“Is no one up for a board game or charades?” his sister-in-law asked again.
“Whatever my guest wants to do is fine with me.” Ethan raised a brow and turned to Carly. His good manners took over, but he was up for anything provided he wasn’t alone with her. As long as others were around, his mind would stay busy. He didn’t want time to think about Carly sleeping in his room tonight. He would listen to her breathing and not sleep a single wink.
“We could hit the hot springs,” Travis said.
“True,” Ethan said. Nothing like seeing Carly clad in a swimsuit to help him quit thinking about her. That would be fun. “You have so many options; board games, hot springs, or aurora viewing.”
“Actually,” Travis said, “you can view the Northern Lights from the hot springs, so you’ve got the two in one option.”
“I didn’t bring a swim suit,” Carly said.
“I have extras you can borrow,” Sabrina suggested.
“How about aurora viewing from the comfort of the lodge?” Carly asked.
“Sure, we can do that,” Ethan replied.
“Or there is option four. When I was in town earlier Lenny said we should come to the café for pie,” Dane said.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Travis said.
“Sure,” Sabrina said. “But I bet Lenny will agree to a game of Scrabble.”
“I bet he will, too,” Zak replied. “He’s always willing to throw himself on the sword and lose another game to you. Since you arrived in town, you’ve got everyone eating out of your Scrabble-playing hands.”
Sabrina laughed and lovingly patted her husband on the shoulder. “I don’t always win.”
“Uh huh, sure you don’t,” Zak said.
“I won you, that’s all that counts.” Sabrina kissed Zak full on the mouth.
“They’re still newlyweds,” Ethan explained to Carly.
“It’s cute,” Carly replied.
“So is pie at the café the vote?” Ethan called out to everyone. “And we’ll get to view the Northern Lights on the way.”
Various voices called out in agreement.
The family hadn’t been together like this in a while. Fiona was missing, but in a way, Carly temporarily filled that void. Sabrina was still adjusting to life in a family full of men, but for a transplant and a California politician’s daughter, she did pretty well.
As long as they all stayed together as a group and stayed up late. Maybe he’d wear himself and Carly out. He could hope he’d get some sleep tonight, but it was unlikely.
* * *
BEING WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE, Carly realized just how alone she’d been since moving to Alaska. She hadn’t made any friends. Then again, she hadn’t really tried.
She was used to being alone with her writing. Her schedule had been filled with attending sporting events and writing about them. The holiday party she’d attended in order to get an interview with Dane was the only half-way social thing she’d done in a long time.
Her impressions of Dane were what she’d expected. Of course, he was handsome, good looking, and had a lot of charisma. But the way he loved his family with such fierceness, she couldn’t have imagined. Their family fit so well together. They were a unit.
Sabrina didn’t seem new to the family because she fit in so well, too.
“Are we walking to town?” she asked.
“Heck no,” Travis said. “We’re taking the snow machines.”
After they went outside, Carly got on the back of Ethan’s snow machine and took advantage of holding on to his waist. Even through the layers of both their down jackets, she felt his heat, if only in her mind.
She let a plan take root. She had to believe Ethan wanted to be with her again. He wouldn’t have agreed to this fake relationship of theirs if he didn’t like her a little bit. In fact, he’d said he liked her.
She didn’t want to sleep alone tonight. Not if she had anything to do with it.
The darkness flew past her as they raced into town. Zak and Sabrina shared a snow machine. Travis and Dane each had their own. Molly had decided to stay home, claiming she wanted a bubble bath.
Inside the café, Lenny, the owner, greeted them at the door with a welcoming grin. “Come in, come in.”
Ethan introduced her.
“Nice to meet you,” Lenny said and ushered them to a table. “We have apple and pumpkin pie. Which would each of you like?”
Everyone called out their pie orders and Lenny disappeared from the dining area. The café reminded her of a 50s style restaurant with a checkered black and white floor and red vinyl seats.
“Not sure Lenny believed Carly was with you, Ethan,” Travis said.
“Yeah, go figure,” Ethan said under his breath.
“I’m just giving you shit.” Travis clapped Ethan on the shoulder. “I think we’re all just so happy to see you socializing, we hardly know what to say. When’s the last time you talked to anyone who wasn’t a client or a member of the family?”
“Travis, leave him alone,” Sabrina said.
“Just what I need.” Ethan rolled his eyes upward. “My sister-in-law to defend me.”
Carly found herself feeling jealous of their easy relaxed banter. And maybe it wasn’t such a stretch for Lenny to be shocked that Ethan had a guest with him, but Carly was determined to be more than a guest.
They filed into a booth and Carly made sure to position herself next to Ethan. If this plan had any chance of working, she’d need to start somewhere. No doubt, her low-cut angel costume had helped her out last time. Now she’d have to use her charm.
“He socialized with me just fine at the masquerade party,” Carly said.
“Yeah, I never did get all the details about that night,” Dane said. “Nobody suspected you were me?”
“No, but Trent did warn me about a bachelor auction dance about to start and how I better leave before I was outted. But don’t worry, I made an appearance, so you’ll be fine.”
“Well, I owe you for that,” Dane said.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why you’re giving Carly the interview she needs.”
“So I’ve been told.” Dane glanced at Carly. “When are we doing this interview?”
Carly shrugged. “Tomorrow or Sunday is fine. But you know, I have to ask, why are you so against being interviewed?”
Nobody answered.
She turned to Ethan in hopes of some kind of response.
“He doesn’t trust media folks to print the truth,” Ethan said.
“I can speak for myself,” Dane said, “but yeah, that’s basically it. I don’t trust you. But since you’re Ethan’s girlfriend, I’ll make an exception.”
His honesty stunned her and guilt stabbed her for not being completely truthful in return. “I’m not sure I’ve been elevated to girlfriend status. We only just met at the fundraiser. So we haven’t known each other that long, but I won’t print anything you don’t approve of. How’s that?”
“That sounds fine,” Dane replied.
Lenny returned bearing coffee cups and saucers. “Everyone want coffee?”
Everyone said yes and he poured the cups full. “Pie is coming right out.”
“Is he the owner, cook, and waiter?” Carly asked when he hurried off.
“He has a cook and a waitress for the lunch and dinner hours. Other than that, he runs the show,” Ethan said. “Well, at least in the winter. In the summer months, he has more staff.”
When Lenny brought the pie, everyone talked and joked, and Carly found herself falling in with the easy conversation. Whether it was snow machine races, yoga, cross-country skiing, skeet shooting, hockey…this was an active family. If her plan with Ethan was going to work, she needed to get him to their room and alone.
Just the heat of his body sitting next to her filled her with wanting. His strong presence, his easy manner, his quiet observations, everything about him drew her in. No wonder she never hesitated when he invited her to his room at the hotel to continue w
ith the interview. Who could resist him? Certainly not her.
On occasion, she would catch him looking at her. It was very subtle. If she wasn’t paying close attention, she probably wouldn’t have noticed.
After everyone ate their pie, Sabrina asked, “Are we playing Scrabble?”
“Enough with the Scrabble already,” Travis said.
“It’s fine if we play,” Ethan said.
While the idea of word play was enticing, Carly wanted Ethan alone. She wanted to put her plan into action, although she hadn’t completely figured out what the steps of the plan entailed. Except there was no way she’d sleep in the same room with Ethan and actually let him sleep. Gathering her courage, she told Ethan, “I am pretty tired. Can we head back to the lodge?”
“Sure. If you’re ready to sleep, I’ll take you back.” Ethan sat up straighter.
That was not what she meant. “I’m not that tired. Well, I guess I’m just brain tired, maybe not up to my best game of Scrabble. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Absolutely, I’ll take you back.”
Great. Now he sounded like he’d take her and drop her off at the lodge.
“Yeah, sure.” Ethan gathered the coat from behind the bench seat, but he gave her a questioning gaze. “We’re going to head back.”
Carly put on her jacket. She decided to rehearse in her head what she was going to say once she got him alone. She was a writer and she’d never had a problem with words before, but suddenly she couldn’t think of what in the heck she would say. Um, I think you’re hot and I want you just didn’t feel right. She had the ride to the lodge to figure it out. Used to deadlines and meeting them, she’d come up with something spectacular.
CHAPTER 13
When they drove up to the lodge, all the floodlights were off and only a few windows had light shining from them. Ethan shut off the engine and parked in a giant detached garage.
Carly stood in the darkness and waited for him. A cold breeze bit her cheeks and she shivered, missing the warmth of Ethan’s back against her torso.
He approached her. “Are you ready to go inside?”
“Sure. It’s so dark. Well, except for the stars and the Northern Lights. It’s so beautiful here—even in the darkness,” she said.
“It’s peaceful and quiet.” He moved beside her and they walked across the snowy path to the lodge.
“I think your family is terrific. They’ve made me feel so welcome, like I’m one of them,” she said wistfully.
Ethan didn’t respond.
They walked inside and took off their winter gear. Ethan put their boots in a closet while she debated what to say. Nerves rattled her. Last time she was with Ethan, she’d had several Long Island iced teas and a glass of wine. Now she didn’t have anything to dull her senses, only her good sense telling her she was crazy. “So, should we head up to your room?”
They stood at the base of the staircase. “You go ahead,” Ethan said. “You said you were tired. You have some privacy and go to bed. I’ll come up later.”
Great. So far, she couldn’t even get him to the second floor, never mind second base. “Actually, I just said I was tired to get you alone.”
She was the queen of blunt. She’d done the same thing when they met. May as well own it. “I mean, I am tired. It’s been a long day, but I was hoping we could talk.”
He peered at her suspiciously, like she had some ulterior motive, which, of course, she did, but he didn’t know that. “Go ahead. I’m listening. What did you want to talk about?”
“Could we sit down?” she asked.
“Sure.” He walked toward the big river rock fireplace that stood in the front lobby.
“Could we go to your room? You know, for some privacy.”
He hesitated. She could practically read the indecision in the lines of his ruggedly handsome face. He looked so serious. She had to lighten the mood. “I won’t bite.” She threw open her arms. “I know it’s so cliché, but I won’t. I promise.”
“What do you want to talk about?” He narrowed his eyes and in that moment, she wanted to touch the scar near his eye. She wanted to heal any hurts he’d ever suffered.
She’d never considered herself the nurturing type, but she was overcome with a sudden sense of wanting him in ways she hadn’t experienced before. Not only in her bed, but she wanted to smooth the lines of stress off his face and make him smile. “Well, we could be interrupted here by your mom or your brothers when they get back. But okay, fine.” He wasn’t making this easy. “I want to talk about us.”
“I thought we decided that the us was just for the benefit of my mom and we’d play along.”
The seduction scene she’d envisioned in her head wasn’t working so well. “I don’t want to pretend.”
“Okay, then I’ll tell my mom the truth. I should have told her the truth in the first place.”
“No, I want it to be legitimate.” She paced across the lobby in front the fireplace and swung around to face him. “I want us to be a real couple. But only if you want it, too.”
“Us? A real couple?”
“Yes. Is that so impossible for you to believe?”
“Carly, I don’t date.”
“What do you mean?” She shook her head. “Of course you do.”
“No, I don’t. The night that you and I had…it never should have happened. I should have told you who I was.”
“Would you stop already? You’re going over old stuff that we’ve already discussed. Well, except the mistake part. It wasn’t a mistake to me.”
“You didn’t talk to me for days afterward. The only reason you called me at all was because you needed my help.”
Damn. He was right, but not about everything. She had to make him understand. “Okay, maybe I thought it was a mistake initially, but now I don’t.”
“You aren’t making any sense.” He shook his head.
He was right, of course. She didn’t make sense, even to herself sometimes. She decided to come clean. “I wanted to call you. Yes, I used the interview with Dane as an excuse, but I wanted to call. Using Dane was just a way for me to get to you.”
He crossed his arms across his broad chest. The muscles of his forearms flexed. “This is a new concept. Using Dane to get to me? Not sure if I’m buying that.”
“It’s the truth, and you didn’t call me, either.” She let her eyes slide down the length of his tall frame. To her, his scarred eye only made him sexy, maybe even a little dangerous looking.
“I didn’t have your number.” He narrowed his eyes at her, following the way her lingering gaze soaked him up.
“You didn’t ask,” she replied quickly.
“Carly, listen…” He rubbed his hand across chin.
“No more rehashing the past. Let’s move forward, okay?” She took a step closer to him. The stubble on his cheeks had grown and she wanted to feel the scratch of it.
“I don’t date,” he stated.
“Why?” She tucked her hand firmly back at her side, even though she longed to reach out to him.
“Not interested.”
He firmly erected a wall between them, and she had to find a way to break it down. “Elaborate.”
He ran his hand across his forehead, no doubt frustrated with her impertinence. Wouldn’t be the first time she’d annoyed someone with her constant questions.
His expression became serious and subdued. “I married the love of my life,” he said quietly. “We were married less than two years when she died.”
She sucked in a breath. Okay, so she wasn’t expecting that. She contemplated how to navigate this conversation in the best way possible. “I understand, but what does that have to do with you dating?”
He looked at her as though she’d asked the most idiotic question ever.
She decided to throw caution into the wind. She’d never been good at side-stepping issues anyway. “No one will ever match up, so why bother. Is that it?”
“Something like that, yeah.�
�� He wouldn’t make eye contact with her anymore. He turned and stared into the orange and blue flames of the fire. “Actually, no.” He lifted his chin and stared at her again. “It has to do with me. I have nothing to give. I gave what I had, and it’s gone now.”
Hearing the words were a blow to her midsection. The wall he’d carefully erected was reinforced not just with mortar, maybe more like titanium. His stare was so intense she felt it in her core, in her own heart. “You still have a heart, Ethan.”
Whether he knew it or not, she wouldn’t give up, not on him, not yet. But she also knew that she was asking too much too fast. She had to back off. She could read people better than most and she knew this subject might push him away for good.
“Okay.” She put her hands up. “I understand, kind of.” She had to tread carefully and lighten the mood that had grown so somber. “Basically, you’re telling me you aren’t good boyfriend material—that’s fine, I get it, but how about a friends-with-benefits arrangement? Would you be open to that?”
* * *
ETHAN WANTED to ask Carly to repeat herself, but he knew what he heard and he knew what it meant. He just couldn’t believe it.
He also knew he only needed a split second to decide. He had to say no to her proposition. But right when he was about to respond, his brothers and sister-in-law barged through the front door with about as much noise as a herd of caribou. A cold rush of air blew across the entryway. Ethan turned back around. “Let’s go up to my room so we can finish this conversation.”
“Perfect,” she said. “That’s exactly what I hoped you’d say.”
He suddenly felt cornered and didn’t like the feeling, but he needed to set her straight right now. She had to understand he had nothing to offer her other than the opportunity to interview his brother. He never promised anything beyond that. He gestured toward the stairs. Carly walked in front of him.
“Where are you guys going?” Travis asked.
“We’re going to call it a night,” Ethan said, as he gently placed his hand at the small of Carly’s back, just like he’d done the evening of the fundraising party. His hand fit perfectly, like it was meant to be there, and for a moment he remembered how his hand felt on Richelle’s back. He pulled away as though he’d been burned.
Melting His Alaskan Heart Page 9