“Kayla—”
“Back in a minute.” Enjoying herself hugely, she glided across the ice, getting the feel for the unfamiliar skates. Then she increased speed, flowed into a jump, spun and landed perfectly, executed another couple of spins and glided back to where Jackson and Sean were standing, mouths agape. “You’re right. It’s fun.”
Sean folded his arms, grinning. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”
Jackson stared at her. “Where did you learn to skate?”
“At school, a long time ago.”
“You went to school in London.”
“So? They have indoor ice rinks. Not as picturesque as this, but ice is ice.” She doubted anywhere in the world could be more picturesque than this.
“You didn’t think to mention it?”
“I wasn’t sure if I could remember how to do it, or if it would feel different being outdoors. It doesn’t. It feels wonderful—” She glided away from them and spun again. When she stopped, Jackson was on the ice next to her.
“You’re good.”
“Not that good. I won a couple of junior competitions, but I wasn’t prepared to practice for hours at a time. I wasn’t dedicated enough.”
“You skated in competitions? Did you ever wear one of those incredibly short and revealing dresses?”
“Yes.”
With a groan, he lowered his head toward hers, ignoring the wolf whistling from his brothers. “Can I tempt you to wear one of those again?”
“You’re warped.” But her heart picked up pace and she saw his eyes darken.
“Remind me why we got up this morning instead of staying in bed?”
“Because I’m experiencing Snow Crystal, and you wanted to talk to your grandfather. How did that go by the way?”
“It went well. You were right about a lot of things.” He seemed about to add something to that comment but then looked over her shoulder and stopped. “Later. Jess is on her way over here.”
“Wow, Kayla!” Jess skated over to them, her face alight. “That was so cool. Will you teach me?”
“Sure. I’ll swap skating lessons for ski lessons.”
“Done. I want to learn how to spin.”
“You need to glide on your edge, turn your shoulders—” She demonstrated it several times and then they all skated together until Jackson was called away to deal with a problem at the lodge.
Kayla returned to the cabin, determined to work while she could.
She’d just removed her boots and jacket when Elizabeth arrived with Maple.
“Do you mind taking her for a couple of hours? I have to take Alice into the village to do some last-minute Christmas shopping and then Élise is giving me a cookery lesson.”
Maple leaped ecstatically at the sight of Kayla, who discovered she didn’t mind at all.
“I’m glad of the company.”
Which should have surprised her, because normally she resented interruptions when she was working.
She lifted the puppy and was rewarded by canine kisses. “I’ll bring her back over later.” Was it her imagination or did Elizabeth seem different? There was a glow to her smile and an energy in her step that hadn’t been there a few days earlier. “How’s it going in the restaurant?”
“Incredibly busy. It’s a crazy environment, but you’re part of a team and—it’s hard to explain, but I feel as if I have a purpose. I feel needed.”