“You should go back to bed. Relax for a while. I’ll be back in about an hour.”
“Where are you going?”
To try freezing his hormones. “The dogs need a walk.”
“Can I come?” She curved her hands round the mug, breathing in the aroma of fresh coffee. “I promise not to talk or be—what did you call it? ‘Perky.’ But I’d love a walk.”
“You wouldn’t enjoy it. Have you looked out of the window? It’s been snowing most of the night. It’s freezing out there. Slippery underfoot. The windchill is—”
“Alec, it’s fine.” She finished her coffee and put the mug down. “I get it. You’d rather go on your own. Not a problem. You don’t have to entertain me. I’ll stay here and maybe go exploring later. Have fun.” She turned to walk away and he reached out and caught her arm.
He knew he should let her go. Why the hell wasn’t he letting her go? “How long would it take you to get dressed?”
“I’m dressed.” She glanced down at herself, as if to check she wasn’t missing something obvious. “All I need is socks.”
He glanced down, too. Her feet were bare and he caught a shimmer of pink nail polish on her toes. And that single glance was all it took for him to start seeing her naked again.
He snatched his hand away as if she were radioactive.
“Jeans will be useless in the snow. If you slip, they’ll get wet and cling.”
She was looking at him as if he was a crazy person. “Then I’ll change into something else.”
“I’m leaving in five minutes. I want to be back to lend a hand in the kitchen before Cathy arrives.” He half hoped she’d tell him there was no way she could be ready that quickly, but she simply put her mug in the dishwasher and headed for the stairs.
“I can be ready in four.”
She was as good as her word and before he’d put on his coat and boots she was standing next to him wearing layers of wool and a beaming smile.
He sighed.
At least there was no sign of yeste
rday’s vulnerability.
“You need boots.”
“I bumped into your mom a moment ago and she said I could borrow hers. We’re about the same size.”
He found the boots and greeted Church and Nelson, who were crazy with anticipation, their tails wagging wildly as Skylar zipped up her weatherproof jacket.
Alec made no comment, but he was surprised to see she’d packed something so practical.
“What happened to the white coat?”
“That was for show. This is for warmth.”
“I expected you to spend ages on your makeup.”
“You think Nelson and Church are going to have a problem with the way I look?”
No one could possibly have a problem with the way she looked.
She radiated so much warmth and energy she virtually glowed. It was like standing in a beam of sunshine. And his sister was right. Sky could have starred in a shampoo ad. Her hair flowed over her shoulders like buttermilk blended with honey.
“I assumed—”
“Yeah, you do that a lot.” She patted him on the arm. “Don’t feel bad about it. For the record, I don’t tend to wear much makeup unless I’m going to a glitzy event or trying to attract a guy. Since we’ve established you’d rather have sex with a two-headed lizard than climb into bed with me, there doesn’t seem much point in bothering. Shall we go?”