‘Fresh being the operative word. The temperature tends to plummet pretty quickly around here once that sun is gone.’
She shivered. ‘You don’t say.’
‘Also, I don’t know where you’re from,’ I continued, looking her up and down, ‘or where you’re going, but that coat is completely impractical for this part of the world.’
She wrapped her arms around herself. ‘I’m aware of that.’
‘If you’re planning on sticking around you might want to stop in Hudson’s Outdoor Store. He’ll help you buy what you need.’
‘Thank you for the advice, but I own a perfectly good parka already. It’s a Patagonia one. Very warm.’
‘You forget to bring it with you?’
‘No. It’s in one of my bags.’
‘So you chose to wear this one instead, because…?’
She mumbled something.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.’
She lifted her chin and gave me a defiant stare. ‘Because it’s cute, OK? And because I wanted to make a good first impression when I arrived.’
I held my arms out and looked around at the empty streets. ‘A good first impression on who?’
‘Not you, obviously.’
‘OK.’ I stamped my feet, my breath coming out in puffy clouds of steam. ‘As delightful as it is standing around here in the cold, Iwasactually on my way to the bar for a drink and something to eat before I saw you and thought I’d make sure you weren’t lost. Clearly you’re fine and perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.’ I gently touched my nose again. ‘So I’ll leave you to it. Mrs.…?’
‘Miss. I’m not married. And my name is Mae.’
‘It was nice to meet you, Mae.’ I started walking away.
‘Wait.’
I stopped in my tracks and turned back to her. ‘What?’
‘You didn’t tell meyourname.’
‘You didn’t ask.’
She put a hand on her hip. ‘I’m asking now, aren’t I?’
I grinned. ‘Jonah.’
She shivered again. ‘Exactly how far away is this bar, Jonah?’
I shrugged. ‘It’s just over there. About a hundred yards.’
She made a gesture. ‘Lead the way.’
I ran a hand through my hair. ‘Damn, this is awkward. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for feminism and I appreciate you asking me out. But I’m not looking for anything right now.’
‘What?’ She looked at me, horrified. ‘That’snotwhat… I didn’t mean…’
I grinned, unable to keep a straight face any longer. ‘I know. I’m just teasing you.’
‘Not funny.’
