Page 54 of Wedding Bells in Silverwood

“Good. Let’s go.”

Because of the height of the mountain, the line progressed relatively quickly.

“All right, hold your poles close to you,” Viola instructed. “But don’t put your hands through the straps.”

They scooted forward onto the lifting area. Viola stood on the marked line and told Jonas to do the same. He blew out a long breath as the chair came toward them.

“Since you’re sitting on that side, hold your poles in your right hand.” Viola spoke sweetly, trying not to overwhelm him. “And look over your left shoulder, bend your knees, and sit when the seat hits the back of your legs. Here we go.”

Viola reached back as the chair contacted them. She pulled at the bar, so it was secure in front of them.

“Okay, sit back and no rocking,” she said.

“Oh, believe me. I may be shaking in fear, but there’s no way I’ll intentionally rock this thing.”

She watched his eyes dart around as the bench elevated off the ground. When he visibly swallowed, she almost giggled. She couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked, even if his expression was full of terror.

“Now we just look for the signs.”

Jonas cleared his throat. “Aren’t you supposed to be distracting me?”

“Sorry. Right.” She took his hand in hers. “Look how beautiful the mountain is.”

“Looking at the object I don’t want to fall to my death on isn’t actually helping.”

She chuckled. “Okay, okay.” Her mind raced to come up with something else to distract him. Without thinking, she blurted out the first thing that came to her. “So tell me about Lacey.”

He blinked, a crease forming between his brows. “How do you know about Lacey?”

Dread ran through her. She forced herself to keep the smile on her face. “Is that your girlfriend?”

Despite his anxiety, he laughed. “No. LACEE is a business investment. It stands for Logistic Associates Cyber Engineering Enterprises. LACEE for short.”

Viola felt as if a weight had dropped from her shoulders. A quiver stirred in her stomach. “I see. Well, you can see why that could be confusing.”

“I suppose. But where did you hear the name?”

She cringed. “It was when I broke that vase at the manor. Accidentally. And, uh, me overhearing that part of your conversation wasalsoan accident.”

“So you thought I was involved with some woman back in Billings.”

She gave him a half-shrug. “Yeah.”

“And that bothered you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t say that. You’re awfully presumptuous. Kind of like how you presume I’m going to wait for you when we reach the top of the mountain.”

“Hey, come on. That’s not fair.”

“All right.” She raised her chin. “I’ll wait for you, but we never mention the vase, the opened letter, or the eavesdropping again.

He arched a brow. “I’m not used to this.”

“What?”

“Not being in charge of a negotiation.”

Viola snickered. “Do we have a deal or not?”

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