Page 43 of One Night in Alaska

Chuckling, I crawled from the bed and tossed her clothing to her as I began to get dressed. “We’ve got to get back to our seats.”

Waking up more, she looked at me and nodded. I could see her tracing my body with her eyes and liked that she was impressed with what she saw. “Okay. Do I have time to use the bathroom?”

“I think so. I’ll head on out and give you some privacy.” Before I left, I leaned down and kissed her, liking that I could still smell myself on her face.

In the cabin, I took my seat, waiting for Georgia as I glanced out the window. It was light out. If my calculations were right, it should be early afternoon here, the day after we left Hawaii. If Georgia had thought the time zone change had affected her before, she was really in for it now.

A few moments later, she came out and sat down next to me by the window. She looked completely put together, like I hadn’t just ravaged her in the back of the plane. I wondered if she’d also made the bed, trying to hide what we’d done, as if anyone else cared.

Georgia held my hand as the plane landed. It took a few minutes for us to taxi to the right location to meet the car I had waiting. The bags were removed, and the door was opened for us to disembark.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s cold,” Georgia said, shivering slightly. “I didn’t plan for this.”

“It’s okay,” I assured her. I went to the closet at the front of the plane and pulled out a coat I’d gotten for her after she’d said she wanted to come along. I helped her slip it on and was glad that it fit her so well. “There are gloves and a hat in the pockets.”

Beaming up at me, she said, “You always think of everything.”

I felt my cheeks warm at the compliment. “Just trying to make sure you’re comfortable.”

With both of us dressed for warmer weather, we got off the plane. We made the quick trip to the car, but I remembered I had told Ryan I would call him when we got to Switzerland. As we got inside, I said, “Do you mind if I call Ryan really quickly?”

“No, of course not,” Georgia said with a pleasant smile. “I’ll just be glued to the window.” Her eyes hardly left the view of the airport, which quickly shifted to the beautiful surroundings as we began the short drive to Lauterbrunnen.

Ryan answered pretty quickly for a change, which was odd for him. “Hey, where are you?” he asked, as if I hadn’t told him I’d call him from here.

“Just landed in Switzerland. How’s it going?” I asked, hoping he’d been over to the house at least once to make sure it was still standing.

“Good, but that jar of vanilla ice cream you had under the sink was disgusting, man. I think you are supposed to keep that in the freezer. I could hardly eat more than a few bites.” He made a sound like he was gagging. I didn’t know if I should throw up or laugh.

“Um, that wasn’t ice cream,” I told him. “That was a jar of bacon grease.”

“What?” I heard him begin to retch. “Oh, man, No wonder. Why do you keep that under your sink?”

“Why were you looking for food under the sink?” I had to ask.

“Well, I wasn’t. I just saw it when I was looking for the Windex to clean the ketchup off the window.”

I was at a loss for words, so I didn’t even bother to ask how he’d gotten ketchup on the window—or which window. “So the house is okay, then?”

“Yeah, the house is great,” he assured me. “How’s the lady friend?” He made a clicking sound with his tongue that made me nauseated. He sounded like such a dude.

“Oh, look at that shop!” Georgia exclaimed before I could respond to Ryan. “It’s so cute!”

We’d reached the village, which was full of all kinds of quaint shops with gifts, treats, snacks, and other interesting items. I pressed a button next to me to let the driver know we wanted to pull over, and then I returned my attention to Ryan. “She’s great,” I told him, smiling at Georgia. She turned to quickly grin at me before she felt the car stop. She was in such a hurry to get out, I was afraid she’d get hit by a car, but she was all right. I followed her.

“Have you checked the laws over there in Switzerland? Are you sure she’s not too young for you there? You’re not going to get arrested, are you?” Ryan asked in a teasing tone.

Rolling my eyes, I followed behind Georgia but stayed outside of the store she went inside, wanting to finish my call first. “I’m pretty sure Switzerland is less invasive when it comes to laws than the US is. And she’s not that much younger than me. You make it seem like she’s a teenager.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that you’re old.” He laughed, and I wished I hadn’t called him at all.

“Okay then. I’ll talk to you later, Ryan. Don’t eat anything else from under the sink.” With that, I hung up the phone and went inside the store.

Georgia was standing in front of a mirror with a big, furry hat on her head. It sort of reminded me of the ones I’d seen in Russia, though this one was flatter on top and a bit more round. Without missing a beat, she asked me, “What do you think, darling? Do I look glamorous?” She turned and fluttered her eyelashes at me, and we both laughed.

“Absolutely. We’ve got to get that for you.” I took it from her and headed to the cashier.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she said, coming up behind me. “I was just being silly.”

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