John’s black 4Runner was nowhere to be seen, but
a row of other vehicles reminded her that she and he
wouldn’t be alone. Far from alone. She counted five
cars and SUVs.
A couple of kids had a blue plastic disk they were
hauling up a short incline perfect for brief runs. A
snowman tilted drunkenly in front of the porch.
She coasted to a stop at the end of the row of parked
cars, set her emergency brake and turned off her engine.
The moment she was out of the car, Fiona breathed in
the crisp, clean air scented by fir. She was early. John
probably wasn’t watching for her yet. She could haul
her suitcase herself, or even leave it in the trunk for
later…
The lodge door opened and he stepped out, his gaze
going straight to her and never leaving her as he crossed
the porch and came down the steps.
Her heart seemed to swell in her chest until it hurt. Like
the lodge, he looked just as she remembered. No, better.
Unbelievably sexy in jeans, boots, a flannel shirt and
down vest, his dark hair shaggier as if he hadn’t cut it
since her visit. As he crossed the snowy ground to her,
his limp was scarcely noticeable. Was he working to hide
it?
Fiona couldn’t seem to move. She simply stood by
the open trunk of her car and waited, drinking in the
sight of him.
He stopped a couple of feet in front of her. “You came.”
Hearing the hoarseness in his voice, she said, “You
didn’t think I would?”
“I…wasn’t sure.”
“After the way I jumped at your invitation?”
Finally, finally, his mouth softened. “You did,
didn’t you?”
“It’s the fresh air,” she teased, finally able to breathe
as an amazing sense of sureness filled her. Of course
she’d done the right thing, coming as soon as she could!
How could she have done anything else, given the way
John made her feel without even touching her?
“We do have fresh air,” he conceded. At last, he took
another step and reached up with one cold hand to cup
her cheek. “God, I’ve missed you,” he murmured, and
bent his head.
It was cold enough out here that her lips felt stiff, but
he warmed them with astonishing speed, taking her
mouth with a thorough kiss in which she felt the same raw
need as in that last, memorable kiss in the laundry room.
A rough sound escaped him as he lifted his head, his
dark eyes devouring in her face. “I kept wishing I had
a picture of you. I ordered a digital camera from
Amazon, so I could take one this time.”
“I had a picture of you,” she confessed. “Kelli took
it with her phone. She took a bunch of the lodge and
everyone, and e-mailed them to all of us. But it was the
one of you…” She stopped, not wanting to admit she’d
made it her computer screen wallpaper so she’d see
him first thing when she turned on the computer, and
last before she turned it off. He obviously hadn’t known
his picture was being taken. It had been out on the porch
in daylight, his face averted. Perhaps because he looked
away, it had captured the sense he gave of holding
himself apart. Even though the photo wasn’t great
quality, the essence of him was there. She could look
at it and remember the rough feel of his hard jaw, the
way firelight cast shadows beneath strong cheekbones,
the way he guarded himself from revealing emotion.
But not now. Now, he looked as if he’d never expected
to see her again. He seemed almost disbelieving.
You came, she heard him say again, with something
very like shock.
“You’re certainly not alone.” She nodded at the row
of parked cars.
“No,” he said, as a childish shout rang out from the
two who were catapulting down the short incline on
their disk. “There are two families with kids.”
The resignation in his voice was familiar, and she
grinned at him. “No. Don’t tell me. Teenagers?”
“One. Sullen, a girl. Maybe twelve or thirteen.”
Fiona nodded. “The words ‘sullen’ and ‘thirteen’ are
synonymous when it comes to girls.”
“Yeah?” He raised his brows, then evidently
searched his memory. “I guess it was that age when