Page 26 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

Cameron narrowed his eyes at him. “You like her. Just admit it.”

Boone nodded, feeling as though he was back in grade school when he and his brothers would talk about the girls they were sweet on.

“I like her. A lot,” he acknowledged. Just saying the words out loud scared him a little. And it was too late to take them back. He’d put it out there in the universe. It made everything brewing between him and Grace all too real.

“She likes you, too, from what I can tell,” Cameron said. “You can see the chemistry between the two of you from a mile away.”

It reassured him to hear Cameron’s opinion on the matter. The strain between them was beginning to ease up some. He was getting his little brother back, one day at a time. He just needed to be patient and let their relationship get back on track. The truth was he felt a little rusty about all the rules of dating and the signs of a woman’s interest. It had been a very long time since he’d had more than a passing interest in getting to know someone. What he felt for Grace was beginning to feel like the real thing. It was making him question what he wanted in the future.

“And you? Any interest in making a love connection?” He tossed the question out to Cameron with all the ease of a professional pitcher.

Cameron’s facial features tensed up. “I don’t want to talk about me. There’s no one I’m interested in romantically, and that’s a fact.” Cameron’s tone was brusque, and it brooked no argument.

In that moment he saw everything his brother wasn’t saying. “You still love her, don’t you?” he asked, the words rushing out of his mouth before he could stem the tide.

“You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” With a movement that almost overturned his chair, Cameron jumped up, grabbed both their bowls and stomped off toward the kitchen. Boone felt as if he’d taken six steps backward in his relationship with Cameron when he heard the crash of dishes being thrown in the sink.

As far as love was concerned, he and Cameron had one thing in common. They’d both been betrayed by the woman they’d loved. But he no longer loved Diana. And he’d come to realize that their relationship had been about as deep as the water in a kiddie pool. Cameron, on the other hand, still loved Paige, a woman who had conspired with her own father to fleece the town of Love and had made his brother an object of ridicule. All things considered, he felt mighty fortunate.

Chapter Eight

Grace’s fingers flew over the keyboard as she wrote about her spelunking adventures with Jasper. It was her day off from the Moose Café, and she was determined to finish her first article based on her initial impressions of Love. Reading back her words caused prickles of awareness to pop up on her arm. A feeling of excitement raced through her. It always felt like this when a story started to come together. Once she returned home to New York City, the first of the articles would be released. One by one they would trickle out. And then the truth would be revealed. Grace shut her eyes tightly as Boone’s face came into sharp focus. What would he think of her? It hurt her to even imagine how it would all play out.

Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t find out. This particular village was somewhat removed from what was happening in the rest of the country. Who was she kidding? There was cable news here, as well as internet access. Everyone here in Love would know she’d come to town with an agenda that didn’t include falling in love. As it was, Hazel kept grilling her about which man in town she had her eye on. More times than not, she asked her about Boone, telling her that if she was twenty years younger, she’d chase after him herself. Bless Hazel. She always made her laugh. She was going to miss her like crazy when it was time to leave Love.

Grace stopped typing and looked out her window at the last vestiges of sunlight. In a few minutes the sun would be stamped out from the sky, and the night would prematurely come into being. According to Boone, every day they inched closer to winter they lost a little bit of sunlight. Pretty soon, there would only be four to five hours a day of sunlight. It would be kind of cool to experience it.

But you won’t be here then, she reminded herself. You’ll be long gone.

The thought of no longer being in Love left her feeling as if someone had placed a heavy weight on her chest. More and more she could imagine herself living here, and it wounded her to think about leaving this memorable town. She shook the raw emotion away, chiding herself for being so sentimental. This wasn’t her home. It was a job assignment!

The sound of tires crunching outside on the snow had her standing up to get a clear view of the driveway. Boone’s blue-and-white cruiser came to a stop in front of her cabin. Excitement unfurled inside her at the prospect of seeing him on a day she hadn’t expected to even venture outside. She walked over to the desk and shut her computer before tucking her notes inside the drawer.

Before he could knock, she flung the door open, her heart constricting at the sight of him. He was dressed in his uniform, and he held his hat in his hand, pressed tightly against his chest. Sturdy boots encased his feet.

“Afternoon, Grace,” he said with a nod.

“Afternoon. What brings you out here, Boone? Helping Hazel track down Primrose again?” she teased. Every time she thought of the night Boone had introduced her to Hazel’s skunk, it made her smile.

His lips began to twitch, right before he flashed a wide, easygoing grin. “Not this time. Actu

ally I wanted to talk to you, if you have a few minutes.”

“Come on in. I was just about to make some hot chocolate.” Her curiosity was instantly piqued by whatever had motivated Boone to pay her a visit this afternoon.

“I’d like to take you to the skating social.” The words gushed out of Boone’s mouth like a rushing river.

Grace looked up at him as a feeling of surprise swept over her.

“As your date?” she asked.

Boone’s face held a perplexed expression. “Yes. As my date.”

“Then you should say that. ‘Grace, I’d like you to be my date for the skating social.’”

He let out a little noise that resembled a groan. “Isn’t that pretty much what I said?”

Grace shook her head. “No. You used the word take, not date. There’s a world of difference.”

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