Page 10 of Girl in the Snow
With eyebrows almost up to his hairline, Cal replied, “How do you know I didn’t let you win?Not sure you’re ready to play with me.”
Deanna’s mouth popped open.“For real?Are you brave enough to take me on?”
“I’ll take you on.”The low rumble of his voice in the dim lighting, his eyes glittering with mischief, high cheekbones licked by orange flame, all did things to her insides.Naughty things.
The air seemed thick with the promise of something… Something she hadn’t seriously considered.Cal was an attractive man.An attractive man who may now be flirting with her.
She licked her lower lip, “You’re on.”
Now his grin lit up his face, as if this was his real expression that he usually hid, for reasons unknown.Maybe because he was exceptionally handsome in an old movie star way, and he didn’t want women swooning all the time.
Deanna blew out a breath and walked over to the lounge.She sat on one end and found the throw blanket to wrap herself in again.
Cal crossed to a cabinet beside where the drinks were kept, and a minute later he was back with the Scrabble game and a smaller box—the card game, Uno.He placed both on the table in front of Deanna.
“Can I get you a drink?”he asked.
“Sure.I guess I should stick with wine.”Deanna counted back in her head.She should slow down on the drinks if she wanted to keep her wits.“Just the one glass.”
Cal busied himself with getting the drinks.
Deanna leaned forward, took the Uno cards out of the box and began shuffling by cutting the deck.“Uno?You afraid of my Scrabble dominance?”
A snort rang out from Cal’s direction.
Deanna bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
“Hardly.But I think Uno might be fun.Can you count as well as spell, Michaelson?Or are you a one-hit wonder?”
This time, she really giggled.“Underestimate me at your peril, Winterbourne.”
That really was a cool name.Mister Winterbourne.Like a hero from a romance novel.“Hey, you didn’t tell me why you’re all alone at Christmas.Shouldn’t you be visiting your mother in Manhattan?”
Cal was already walking towards her with two glasses of wine, when he stuttered, “Uh, no.She’s entertaining Victor’s family and it’s awkward…” He came and sat beside her, passing her a glass.“Victor’s daughter is my ex-girlfriend.We broke up a couple of years ago and we’re not on the best of terms.”
Oh.“Thatwouldbe an awkward family gathering.Sorry if I was out of line.”
“No, it’s fine.June was the one who ended things, but she got over me in record time, or so it would seem.”He took a long sip of wine.“She’ll be at my mother’s Christmas gathering with her husband and new baby.”
Deanna pressed her lips together for a second.“I'm sorry, that’s a lot to deal with.”She’d upset him, made him dwell on things more than he must be already, and that wasn’t her intention.“Will you visit your mum soon?”
Deanna started dealing the cards into two neat piles on the table.
Cal nodded.“Yes, in a few days when the visitors have gone.”
Deanna didn’t like the sound of the way Priya was treating Cal.Prioritising her husband’s family over her own son seemed wrong.But Deanna didn’t have the full story.“Well, that’s good.But were you really going to stay here for Christmas, all alone?”
He locked his gaze on her, his expression was suddenly stern.“So?Weren’t you going to do the same?”
Yes, he had her there.Deanna hadn’t considered holiday hibernation as strange when applied to herself.But other people?Shouldn’t everyone want to be with family and friends, celebrating and being together?
She popped the rest of the cards down and gently placed her hand on his forearm where it rested beside her on the sofa.“You’re right.I’m sorry for prying into your personal life.I just needed some peace and quiet and a chance to rest.You’re allowed to want the same.”
He didn’t say a thing for a few seconds, and the weight of her hand on his body felt leaden.It was only his arm, the touch through his sweater, but it felt warm, real, and almost monumental to touch him.The air was heavy with anticipation, at least in Deanna’s mind.
Cal cleared his throat again.He stared straight ahead at the fire.“It was just before Christmas two years ago when June left me.I suppose she’d already been seeing Matthias, that’s her new husband, for a few months at that point.That hurt worse than anything – the fact that she lied to me and said there was no-one else.They worked together at a law firm, spending hours working overtime together.And my dad was sick, so I was driving up here from the city all the time.I was under so much stress.”
He shook his head and let out a low sigh that tugged at something in Deanna’s chest.“She said everything was normal, but she was actingoff.Later she made out she hadn’t done anything wrong.June said it would’ve been worse if she loved someone else and stayed and pretended with me.I don’t know, maybe she was right.”
