Page 28 of Smoke Show

He'd dressed in his own gear, all black, and I smiled at the picture he made. Somehow, he still looked sleek and professional, even out of his usual suit and tie. Brady inflated our tubes with his car air pump before locking the doors and handing one of the bright red inner tubes to me.

We hiked up the hill together, watching kids and adults alike scream down on their sleds and tubes. The manicured snow hill was a nice change from the hilly streets I'd had growing up on the rare snow days in the Seattle area.

"How about a friendly wager to make things interesting?" Brady asked as we waited for our turn on the slope.

The faux innocence with which he asked the question made me immediately suspicious that I was being hustled.

"What did you have in mind?"

"If I win today, you have to bid on me at the Winter Warmth Auctionand win."

He surprised a laugh out of me. "Are you worried that you'll end up in someone else's clutches if I don't?" I teased. "Would that really be so bad? Have you even put together your auction package yet? How do I know if I want to bid on you?"

"I'll make it worth your while," he promised. Something about the dark light in his eyes made me squirm, in no doubt that he'd make good on that promise. Clearing my throat, I struck a confident pose. "What ifIwin?"

"Not gonna happen, but if it makes you feel better, we can come up with a suitable forfeit. What do you want?"

Him. My internal answer was immediate, but I pretended to think, tapping a finger to my chin. "I want a date night at Sing-along, and I want you to do karaoke with me. A song of my choosing."

"Done," he said, all confidence.

His arrogance pricked at my competitive side. True, he'd grown up playing in the snow, but that didn't make me any less fiercely determined to win.

"On your mark, get set-go," I said, throwing myself headlong onto my tube and down the mountain.

Brady hit the snow a moment later on his own tube, cruising along beside me. I laughed, pure exhilaration filling me. The air whistled across my face, leaving it chapped and red as the wind stung my eyes, making my teeth ache with the cold. Brady hunkered down on his tube, expression dead serious, as if he could affect the outcome through will alone. My early head start slowly eroded. His greater weight combined with gravity and the slick run he'd chosen let him eke out a small lead. I focused on the snow in front of me, watching for obstacles, as I flew down the slope. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of bright pink, not understanding until it was too late to call out a warning that a little girl on a plastic sled was swerving into Brady’s lane. Heroically, he tried to avoid the little girl, throwing his weight to one side. He steered clear, but it sent his tube up the side of a small embankment, and I slid easily to victory.

I pushed to my feet, glad Brady had averted near-disaster and still selfishly not above rubbing my win in his face as he finally slid to a stop next to me. Call it a karmic payback for his over-confidence.

"Brady, get ready to work that falsetto."

He groaned theatrically, but I caught the small smile that tilted his lips, making his dimples flash. He extended a hand for me to help him up, and feeling gracious in my victory, I clasped my palm with his.

Brady promptly tumbled me on top of him, chuckling when I squealed. I landed in a jumble of limbs, chest to chest with Brady, his face turned to mine. Stray ice crystals clung to his lashes, giving his red cheeks a sparkly glow, and I paused, wanting to cement the memory.

Brady took my silence as surrender, capturing my mouth in a deep kiss, the hint of a smile flirting with his lips as I sank into kissing him back. Heat rushed through me, and I squirmed, trying to get closer. I wished we didn't have the bulky layers between us. I wanted to feel him, be skin to skin. What had started out as playful swiftly turned serious. I forgot where we were. Who we were. It was easy to let everything but him fade under the magic of his kiss.

"Hey. Mister!"

Slowly, we broke apart, and I became aware of the little girl in pink frowning at us, hands on hips.

"No kissing," she demanded, disapproval clear in every line of her cherubic little face. "God will think you want a baby." She put her hands on her hips, the wisdom of ages in her tiny features. “You don’t. I have a new baby sister. She cries.A lot.”

Her dimpled cheeks were at odds with her scowl. Her expression reminded me of a miniature Brady, before I got to know him better.

“Thanks for the advice, I appreciate you looking out for us,” I said, keeping my expression solemn. “I hope your sister quits crying soon.”

The little girl heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Thanks. Mom says we can’t give her back.”

A blonde woman in a pink cap rushed up, smiling apologetically at us as she ushered her daughter away. "Sorry about that," she mouthed.

Brady’s deep chuckle rippled through me, and I dissolved into laughter.

I pushed away from Brady and tried to clamber to my feet, but he tugged me back, wreathing his hands around my neck.

"Stay awhile," he invited, smiling indulgently.

"Oh, no." I said, resisting the temptation to nuzzle into his neck instead. "One pint-sized lecture is enough for today. Besides, I demand a rematch so you can’t claim I had an unfair advantage."

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