Winter Interlude (26 page)

On his way to the kitchen, he asked, “Do you want more wine
?”

Heavens no
!
Too much wine too fast would just make the situation crazier
.
“No, thank you
.
I’m fine right now
.”
Reaching for calm, she cleared her throat and pushed her short hair behind her ears
.
“Do you think the power will be out all night?”

“Don’t know
.
But, look on the bright side
.
At least we have plenty to drink!” he said holding up the second bottle
, still unopened
.
He came up behind her carrying the other half-full bottle
.
“Are you sure you don’t want any
?
This French
c
hardonnay is really good
.”

“Okay
.
But only half a glass
.”
She held her breath, totally aware of his nearness while he poured, and wasn’t able to inhale or exhale until he sat down
.

Paul took a sip before picking up his fork
.

“How can you be so calm?” she asked, watching him eat.

He ate a couple of bites and paused
.
“It’s very simple
.
I have no choice
.”
Then he grinned
.
Light from the candle’s flame captured his expressive eyes and cast his amused gleam quite well, adding to the affectionate, teasing quality in his voice when he added, “Why worry when we have all we need
?
Excellent wine and great company
.
Plus
,
the food is incredible
.
I didn’t know you were a gourmet cook.”

His words encompassed her like a warm blanket, filling her with well-being
.
She smiled
.
It felt like her whole body wanted to smile, e
ven her toes
.
He liked her cooking
.
“It’s a hobby,” she said,
pleased
to have something else to focus on other than how sexy he looked in candlelight
.
“This soufflé is my creation
.
I like experimenting with different spices and seasonings.”

Kate
resumed eating, but couldn’t relax
.
All too soon
,
the current of awareness that had permeated the shadowy room earlier returned in full force
.
She had to fight doubly hard to ignore him, purposefully keeping her attention on her food, too afraid that if she glanced his way, he’d see the spark of attraction she couldn’t hide
.

Wouldn’t he have a good laugh over that
?
Heaven
help her
!
This attraction wasn’t real
.
It couldn’t be
.
It was a fluke…a rebound…a coincidence of circumstance due to suddenly finding herself free to look around again
for the first time in
years
.
Of course
,
it was just her luck that Paul
—
Judith’s Paul
—
just happened to be the best man
in front of her
now that her eyes were open
.

Why did he have to be so attractive
?
Why was he being so nice
?
W
hen she did chance to glance up at some comment he’d make and her focus would land on
his
engaging smile
, she wondered about the biggest question of all
:
W
hat
would
it
be like to kiss him
?
She closed her eyes and almost groaned aloud in disgust
.
What kind of person lusted after her
best friend’s
boyfriend
?
Judith deserved better than a friend like her for even entertaining the thought.

He stood
.
“I should get the fire started out here and check on the one in my bedroom.”

Thankful for the disruption, she jumped up
.
“I’ll help.”

“Why
don’t you close all the bedroom doors
and grab your stuff from the guesthouse?”

“Sure,” she murmured, rushing to get away from him.

~

P
aul watched her go wondering what went on in that sharp mind of hers, especially during dinner when she never stopped fidgeting
.
Her hands had
constantly
moved
.
Whether twisting her napkin or fingering her wineglass, she appeared nervous
.
As nervous as she’d been the day before when they first arrived, and so unlike the woman he thought he knew
.
Kate
Winters was always as bold as brass and twice as nervy
,
almost to the point of being pushy
.
I
nstead of irritating him as she’d once done, now she intrigued him
…
made him want to see what would happen if he pushed back
.

Interesting and definitely surprising
.

He lit the fireplace in the living room
.
The flames roared to life when he adjusted the setting to the highest level
.

He then went around the house searching for candles
.
The two on the table simply weren’t enough
.
The shadows they cast added a romantic element to the room
.
No freaking way he could sit with her in such a
romantic
environment and act as if he wasn’t dying to kiss her
.

“Help me light these,” he said, nodding to the half dozen he’d found when she walked back inside
.
They placed a few in strategic spots
.
While they added more light, it wasn’t near
ly
enough and did little to ease his torment
.

“How about a game of Monopoly
?”

She nodded
.
“Sure.”

He knew damn well he shouldn’t be suggesting any game, but it was too early to retire
.
Besides, if he eased up on the wine, he should be okay
.
But
Kate
might like another glass
.
“There’s more wine if you want it.”

“No thanks
.
I’ll have some later, after dessert.”

He headed to the kitchen and placed his glass on the counter
.
“How ’bout water
?”
he shouted while rummaging th
rough the refrigerator
and bending to reach the bottles in the back
.

“Actually, hot chocolate would be great on a night like tonight
.”
Startled to realize she’d followed him, he almost jumped when she added from just inches behind him, “Do you have any?”

“Hot chocolate, huh
?”
He straightened and threw her a quick smile
.
“I think I can find some
.
Funny, but I never pegged you as the type
.”
In his mind, she was more the hot toddy, heavy on the bourbon
type
.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me
.”
She scooted him out of the way and grabbed the milk from the still
-
open refrigerator
.

“So I’m finding out
.”
His smiled deepened
.
“Since I’m so far off
—
you know
—
regarding what I know about you
—
care to enlighten me
?”
Though he knew he
shouldn’t
, he couldn’t help raising his eyebrows and taunting, “
W
e
’ve got
nothing better to do
.”
He paused,
then
added, “Considering our situation.”

“Oh, no,
b
ucko
.
You may have a need for a tell-all,
‘
Kumbaya
’
experience tonight, but I prefer to remain a mystery.”

Of course she did, he mused,
as he pulled
out
a container of
Nestl
é
Quik
from the cupboard
and
handed
it to her
.
“Just for the record, I don’t even know what
‘
Kumb
a
ya
’
means, but I’m a pushover for hot chocolate
.
Especially during a snowfall
.”
He’d get her to talk about herself
.
People didn’t call him personable for no reason.

“Oh, that’s right
.”
Kate
tsked
, shaking her head
.
“You’ve probably never experienced singing
around
a campfire, since your family never drove anywhere
.”