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She gave him a dubious look. “Kissing gate? That’s really what it’s called?”
He nodded in earnest, sidling through part of the gate as she waited for her own turn. “Really. They’re used to keep animals contained. But it’s also tradition for a gentleman to hold the gate closed until he receives the proper payment—usually a kiss—from a lady. Only then does he let her through.”
Winnie paused, looking at Matthew as he remained where he was, preventing her progression as he held the gate closed, just as he’d described in his story.
He had to be joking, right? There wasn’t any way he was actually considering making her pay in the way he’d explained. And yet, as their eyes connected, those blue depths staring into her soul, her breath caught in her throat.
She had a feeling that was exactly what he was considering.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
As alluring as those blue eyes were, as attractive as Matthew’s chiseled lips and jaw appeared, there was no way Winnie was going to turn this working trip into a…a…a one-kiss stand.
She raised her chin. “This is a business trip, Matthew, and tradition or not, I don’t think it would be appropriate to give in to it.”
In an instant, Matthew’s lips curled. “You don’t think what would be appropriate?” he asked innocently. “All I was doing was telling you a story, Miss Knox.”
He lifted his hands from the gate and took a small step back, finally allowing her passage.
The little tripe. He knew exactly what he was doing to her. This was like grooming Nightshade all over again.
“So it’s going to be like that, is it?” she asked. “You teasing me only to deny it later on?” She pushed the gate open and slipped through it, bumping him softly on the side with the wood.
He skittered out of the way with a little laugh. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” she asked pointedly. “So you weren’t just asking me to kiss you, then?”
He focused straight ahead, his eyes still shining. “If I wanted to kiss you, believe me, I wouldn’t have to ask you for it. You’d give it of your own freewill.”
Her breath halted. What were they doing, chatting away so comfortably about kissing?
“You think very highly of yourself,” she said, trying to prove she was more at ease than she was.
“No, I’m just a realist.”
Winnie shook her head, wanting to say something more, but as the pathway narrowed and the steps began, she didn’t get the chance.
It was just as well. He’d have some response waiting anyway that would blow hers out of the water. He always did.
With the idea of kissing Matthew still at the back of her mind, she focused all the harder on the scenery around her until they reached the top. Propping her hands on her hips, she stood with her feet securely on the limestone, the years having eroded the pavement into bumpy blocks and deep cracks. Breathless from exhaustion and the sight, she stared out across the valleys and marveled at the view.
“You can see for miles,” she breathed out, shaking her head in amazement.
Her eyes followed the bent trails of the tanned pathway they’d walked across to the cragged river that curved through the land like a silvery snake.
She’d heard of the green that England boasted, but she’d never expected this. Utah was very often yellow and brown. New York was metal and silver. But England…England was life.
“You approve, then?” Matthew asked.
“How could anyone not?”
“You’re right about that.” Then he paused. “Pop trivia question. What movie was filmed on top of here?”
She instantly shook her head. “Oh, I’ll definitely lose at that game.”
“Not into movies?”
“No, I like movies enough.” She raised her voice to be heard above the wind whistling in her ears. “I just wasn’t allowed to watch many growing up, so I haven’t seen as many as most people have.”
