The night sky was inky with a smattering of stars. It was still dark enough that it felt like the middle of the night. Sunrise wouldn’t be for several hours. The leaders, Diana’s dad and his brothers, fired up snowmobiles with sleds behind them. The rest of the crew piled into the sleds, some of them four people deep, and hung on.
Diana sat in front of him, leaning onto his chest. He breathed in her scent, part sugar frosting and part her. She smelled like a lady: a little floral, a little vanilla, and a little coconut. They fit perfectly in the sled together. They might have been able to fit a child in front of Diana. The idea of adding a kid—their kid—to the mix was all too real and all too beautiful for him to focus on. Like staring into a spotlight, he had to look away.
The snow was three feet deep in places, and the snowmobiles had to forge a trail through the woods to the lakeshore. He expected them to stop and let the riders out, but David plowed right out onto the ice.
“How thick is it?” He had to yell to be heard over the roar of the machines.
“At least fifteen inches,” Diana replied. She gave his leg a reassuring squeeze, and his heart answered with a leap. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall in.”
He hugged her a little tighter in response, only half teasing about being worried.
In less than five minutes they pulled up to a small village of tents, their plastic windows blazing with welcoming light. There were attendants stationed near a set of tables where fishing poles and bait were laid out.
“I wondered how we were going to dig for worms,” he joked.
Diana smiled up at him. “No worms. We use power bait or a lure, thank goodness.”
He nodded. “I can get behind that.” They got in line to get their poles, letting the kids go first. One of the tent doors unzipped and a wave of heat rushed out. The floor had a thin layer of water, and the three holes inside were slushy on top. “This is a little different than my scout campouts.”
“Really?Youwere a Boy Scout?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” He faked offense. Teasing with her came easy, and he enjoyed their give-and-take.
She laughed lightly. “I’m not, really. I just have a hard time picturing you without a beard … shorter …” She cocked her head to the side as she took him in. “And wearing a neckerchief.”
“Respect the ’kerchief, ma’am.” He pointed at her in warning, but he was laughing inside and knew she didn’t take him too seriously—ever.
“What tent do you want?” She grabbed a pole and a pole stand and glanced around.
Cliff loaded up on three different colors of power bait and one lure because she hadn’t taken any. “That one.” He used his pole to point to the farthest tent.
“Don’t Boy Scouts do winter camps?” She shuddered as she ducked through the tent flap.
He stepped in and shook his head. Four high-end camp chairs were set up in a semicircle with two holes cut in the ice. “Klondike camps. My mom said they brought her closer to God than any other experience in her life.”
“Why?” Diana removed her heavy coat and hung it over the back of one chair. She had on a plaid shirt over a turtleneck and a scarf wrapped around her neck.
“Because she spent the whole time praying for our lives,” he joked, picking a chair on the end.
She took the one right next to him, and his temperature went up because she was near. The heater in the corner put out just enough warmth that he could take off his coat and get comfortable. He did just that, and the stress from the last year and a half seemed to melt away. “I needed this,” he half moaned. Fishing wasn’t something you could hurry. There were no deadlines, no contractors breathing down his neck, no bidding for the next job. Just peace.
“I need this.” Diana lifted the thermos and took a sip. Closing her eyes in pleasure, she let out a soda-commercial-worthy “Aaah.”
He laughed. “You’re not that cold.”
She rubbed her free hand up and down her other arm. “We’re sitting on ice.”
“Melting ice.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m not a fan of hanging out in a pool of ice water.” Her cheeks and nose were a rosy pink, and her bright blue eyes were luminous. He paused in attaching the bait to just take in her beauty.
She blushed and looked down, her dark lashes brushing her cheeks. It wouldn’t take much for a kiss to happen. All he’d need to do was lean over a bit. Then she could lift her chin and he’d get a taste of her scrumptious mouth.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Diana’s uncle Tom poked his head through the zipper. His thin eyebrows shot up. “Shoot, I thought we’d catch you two lovebirds playing Eskimo in here.”
Cliff’s neck burned, because his thoughts had been right along those lines. He glanced at Diana out of the corner of his eye. She rolled her eyes, completely unaffected by the idea of kissing him. Not fair. Because Cliff’s neck was still warm and his hands still yearned to cup her soft cheeks. But then, she was the one who’d thought up this whole fake dating/engagement idea.Shehadn’t forgotten that they were pretending.
“Whatcha doing, Uncle Tom?” Diana offered Cliff the thermos. He took it, aware that his mouth was where her mouth had been.
