance at the water again and drag in a lungful of the icy air. Surely this is insane? Surely he’s going to stop me at any moment?
But he just grins, his sharp gaze daring me to undress further and get in the water.
I reach behind and unclasp my bra, then wriggle my underwear down my legs, not taking my eyes off him. Goosebumps dot my skin, the air chilling me to the bone. Even watching Luke slide his boxers off can’t distract me now.
He holds two hands in front of himself for modesty. “It’s very cold,” he breathes, clutching his hands to his crotch. “So, you know…”
I chuckle and step closer, pressing my chest against him. My nipples are like rocks, and as they brush over his skin he lets out a low groan, his eyes falling closed.
He snaps them open and looks at me. “Are we doing this or what?”
I nod and turn to face the water, reaching inside for all the courage I can find. On a rush of energy I start to move, one foot in front of the other, over the stones, towards the water. Luke’s hand catches mine, and as our feet hit the lake I have to stifle a shriek. My toes are instantly numb but I don’t care. Without stopping, we wade all the way in, until our heads go under and we pop up and stare at each other, eyes wide, breathing ragged. Then we’re laughing and racing back to the shore, Luke’s hand gripping tightly onto mine, the madness of what we’ve done hitting us.
But I don’t care. I’m high on adrenaline and I realize that I’ve never, in my whole life, felt more alive.
* * *
By the timewe get back to the cabin, I’m shivering. I don’t want to go in there, don’t want this amazing night to be over and for him to climb into bed with Dena—Godhow I wish that wasn’t going to happen—but I need to get into a hot shower.
Luke pauses right outside the door, taking my hand. “I need to tell you…” He hesitates, then swallows hard. “I’m so crazy about you, Harriet. You make me feel alive, like no one ever has.”
His words make my heart soar, and I try to contain my massive smile. “Luke…” I search his face, wanting so much to tell him what I’m feeling, but I don’t know where to start. And as I hear my teeth begin to chatter, all I can manage is, “Shit, I’m freezing. We have to get inside.”
Something shifts in his expression, and he rakes a hand through his damp hair, then reaches for the door handle. It’s quiet when we creep inside; both Dena and Alex are in bed. The only light comes from the flickering fireplace, and I rush over to it, holding my hands out to soak up the heat.
Luke grabs a thick blanket off the back of the sofa and wraps it around my shoulders. I stand there for a moment, gazing up at him in the firelight. I know I can’t touch him now, I can’t kiss him in here, but I try to find some way to explain what I’m feeling.
“Luke,” I begin again, keeping my voice quiet. “You’re—”
The door to Alex’s room opens and I leap away from Luke as light spills into the living room.
“I thought I heard you guys!” she says, grinning. “How is everything looking? Is it all set up okay?”
My pulse is frantic but I quickly pin on a smile. “The hall looks fantastic. It’s all set.”
She beams, clasping her hands together. “Great!” She takes a step closer to me, her face softening. “Listen, Harri, I’m sorry about what happened at dinner. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time about that guy.”
“Oh.” I flap a hand. “That’s fine, don’t worry. I overreacted.”
“No, I got carried away. I know you’ve never been in love before and when you were talking about him I honestly thought it sounded like you were.”
I slide a nervous look to Luke, wincing with embarrassment. My wet hair is dripping down my back and I’m silently pleading with Alex to justshut upand go back to bed so I can say goodnight to Luke and get into the shower alone with my jumbled thoughts.
“Anyway,” Alex continues, “if you say you’re not, then I believe you. But I just wanted—” She stops mid-sentence, her brow pinching. “Why do you have wet hair?”
Shit.
Panic zips through me and my gaze bolts to Luke. He looks back at me, frozen.
“I fell in the lake,” I blurt. My ears are ringing and my icy hands somehow feel clammy.
“What?” Alex says, her nose wrinkling in confusion. “How?”
