“I do not wear stilettos or power suits. I wear pencil skirts and pretty blouses, most of which I made myself.” She feigned being offended. She still adored fashioning her own clothing. Maybe someday she’d be able to design clothing for a living.
“What no shoes?”
His teasing was delightful.
“Of course, but honestly, I usually wear low heels or flats. On the weekends when the office is mostly empty, I wear runners and jeans.”Why was she telling him this?
“Now that I can picture.” Owen chuckled. “Well, not the pencil skirts, but I bet you’re sexy as all get out in office wear.”
“Um. Thanks?” Despite wanting to bury her suddenly hot cheeks in the snow, she glanced at him. “Oh, look at you. Your scruff is all frosted up. You look like a mountain man.”
“I don’t have scruff. I have a neatly trimmed beard.”
“Looks scruffy to me.” She nudged him with her elbow.
He rolled his eyes. “Woman, you know nothing about beards. I’ll have you know this beard is perfect.” He stroked the beard he’d grown over the last couple weeks with his leather clad fingers, knocking some of the tiny crystals off the dark brown strands. “It’s perfect. Not hipster long, not scraggly, and not mountain man. It’s fit for GQ.” He tipped his chin in the air and flashed her a wink.
She laughed aloud at his mock annoyance. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Oh, big words from the big city girl. Admit it, Amaryllis, I’m adorable and you love it.”
Love. The word stilled her heart and filled her with calm and happiness. And maybe a bit of excitement too. She did love his teasing and was more than a bit in love with him, but she’d never admit it aloud. Ever. She had a life to get back to. Didn’t she?
“Well, I’ll give you one point,” she said after a long pause. “You’re not hideous.”
His laughter rang across the clearing and bounced of the trees until it filled her with warmth. “I’ll take that, Amaryllis North. I’ll take it.” He looked at her, and all mirth dropped from his face. His eyes grew serious. “And you, you are beautiful.”
If he kept complimenting her, she was going to end up with a broken heart. She wanted to climb out of the sleigh and race to safety. Away from him and his enticing ways. She clenched her hands together and forced herself to sit still. How could she be so certain he was perfect for her and be so afraid to make the leap?
They followed the other sleigh into the bush on the opposite side of the field. They slid through the narrow band of trees into another field.
“Oh look,” she exclaimed. “A campfire. Did you do this?”
“I did. Your probably remember Scott and Gene from high school. I had them get it ready for us.”
“Thank you!” She did a little happy dance on her seat. “I love a campfire. Can we roast marshmallows?”
“After lunch. I’ve got hot dogs, smokies, and banana boats lined up.”
“Banana boats?”
“Bananas cut in half, filled with nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate. Each person creates their own, wraps them in tinfoil, and grills them in a special basket until they’re deliciously melted.” He put his fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Magnifico.”
“They sound wonderful. Can I have one first?”
“No, you cannot. Naughty girl. Real food first. If you count hot dogs as food. And just because I know you, there is hot chocolate. I remember how you always had chocolate bars in your backpack in high school.”
“You knew that?”
“I did know that. I also know that occasionally one of them went missing.”
“You? You stole them?” She wasn’t upset, though she had been back then. Time healed a lot of hurts, and the missing chocolate bars and occasional disappearing apple weren’t important any longer, though at the time she’d been annoyed and certain her friends were pranking her.
“I might have borrowed one or two. Cut me some slack. I was a starving kid.”
“Owen. You should have just asked.” Sadness for the boy he’d been and all he’d gone through carved a groove in her heart. “I would have given my lunch to you. I would have brought you lunch.”
“Come on, I was the poor kid and the bad boy. Poor kids are too proud to ask for help, and bad boys are too tough, so I swiped a few treats. At the time, it made me feel cool, and I felt justified because people couldn’t see the real me. I just wanted you to know it was me. I’m apologizing.”
