Chapter 10
Max and Grace were right. Giorgio’s served the best chicken marsala she’d ever tasted. Bryce had chosen the linguine and clam sauce. Both ordered caesar salads with their meal. The waiter brought a basket of homemade garlic bread that smelled divine. For a solid hour they did nothing but eat. When Bryce asked the waiter for a second bottle of wine, Melanie knew it was time to call it a night.
“I’m afraid I’m already a little bit tipsy,” she said. “Any more, and I won’t be able to drive safely. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much.”
He nodded his acquiescence. “How about dessert? Are you sure you don’t want any tiramisu?” Bryce asked. “Grace said it was the best she’d ever had.”
Melanie doubted she could take so much as a sip of water without exploding. “Nothing for me, thanks.”
She had picked Odie and Clovis up from The Snow Zone and driven home happier than she could ever remember. After she’d taken care of the animals’ needs, she’d soaked her aching muscles in the hot tub, washed and dried her hair, and even attempted to apply her makeup with a professional hand. She had agreed to meet Bryce at the restaurant because it was easier for both of them.
Now that the temperatures were dropping quickly, Melanie knew from experience that the back roads would ice over in a matter of hours. Back roads were always the last to be cleared. She didn’t want Bryce driving off the side of the mountain. If one didn’t know the road by the back of one’s hand, it could happen, had happened. More than once.
Ever the gentleman, Bryce took care of the check even though Melanie offered to pay her share. “Real men don’t accept money from their dates. Or at least this is what my father taught me before he passed away. And I always listened to my father; his advice hasn’t failed me yet.”
Melanie didn’t say it out loud, but she gave Bryce another mental high five. One to his father, too. The man just kept getting better and better. Surely there was something wrong with this guy, something she’d find out when she got to know him better. But then again, maybe not. Nice guys still existed, they were just extremely hard to find these days. Not that she’d spent much time looking.
After Bryce settled up with the waiter, he walked her outside to her Navigator. “I don’t want the evening to end,” he said. “It’s been . . . let’s just say it’s been one of the best days I’ve had in a while. A very long while.”
Melanie wanted to dissect his words, take them apart one by one, searching for a hidden meaning, but now wasn’t the time. She’d leave those thoughts for later. She wanted to be one hundred percent in the moment when she was with Bryce. She was falling in love with him. She’d never felt so alive, so excited to be with a man. That was love, or at least the beginning of the falling part. In spite of the chilling temperatures, she felt a warm glow flowing through her, like a brilliant ray of sunshine. Yep, this was love, had to be.
“I feel the same way, but as you know, I’ve got a couple of guys waiting for me at home, so I’d better head back.”
Without the bulky ski coats between them, Bryce captured her small waist, then pulled her as close to him as their winter dress would allow. He kissed the sensitive part of her ear, then trailed light butterfly kisses down the side of her neck, along her jawline, before touching her mouth with his. No longer on public display, Bryce covered her mouth hungrily. Melanie accepted his kiss and allowed herself to feel the passion. His tongue teased hers, and she teased back. He tasted of red wine and mint. He pulled away for a nanosecond, then his lips recaptured hers, but this time they were more demanding.
If they weren’t in the middle of the parking lot, Melanie knew this would lead to something much more intimate. And she wanted that, but not yet. She stepped out of his arms, a hand touching her lips. She smiled, suddenly feeling shy like a schoolgirl.
“Hmm, that was nice,” she said with a grin.
“That’s it, just nice?” He wrapped his arms around her neck and touched his cold nose to hers. “How about that? It’s the way Eskimos kiss.”
“I’m not going to feed your ego, Mr. Landry. I think you enjoyed that kiss as much as I did, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Okay, I admit it. I was fishing.”
Sighing contentedly, Melanie said, “You know what they say about men who fish?”
He cradled her head against his chest. “No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“I just made that up. I have no clue what they say about men who fish.”
He gave a hearty laugh. “You don’t play fair. What if I said, ‘men who fish are excellent lovers,’ would you agree with that?”
Oh boy, she thought. “I’ve never slept with a fisherman, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Fair enough.” A streetlamp provided just enough light for him to see her clearly. “What about a college professor?” He looked at her, and the double meaning of his words was very obvious.
She fought the urge to rip his clothes off, right there in the middle of the parking lot, but the cold and the fear of getting arrested prevented her from taking action. This certainly wasn’t the time or the place.
Taking a deep breath, and letting it out as slowly as humanly possible, Melanie spoke, her voice soft, seductive. “I’ll put that on my bucket list.” And without another word between them, Melanie unlocked the door and got inside the Navigator. She cranked the engine over and was about to turn the heater on when she saw Bryce tapping on her window. She hit the POWER button to roll the window down halfway. “What? It’s cold out there!” she said, even though she didn’t care how cold it was. Bryce didn’t want to leave her any more than she wanted to leave him.
He looked down at his ice-covered boots, then back at her. “This might sound . . . well, never mind how it sounds. I’m asking anyway. I planned on taking a trip to Las Vegas next weekend. Believe it or not, I’ve never been there. Would you like to come along? I’ve got two tickets to see Cher.”
That was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. Vegas, of all places. And why did he have two tickets? Had some other woman canceled at the last minute? Was she just a convenient stand-in?
Before she could stop herself, the words flew out of her mouth. Sort of like the water incident.
He threw back his head and let out a great peal of laughter. “Actually, Mom was going to go with me but had to cancel at the last minute.”
His mother? This guy was good. Really good.
“I planned to decorate my Christmas tree this weekend.” She did, but also, what if the adoption agency called and she was out of town.
She’d given Miss Krause her cell number.
“Okay,” he said. “I can see where decorating your Christmas tree would take precedence over a trip to Vegas.” He turned away from the window, heading toward his Jeep.
Melanie rolled the driver’s side window down as far as it would go. “Bryce,” she called out to him, and he turned around. He appeared to be amused, not angry as she’d thought. “Do you want to come over and help me decorate my tree tomorrow? I need to do this before the weekend. I’m going to Vegas with a friend.”
He stared at her, then burst out laughing. “I knew you would see things my way.”
“Careful, a girl can change her mind in a split second. How’s noon sound? It’s about an hour’s walk from the condo. I have all the equipment.” She watched him and tried to suppress a giggle.
“You cut down your own tree?” he asked, apparently amused by this.
“Every year as far back as I can remember. You game or not?” She put her foot on the brake, shifted into reverse slowly, and eased the SUV out of her parking space. Bryce walked slowly along the side of her vehicle.
“Rest assured, I am game. I’ll see you at noon.”
Melanie smiled and punched the accelerator a bit too hard, fishtailed, and caught herself just in the nick of time, before pulling out of Giorgio’s parking lot. She looked in her rearview mirror. Bryce stood in the middle of the asphalt lot smiling from ear to ear.
Merry Christmas to me, she thought as she drove home to her condo.