Page 25 of Baby It's Cold Outside

“Thanks for not leaving me here.” She dropped her chin to stare at her toes. “I’m not too keen on the dark,” she murmured, the understatement of the century.

He gave her a reassuring squeeze before letting go.

“I’m not sure I could have gotten away from you without losing an arm.” The wry amusement helped a little in dousing the nuclear blush. “But you’re welcome.”

She risked a look at him, saw the puzzled frown, and her stomach twisted into a knot of apprehension.

Please don’t ask.

She shouted the plea in her mind, trying to communicate it telepathically. But as she waited, gagging at the prospect of having to answer the question he was about to ask, the incongruity of the situation occurred to her. After two years of dating Benedict, he’d never had a clue she had a paranoid fear of being in the pitch-dark, because she’d gone to all sorts of ludicrous lengths to keep the shameful secret hidden. And after only fifteen minutes in Ryder Sinclair’s company, he’d witnessed the worst of it.

The realization that Ryder had reacted with a lot more patience and compassion than Benedict would have was equally incongruous—and made two even more sobering thoughts occur to Kate.

Why the heck hadn’t she dumped Benedict, long before he’d had the chance to dump her?

And maybe Ryder Sinclair wasn’t a total jerk after all.

…

Why are you so frightened of the dark?

The question registered in Ryder’s brain and hovered on the tip of his tongue, but as her gaze darted away a second time and the flags of color on her cheeks became radioactive, he stopped himself from asking. Even though the need to know suddenly felt like a lot more than curiosity.

Maybe it had to do with the way she’d clung to him as if her life depended on it, or maybe it had been the violent tremors racking her body, or even just the desperate humming, but as they’d stood together in the darkness, all his protective instincts had come charging to the fore—her valiant struggle to master her fear touching a place deep inside that no other person had ever touched, except Gully.

“I should probably head out,” he said, and noticed how the stiff line of her shoulders slumped, he guessed with relief because he hadn’t asked for an explanation.

“Yes, me too,” she replied, a little awkwardly. “Would you mind waiting a minute while I go and change? My clothes should be dry by now.”

She said it without inflection, but he noticed the tug of her teeth on her bottom lip and knew she didn’t want to be left alone in case the lights went out again.

“Do you have to change?” he asked trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve gotten kind of attached to the lap-dancing leprechaun look.”

She peered at him through her lashes, and her lips twitched. “I told you, it’s not a leprechaun outfit,” she said, the small smile warming her eyes and wiping the pinched expression from her face. “I’m Santa’s lap-dancing elf, remember?”

He chuckled as she disappeared through the exit marked EMPLOYEES ONLY.

Chapter Five

Damp wool clung to Kate’s legs as she concentrated on not looking at Ryder Sinclair and getting down the twelve flights of stairs to the store’s employee exit without breaking an ankle.

Silly to feel as if they’d shared something important. He might have a more complex personality than she’d given him credit for and be—well, extremely attractive if you liked the rough-and-ready look, but tomorrow she’d see this whole experience as nothing more than a lesson in not making snap judgments about people. She was sure of it.

He held the fire door open at the bottom of the stairwell, and she walked into the long utility corridor that led to the loading bay and Charles’s security station. The shadows were a little unnerving. She steeled herself to ignore them, but then one of the strip lights flickered as they passed and her breath caught.

Ryder’s hand folded over hers. “We’re almost there,” he said, as if there was nothing at all untoward about a grown woman flinching at the prospect of the darkness.

Twin tides of gratitude and embarrassment washed over her as she held on to him.

Her breathing had evened out when they arrived at the security station, but she couldn’t quite let go of Ryder’s hand, even though she felt foolish.

Charles signaled them but continued to talk in hushed tones into his phone. Kate noticed that the security monitors above his desk were blank, obviously another casualty of the blackout.

“Mr. Ryder, Ms. Braithwaite, I’m glad you came down,” Charles said after he disconnected the call.

“We’re heading out, Charles,” Ryder said. “If you’ll open the security door we can get out of your hair.”

Charles shook his head, a slightly pitying look crossing his face. “Don’t think you’ll be going anywhere now. Blizzard hit an hour ago. Just been speaking to the local dispatch. They say anyone on the premises should stay here until further notice.”

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