Page 31 of The Christmas Mittens
“I was born and raised on skates, skis, and mountain bikes.”
“Okay, if you think you have a pair that fits, I’d love to spend a little time on the pond.”
“Excellent!” He grinned and pulled a face. A foul stench rolled over me, making my eyes water.
“Oh shit, that’s terrible! What have you been feeding her? Carrion?” I coughed as I waved my hand in front of my face before lunging for the nearest door. Anders joined me, holding two pairs of skates. He offered me the smallest pair.
“My feet are stupidly large,” he offered with a pink to his cheeks that I found utterly adorable. So much so that I leaned over to peck his whiskery cheek.
“Thank you for telling me about yourself and the bodyguards. My mind is at ease now.”
“Good. Please know I have been as truthful as I can be at this time. There are no illicit things taking place and your daughter is exceptionally safe. Whenever I am near her, she will be under the protective arms of Alfred and Arne.”
“Those are some pretty beefy arms.”
He slid his arms around me, his breath mingling with mine in the winter air dancing around us. Snow particles danced about, the sun shone, and a jay scolded us from a nearby tree.
“Shall we skate?” he asked before slanting his mouth over mine. I kissed him back—hard—with such desire, it made me woozy.
“For a little while. I’d like to go back to your camper, roll around in the covers with you, and have you feed me soup.” I rubbed my cold nose against his.
“That sounds wonderful. The air should be breathable again in an hour.”
He was right. After an hour on skates, my backside was sore, my cheeks frozen, and my tummy growling. Anders took care of all my woes with a hot bowl of soup, a deep tissue massage, and a hand job that erased all my aches and warmed me to my toes.
***
We spent several lazy hours abed, snuggled up with Della, watching old shows that were favorites of mine. Murder mysteries, detectives, anything where someone had to solve something. Anders seemed entertained for the most part, although he did doze off around four in the afternoon, just as the sun was falling behind the tree line. I had to rouse him and Della, who was spread out over my feet like an eel, her belly showing, four tiny paws in the air.
I lay there watching the sky slowly darken as an episode ofThe Rockford Filesstarted. A phone ringing on Jimmy’s desk on the Dell woke Anders. He snorted softly, brown eyes flying open, as he glanced around the camper for his phone.
“It’s the laptop,” I said with a chuckle, pointing at the screen.
“Oh, oh, that was odd,” he confessed, sitting up slowly to run his fingers through his hair. “I dreamed we were feeding swans at the lake by my family’s summer home.”
I lay there, my head on his pillow, staring at his broad back bared to the world. He had a beauty mark between his scapulas that was begging to be kissed. Each time he moved to scrub his face or finger-comb his hair, that small cocoa circle moved.
“You have summer and winter homes?” I asked and reached out to caress the beauty mark that so intrigued me. He nodded. “Wow, you really are rich.”
“Stupidly so.” He slid off the bed. Della never moved. He went to the bathroom, and when he emerged a moment later, neither I nor the dog had moved. “When do you have to pick up Gilda?” He pulled the sweater he’d had on earlier over his head.
“She’s sleeping over at a friend’s house tonight,” I explained. He paused, head out of the woolen jumper, one arm in a sleeve and one out.
“Oh, that’s nice for her. If you wish, you could stay for dinner? Perhaps linger for the night?” I blinked dully. I’d not thought of that. “If you wish, that is. Of course, you can go home if that’s your desire. I just…” He pushed his arm through the empty sleeve, obviously uncomfortable given my stupid silence. “I thought I would offer.”
“Do you want me to stay the night?” I sat up, the covers sliding to my lap. Della still hadn’t moved. We’d have to stick a mirror under her nose soon if she—ah, there. Her whiskers twitched.
“I would very much like it if you did, but don’t feel pressured to—”
“I’d love to spend the night,” I admitted. Yes, yes, I would love that a lot. I’d not slept next to a warm body for years. “Are you sure?”
He smiled widely. “I amverysure. Shall we walk Della before it gets totally dark and afterward stir up some dinner?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Really, really great.” Anders hustled over to kiss me soundly and then whispered, “Where is the leash?” which brought Della from a sound sleep to full wakefulness in a split second. She was off the bed in a flash, barking at the pink leash hanging by the sliding side door. Laughing at her antics, I kicked off the covers, bundled up, and joined them for a stroll through the empty campgrounds. Mourning doves cooed at us from their roosts. My hand was in his. Two pairs of nicely knitted—if I did say so myself—mittenswere keeping our fingers warm. Not that I would have needed the yarn to do that. Just being near this man set my heart ablaze.
Chapter Fourteen
Sunday, December 20
