Page 50 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
Not a good idea? Letting him kiss her would be a terrible idea. She was already too drawn to him, already oddly attached.
She backed up even farther, and his smile softened, his eyes warm with understanding. “How about a handshake, then?”
No!She bit her lip to hold back the panicked response.Don’t be silly. A handshake never hurt anyone.
She stuck her hand out, and when his large, calloused hand wrapped around hers, she knew she’d made a mistake.
His fingers were warm, and her hand was swallowed up. His thumb brushed over hers, and the touch felt more intimate than any kiss she’d ever shared with her ex. And then he brought her hand to his mouth, lightly pressing his lips to her knuckles the way a true Southern gentleman would.
Her wild heart could barely contain its beat.
She swallowed hard before tugging her hand from his. “Um… good night. And thanks again for the day.”
“My pleasure.” His drawl was warm and liquid like molasses.
She turned away with a silly smile because… he meant it. She heard it in his voice. He’d enjoyed their day just as much as she had.
It took everything in her not to lean against the door and swoon after she closed it, but the joy bubbling through her veins fell flat when she heard her sisters’ laughter. They were in the kitchen, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands and what looked like wedding invitations strewn all over the table.
All at once it came back to her. They’d tricked her into this outing today. She should be furious with them. The thought had her scowling as she walked into the room.
As soon as they saw her, the three of them stopped talking, their laughter cut short as they exchanged wary glances.
That’s right, be afraid. The fire-breathing dragon is back, and she’s angry.
Rose’s cheeks were pink when Dahlia looked her way, but her eyes were wide and sweet. “How was it?”
Before Dahlia could respond, Lizzy choked on a laugh as she added, “Yeah, did you enjoy… ice fishing?”
Lizzy nearly lost the battle with laughter on that last part, and even saintly Emma looked like she was having a hard time holding back a giggle at Dahlia’s expense.
“Actually…” Dahlia cleared her throat, lifting her chin a little. “I caught two fish, so—”
“No way!” Rose looked delighted.
“You caught something?” Emma’s voice pitched with excitement. She and Lizzy applauded loudly, making Rose giggle, and Dahlia…
Well, Dahlia felt a smile tug at her lips. She didn’t appreciate how they went about it, but she’d had the best day she could remember thanks to their meddling. And it was hard to be too mad about that.
Rose leaned forward, so eager it hurt Dahlia’s heart. “So you had fun?”
Dahlia glanced at the others but couldn’t lie to Rose. “Yeah,” she said. “I had a blast.”
Rose beamed. And when she glanced over, she saw that Emma and Lizzy were genuinely smiling at her.
Not laughing at her, but actually happy that she’d had fun.
She glanced down at the table, uncertain of what she was supposed to say or do without the ever-present tension between them.
“What have you been up to?” She pulled out one of the dining chairs and took a seat.
“Helping Emma with the invites for her wedding.” Lizzy held up an embossed envelope.
Emma winced. “There are so many. It’s a little overwhelming.”
Dahlia reached for a stack of envelopes that still needed to be stuffed. “I can help.”
This earned her a wide-eyed look of surprise from Emma and Lizzy, but they got over it quickly enough.
