“Hey,” he said, drawing out the word slowly as her mind emptied of thought.
“Hi.” Elise didn’t know what to say as she dragged her eyes from his to settle on the redhead at his side.
“This is Pepper.” Link’s voice was warm and curled around her like a soft whisper.
“Pepper?” Was that her? All breathless and Marilyn Monroe?
Link’s smile widened. “My new dog.”
“Oh.” She focused on the animal at his side—the furry one, not the human.
David cleared his throat, and she held on to her plastic smile, aware that she’d forgotten about the man altogether. “This is my friend—” He didn’t let her finish.
“We’ve already met,” Link said, his voice low and dangerous. “Best watch the ice, mate.” Link smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes as he turned to David. “A bloke your age goes down, he might not get back up.”
“Play nice.” The redhead yanked on Link’s arm and turned to Elise and David, a grin firmly in place. “I’m Rose.” Her English accent was posh and perfect, just like the rest of her. “You’ll have to excuse my rude cousin. Seems as if he left his manners in England.”
Wait. Cousin?
Elis’s eyes swung back to Link, and the heat in them was enough to curl her toes until her entire body was on fire. She was surprised the snow hadn’t melted into a pool of water. God, she was in trouble.
With David watching her closely and Link’s eyes all but eating her up, she stood there like a damn teenager, tongue-tied and anxious and feeling inadequate. Dumb. Foolish. She missed Link. She wanted to be with him.
She wasn’t just in trouble.
She was drowning in it.