“Come with me and I’ll show you.”
She trailed him to the lower level where he opened a closet with half a dozen outfits. He pulled out a woman’s stylish white parka and black ski pants. He found her everything—gloves, a white ski hat, ski socks and boots.
Elated, she stepped into the pants and put on the socks and boots. Then she zipped up the parka and tugged the wool hat over her head. Everything fit just fine.
“You look perfect, Lanza.” In the next instant he kissed her briefly on the mouth the way she’d wanted when they were in the kitchen. Her heart almost palpitated out of her parka.
While she pulled on her gloves, she looked over and noticed him getting on his ski clothes. “Where are you going?”
His eyes roved over her, setting her on fire. “Outside with you.” Her heart turned over. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might come with her, though she wanted him to be with her with every atom of her body. “Have you ever been snowshoeing?”
“Never.”
“This is the perfect kind of snow for it.” He reached for the snowshoes. “Come outside with me and I’ll help you put them on.”
Lanza walked out into the brilliant sunlight, thrilled to be entering this glistening white world with Stefano, who’d just kissed her because he’d wanted to. Maybe some dreams could come true.
With her pulse racing, she leaned against his broad shoulder while he knelt down to center her boot in the binding. She never expected to be doing something this exciting with her handsome husband, who was taking amazing care of her.
He wrapped the heel strap around the back and through the buckle to tighten it. “Does that feel snug?”
“Yes.”
“Now we’ll do your other foot.” Within a minute she was ready. “Keep your legs apart as you start to take steps. It requires more energy than you’ll be used to, but it won’t take long for you to work into a rhythm.”
While she experimented, he went inside for his snowshoes and came back, shutting the door. In seconds he’d fastened his straps with a finesse that revealed years of experience. She gave him a covert glance because she couldn’t stop herself from looking at him.
Her husband really was a gorgeous male no matter what he wore. Lanza found herself wildly attracted to him. She’d never expected this to happen and it shocked her that she wanted him so badly in every way.
Lanza took off across the front property of the chalet toward the white shrouded pines in the distance. Stefano caught up to her within seconds.
“Where’s the fire?”
The last thing she wanted him to know wa
s that his kiss had set off an explosion inside her. She wanted more. So much more. “I’m just excited to be out here making fresh tracks. It’s a surreal feeling, as if we’re on top of the world.”
“I love it, too.”
She could tell he did. In time, they came to the trees. Lanza kept going, marveling over the sculptures created by the wind and snow.
As they penetrated deeper, she thought she heard a yapping sound. She stopped walking and turned to Stefano. “Did you hear that?”
“I did.” He reached out to grasp her arm with his gloved hand in a protective movement. “Don’t go any farther.”
“If I didn’t know better, I would think it was a dog.”
He shook his head. “Not a dog.”
“Whatever it is, it sounds wounded.”
“Wait here while I go look.” Again, she was touched that he wanted to keep her safe. But the second he let go of her and went on ahead, she hurried to catch up. The yapping continued. Two hundred feet farther along, she saw him approach a small animal with red fur and a snout half buried in the snow beneath the boughs of a fat pine tree.
“Oh, Stefano, it’s a little fox.” She couldn’t imagine it weighing more than seven or eight pounds.
“Stay back, Lanza.”
“They’re not dangerous and it can’t hurt anybody. Listen. It’s in pain.” She pulled off her gloves so she could remove her parka. “Wrap it inside my coat to keep it warm and we’ll take it back to the chalet.”