“Huh?”
“We’re having breakfast in Monument, darlin’.”
“Oh, Jace,” she sat up suddenly. “I’m so sorry. You were leaving last night, and I stopped you. Do you want to go now? I mean, I can—”
Jace kissed her, running his tongue along her bottom lip until she opened her mouth under his.
“Get up and get dressed, woman. We need to get to Helena before Ben’s plane lands.”
“Ben’s plane?”
“You know Ben has a plane, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“He’s flying up as we speak, to ferry us down to Monument for Christmas.”
“Really?” Bree squealed.
Jace smiled and pulled her out of bed. “Get dressed, or we’ll be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Montana, in bed. I know you’d rather spend it with Cochran.”
She smiled at him from the passenger seat of his truck. “I can’t believe I’m going to be home for Christmas. Thank you, Jace, for making this happen.”
He reached over and brought her hand to his lips. “My pleasure, ma’am.”
When he told her he loved her, last night, it wasn’t about the sex. He really did love her. There wasn’t any doubt in his mind. They’d made love again, and then fell fast asleep. Jace still didn’t know if she felt the same.
“It’s so beautiful here. I had no idea.” The ground was covered in snow, and the big Montana sky stretched on forever. Every so often the sun would peek out of the ominous clouds forming, making the snow glisten. “You must love it.”
He did love it, but would she? Could she? For how long? “It’s isolated,” he muttered. “And cold.”
“Jace,” she laughed, “it sounds as though you don’t like it at all.”
“That isn’t it.”
“What is it, then?”
“It isn’t an easy life up here, Bree. Not everyone is cut out for it.” His tone was angrier than he intended it to be.
“You sound as though you’re mad at me.”
His face softened when he turned and looked at her. “No, darlin’, I’m not angry with you.”
His voice was soft and sweet, but Bree could feel an underlying tension emanating from him.
“We’re here,” he said. He hit the call button at the gate of the private air strip.
“Can I help you?” the voice on the other side bellowed.
“Jace Rice here. Has Ben Rice arrived? He was going to let you know—”
The box squawked, and the gate creaked open.
“I guess he’s here,” Jace muttered and drove through the gate. “Would be nice if I knew where I was going.”
Jace’s phone rang and he snapped it up. “Yeah?” Pause. “Okay, great. Thanks.”
“Ben?”