The white flakes swirled down lazily and landed among the shimmer of Christmas lights and crowds of Christmas shoppers.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered, and turned to find him right behind her.
Her breath caught at his proximity and an insane yearning hit her for this to be real. For them truly to be here on a romantic getaway. For a moment the possibility hovered in her brain. Hadn’t he said all those weeks ago that the ball was in her court?
No. Too dangerous, too risky, too much.
‘So, what’s the plan?’ she asked.
‘You tell me.’
‘This is what Cathy and I usually do—we take it in turns to choose something. Write it down on pieces of paper, put them all in a hat and then take turns picking them out.’
Gabe blinked, and instantly Etta felt foolish. ‘But obviously we don’t have to do that. It’s a tradition with me and Cathy, and this is my first holiday without her in sixteen years, so... Old habits die hard.’
‘It’s fine. Let’s write some things down. The only thing I have already done is book tickets for a Christmas Eve concert at the Schönbrunn Palace.’
‘That sounds magical. Which orchestra?’
His jaw tensed, but his voice was light as he named the ensemble.
‘Oh, I’ll research that...’
‘It’s two days away. How about we get on with this papers-in-a-hat thing? Have you even got a hat?’
‘Of course I have a hat. It’s December. I have a bobble hat! With a reindeer motif.’
Ten minutes later Etta pulled out a piece of paper with Gabe’s scrawl on it.
‘Shopping,’ she read out. ‘You want to go shopping?’
‘I was being nice.’
‘You mean you thought I’d want to go shopping? For what? I mean, I want to go to a Christmas market or two, but that’s not what you meant, is it?’
‘I assumed you’d want to hit the shops. My treat.’
‘Your treat? Why?’ Hurt strummed inside her. ‘You’ve known me for weeks—you know that’s not what I would do even if this were a real fling. Which obviously it’s not going to be.’
Gabe ran a hand down his face. ‘I guess I feel I owe you. I tricked you into a situation you didn’t want to be in. I figure you may as well have some of the benefits. Seeing as you’ve chosen to pass on others.’
For a fraction of a second Gabe’s gaze skittered towards the bed and Etta felt heat touch her cheeks. Without permission her imagination ran riot—if this were a real fling she was pretty sure they’d be spending most of their time in that very bed. As for shopping... She’d bet good money that lingerie was usually on his list.
The idea sent liquid heat to her tummy and she forced herself to hold her ground and his gaze. Prayed he couldn’t read her thoughts. ‘OK. Thank you. But how about you agree to being dragged around lots of museums instead? Although first you get to choose something you really want to do.’
‘Anything?’
His gaze raked over her and Etta knew he’d made a pretty accurate perusal of her brain. Words failed her. Her mouth opened but no response would come out.
Eventually he took pity on her. ‘Ice-skating sounds like a plan. Outdoors, cold, energetic... Sounds like what I need right now.’
Him and her both, but... ‘I’ve never ice-skated before.’ And the idea of making a fool of herself in front of Gabe didn’t appeal.
‘I’ll teach you. It’ll be fun.’ His smile widened. ‘Unless you’re chicken, of course?’
‘I’m not chicken. I’m cautious. My parents weren’t very keen on risk, and since having Cathy neither am I. I’ve always been worried that if anything happened to me there would be no one to look after her.’
The words made her pause. They had been true enough when Cathy was small, but now... Now she felt a surge of irritation with herself. Was she really such a worrier that she wouldn’t go ice-skating for fear of...what, exactly? How had that happened?