He climbed the gate and joined her. “Think of what?”
“Holly. Mistletoe. Winter jewel colors, reds, greens and maybe pearls. The shimmer of pearl on silver.” She was talking to herself, lost in her own thoughts. “Lots of silver. Snowflakes, an elaborate set of jeweled mistletoe. Earrings and a necklace. Snow Queen. I love it.” She delved into her pocket, pulled out a notebook and drew a few quick sketches.
Her pencil flew over the page, shaping and shading while he stood there. He knew she’d forgotten his existence.
The cold had whipped a pink glow to her cheeks and her eyes were a splash of intense color in a world that was white.
Alec was engulfed by a wave of lust so powerful and all-consuming that he actually lifted his hand toward her.
He was moments from sliding his fingers into her hair when Church bounded up, barking madly and breaking the spell.
Alec dropped his hand a second before Sky glanced up and smiled.
“Someone is excited.”
Yes, he thought. Someone is.
The dogs bounded ahead, leaving footprints in the snow.
“Why jewelry? What do you love about it?” He hadn’t intended to ask the question. Hadn’t intended to do anything that might deepen his knowledge of her, but he couldn’t help it.
She slipped the notebook back in her pocket and snuggled deeper inside her coat. “I’m shallow and I love sparkly things.”
He should have taken that flippant response and used it to reinforce the belief that she was exactly like Selina.
But he knew she was nothing like Selina.
And that was his problem.
He was grateful to the dogs for constantly coming between them because otherwise he might have been tempted to push her up against the nearest snowy tree.
“What was the first piece of jewelry you made?”
“Apart from a pasta necklace for my mother?” She stooped to make a fuss of Nelson, who was circling round her legs. “A wedding ring. It was my first commission.”
“How many commissions do you take on a year?”
“It depends on how big they are. Some take longer than others. I try not to book myself too far ahead. It crowds my brain and stifles creativity. Some commissions are more complicated than others, depending on the purpose.” She saw his curious glance and smiled. “Jewelry can be a statement, like a wedding ring. It can have meaning, it can be a bribe, a thank-you, an expression of love, or it can simply be pretty. The use of jewelry as an adornment dates back to prehistoric times. Gold was a status symbol to the early Egyptians, and they buried it with the dead to go with them to the afterlife. In Bronze Age Greece they used it as a symbol of power, to celebrate the gods and to ward off evil. But of course you probably know all this.”
“It isn’t my area of expertise.” But it was obviously hers. And the more time he spent with her, the more he realized how grossly he’d misjudged her. It frustrated him not to have a clear picture of who she was. It was like looking through a camera lens and constantly having to adjust the focus.
“Speaking of expertise, it’s your turn. Tell me about you, Shipwreck Hunter.”
“What do you want to know?”
She pushed her hands into her pockets, her breath clouding the freezing air. “Was Selina the love of your life?”
He tensed.
Most people skirted around the topic, treated it cautiously, but he was fast discovering that Skylar was nothing like other people.
“Why are you asking me that?”
She gave a faint smile. “I guess having seen each other naked, I figured we might as well go all the way. This is the psychological equivalent of second base. So was she the love of your life?”
“Is there any such thing?”
“Oh, yes.” A tiny smile touched her mouth. “I think so. I hope so.”