“True, true.” Ray smiled at Lena. “I hope we aren’t upsetting you with our conversation about Jessie. I’m sure she’s the last thing you’d choose for a topic.”
Lena handled his concerns with aplomb. “No worries at all. Dex told me about his relationship with your daughter. It’s only natural that you’d speak of the connection. Now, it’s your youngest daughter that’s marrying his brother, is that right?”
The smoothness of Lena’s transition from Jessie and the past to Jill and the present made Dex smile. Ray seemed impressed as well. How could he not be? Lena was poised and confident, not to mention beautiful.
Her composure held as he introduced her to the rest of his family. She kept that smile on her face even when stories were told of his past with Jessie. When they had a moment of relative privacy, he questioned her about it.
“I can’t believe it doesn’t bother you at all when they bring up my past. I know if your family starts telling stories of you and your ex, I’m going to be a jealous mess. What’s your secret?”
She leaned close and her lips brushed his earlobe as she answered. “We have her to thank for our chance at being together. If she hadn’t crushed you, you’d have never needed me to come home with you. So thank her, don’t hate her.”
Thank her, don’t hate her.
Those five words changed everything for him. He looked at Lena, and it dawned on him that his future really was sitting next to him in a soft blue sweater. Not just a short fling, but a real future. And the thought scared him senseless.
He wasn’t looking for forever. He wanted fun and easy and low risk. But if that was true, then why was Lena tempting him to throw all those wants to the side and risk it all?
Lena made him feel more alive than he’d felt in years. The protective walls he’d erected around his heart were being cracked open, and the desire to knock them down entirely so that he could give Lena his whole heart was getting hard to resist.
Mary and his mom called for everyone to sit. All the tables had been pushed into one huge table that took up most of the vast space. Dark cloths covered the table, and several bright flower arrangements were placed at evenly spaced intervals along the table. Servers started bringing in food, family style.
He found himself seated between his dad and Lena, who seemed to hit it off instantly. At one point, he just reclined back to make it easier for them to continue their discussion. Usually his dad’s financial discussions ended up a little over his head, but Lena had a surprising knowledge of finances. From the gleam in his dad’s eyes, Lena had won him over in that single conversation.
Watching her banter back and forth with Wade brought a smile to Dex’s face. She was holding her own against his annoying little brother, and even more, she seemed to be enjoying it.
Seeing her fit in with his family felt so strange. He’d convinced himself that Lena was such a city girl that his family would make short work of her and he could use that as justification for why they “broke up” in a few weeks. Somehow, he’d really thought this week would be easy justification for why their relationship ended. Yet Lena was not only getting along easily, but she was even bonding with them.
He wanted to have her bond with him. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Jealous of his own family? That was a new low for him. And maybe a hint of warning that he was getting in over his head with Lena. But rather than reinforcing the walls around his heart, he reached for her hand and their fingers interlocked. She smiled softly over at him before returning to her conversation with his dad and brother.
Shortly after they’d finished eating, he leaned over and asked her quietly, “You wanna get out of here? How’s ice skating sound?”
She nodded.
Within five minutes, they were back in his SUV and heading down to the local ice rink.
“I haven’t been ice skating since I was a teenager,” she said with a laugh. “And not even regularly then. I’m not sure I’m going to be any good at this, but I’m game to try it.”
He wanted to pull her close and hoped that skating would give him the opportunity. “All you have to do is hold my hand, and I promise, I’ll never let you fall.”
“On the ice or in life?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure he had the words to communicate everything he was feeling. Slipping his hand over hers, he squeezed gently. “I want to be with you, Lena. I want to see where this could go between us.”
“For how long, though?” She pulled her hand away and tucked it into her coat pocket.
While he wasn’t completely sure, he thought she was saying she wanted something long-term. He knew she’d hated how he bounced from relationship to relationship, and she’d said she didn’t want this to be real. But occasionally she said something that made him think she’d be open to more if there was the possibility of a commitment.
Even a day ago, he’d have sworn he wasn’t the commitment type anymore.
But how long did it take for a woman to change a man’s mind?
A month? A week?
The breadth of a kiss?
* * *
Lena’s muscles tensed as Dex pulled her around the ice rink. She clung to his hands like he was her lifeline, her only defense against another bone-jarring crash into the ice at their feet. Her savior—he’d rescued her from a few hard falls. His protective nature and gentle coaxing as he’d tried to teach her to ice-skate had given her a glimpse at the type of father Dex would be, if he could ever open his heart up to a long-term relationship again.
“I think you are starting to get the hang of this,” Dex encouraged as he skated backward, holding both of Lena’s hands in his own. He glided across the ice with a grace she envied.
“Ha, you’re only saying that because the last time I fell I didn’t take you out with me.” Unlike the time before where she’d slammed him into the wall so hard that a hockey ref would have called a penalty on her for boarding. She’d managed to knock the breath out of them both in one embarrassing moment.
“That might bear a slight resemblance to the truth.” He laughed. The chill of the ice rink had added color to his cheeks. “Are you having fun, at least?”
“I’m freezing cold and have bruised far more than my pride, but surprisingly, yes, I am having fun.” Her right skate hit a divot in the ice and she pitched forward into his chest. “But I swear this skate has it out for me.”
Thankfully, he had enough balance for the both of them and kept them from tumbling onto the ice again. His arms wrapped around her, keeping her upright. “I’m sure it’s the skate’s fault. You want me to give it a good talking to?”
“If you think it will help,” she murmured from her position against his chest. “I think I’ll sit this lap out and maybe get some hot chocolate. Not sure my bottom can handle another hard landing.”
A group of teenagers skated past, laughing. Cheeks pink from the cold, they seemed far surer on those tiny strips of metal strapped to their feet than Lena could ever hope to be. She watched one of the girls do some fancy loop or axel—Lena wasn’t sure of the proper terminology. Even a child had more technical ability on the ice than she did.
“She’s good,” Dex said.
Lena looked up at him in question. How’d he know what she’d been thinking?
“You’ve been watching her. If she’s who I think she is, her grandparents own this rink, so she’s practically grown up here.” He brushed Lena’s hair back and tucked it behind her ear. “She’s been skating as long as she could walk, so of course she’s good.”
“So, what you are saying is that I shouldn’t feel bad that someone who is half my age is a better skater than me?”
He whispered in her ear, “I’m sure there are a lot of things that you are far better at than that kid is.”
She blushed at his comment, feeling the heat rising up into her cheeks at the innuendo in his words. “Shh...wh
at if the kids hear?”
He shrugged. “So what if they do? You are a great nurse. None of them would be of any help at all in surgery. Most of them probably barely know basic anatomy.”
Pushing against his chest, she moved away from him, wobbling on her skates. “That’s not what you meant.”
“If anyone overheard me, it is exactly what I meant.” The broad smile on his face was as innocent as it was genuine. “I’ll defend that position to the end too.”
Lena grabbed for the rail when her skate decided to go off on its own again. “How ’bout that hot chocolate?”
Answering physically rather than verbally, Dex led her off the ice and over to the food counter. He ordered them a couple hot chocolates, and they went and sat on one of the benches overlooking the rink. It was a little warmer off the ice, at least.
“I’m so cold I think my blood has frozen.” Cupping her hands around the warm cup of chocolate, Lena sighed. “And don’t even lecture me on how that’s impossible. I may not have a medical degree, but I know how I feel. And that’s nearly solid ice.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in close. His breath was warm and delicious against her cheek. “If you didn’t insist on sitting on the ice so much, you wouldn’t be chilled through.”
“We don’t have winter where I’m from!” she protested. “Even the coldest days are warmer than it is in here. How’d you do the last time you went surfing?”
A loud, harsh laugh burst out of him and drew the attention of some of the people around them. “I’ve never attempted to surf, so probably worse than you did skating. Do you surf?”
“I used to.” There was a longing in her voice. Man, she missed the rush of being out on the waves. The freedom that came with being out on the water. But when Dex picked up her hand and held it in his own, she missed it a little bit less.
“Well, I know just the thing to cheer you up. It’s not surfing, but I’m sure you going to love it anyway.” He squeezed her close and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Way better than ice skating, I promise.”
Her heart raced at that tiny display of intimacy. “What do you have planned?”
“If I tell, it ruins the surprise.” He stood and offered her his hand. “Do you trust me?”
She gazed up at him while she considered the question. Did she trust him? He had such an earnest expression on his face in that moment that not taking his hand had to be a crime. Gingerly, she placed her hand in his.
“I’m going to trust you for the evening.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “You won’t regret it.”
Leading her out of the skating rink, he had her tucked into the passenger seat of the SUV before either of them uttered another word. When he turned the SUV out of town and back down the twisty road they’d traveled when they came in from Gatlinburg, she had to speak up.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” She gasped as they passed several white-tailed deer standing right on the side of the road. “Did you see them?”
“Everyday occurrence around here.” He glanced over at her. “You look shocked. Have you never seen deer before?”
Lena scoffed. “Not outside a zoo or nature preserve. City girl, remember? We don’t exactly have deer running past the hospital in LA. I mean, in some of the parks and on the outskirts, yeah, but not where I’m from.”
“Don’t look to the left now if deer shock you.”
“A bear!” She spun in her seat and her excited exclamation filled the cab. Staring out the window, Lena could barely believe her eyes as Dex drove slowly past the large black bear who seemed to be in no hurry as she lumbered down the road. “Don’t bears hibernate? Why is it just ambling down the road right now instead of sleeping?”
“Ah, see, that’s what most people think. But where it stays warmer here, our bears don’t spend months straight hibernating like northern bears do. They do sleep for extended periods, of course. But they are also very easily awakened. And when they wake up they usually go searching for food and stay up for a little while before they return to their den or sometimes find a new one.”
“I had no idea.” She tried to sneak a topic change in while he was in a talkative mood. “So, where are you taking me for our first real date? It’s getting dark now.”
“We are almost there.” He reached over and squeezed her hand briefly. “Did skating not count as a real date? By my count, this should be date number two.”
“Nice try. Same day, same date.”
His mention of this being a real date sent her heart out for a jog. Dating for real made her nervous, and excited, and a thousand other emotions all at once. Lena’s mind raced as they passed by tourist attraction after tourist attraction. “Are we doing a dinner theater show?”
“Nope.”
“Can I get a little hint?” Christmas lights competed with attraction signs in every direction. Twinkling lights lit all the trees along the sidewalks, and most of the businesses had lighted displays garnishing their windows, filled with Santas and reindeer-pulled sleighs.
“Nope.”
“Are we buying moonshine?” She laughed as they drove past a second distillery. “I’ve never had moonshine but I’m not opposed to trying it.”
“That’s not why we are here, but we can stop in to one of the distilleries on the way back if you like.”
“Hmm...” She scanned the signs along the street. “I don’t think it’s the aquarium.”
“Nope.” He pulled into a public parking lot. “We have to walk a bit to get where we are going.”
Interest piqued, Lena climbed out of the SUV and wrapped her scarf tighter against the cold wind. “Is it indoors?”
Dex gave an awkward sounding chuckle. “Not exactly, but give it a chance, okay?”
They walked a block or so down, with Lena completely fascinated by the red lifts going up the side of the mountain into the darkness. Above them, a suspension bridge hung, covered in Christmas lights.
“Are we going up there?” she asked, her voice as filled with wonder as a small child’s on Christmas morning.
“Yeah, we are. I hope you aren’t afraid of heights.”
He showed their tickets to the attendant and they were soon seated in the next lift chair. The attendant tucked the safety bar down into place and they began the slow trek up the mountain.
“This is amazing, but cold!”
Dex’s arm settled over her shoulders and the weight brought with it a delicious warmth much welcome in the crisp evening air. “Does this help? If not, I can think of a few other ways to warm you up.”
The words sounded like a flirtatious challenge as they rolled off his tongue, but Lena didn’t want to run away from something with Dex anymore. Being with Dex, spending time with him and seeing how he was when with his family, had changed her opinions on giving a relationship a chance.
She loved him. Loved spending time with him.
Love...
She swallowed back the realization that she’d somehow allowed herself to fall in love with Dex. No longer falling, she was head over heels, beyond the point of rescue. She laid her head on his shoulder. What would come next? How on earth did she proceed with a fake relationship when she was in real love with the surgeon at her side?
When they reached the top and got off the lift, employees ushered them inside to warm up. Dex bought them each a hot chocolate, and they sat up on the second floor, staring out over the town below them.
“This place is gorgeous.” Wisps of steam rose from the mug in her hands and warmed her wind-chilled cheeks. “I’d love to see the fall color from up here.”
“Maybe next fall. My mom would love to show you all the touristy places around Westfield too. It’s kinda her thing, after all.” Dex sipped at his own drink. “But there’s one more part to this evening and I think it will be your favorite.”
/>
Confidence abounded in his voice. The wind had put color in his face. Women from across the room eyed him and not even discreetly. In jeans today, or scrubs at the hospital, Dex was a man who drew attention with very little effort. It felt really good to have his attention focused on her.
When she finished her hot chocolate, Dex took her hand.
“Come on, one last thing before we head back down the mountain.” He led her outside and over to the suspension bridge she’d been in awe of from down in town. “You ready for this?”
The suspension bridge seemed to extend forever. Christmas lights lit up the railings and some of the cables all the way across the valley, it seemed. Bright reds, greens and blues twinkled in rows above their heads and at their sides. As they stepped out onto the bridge, Lena gaped at the glass panels at their feet and the rows of lights below them too.
“Dex, this is...wow.”
When they reached the center of the bridge, Dex stopped her. “I thought you might like to see Gatlinburg lit up for Christmas from the best view in town.”
“It’s beautiful.”
His arm slipped around her waist and moved her into his embrace. Tilting her chin up, he leaned in close. “So are you.”
Lena couldn’t fight the attraction anymore. When her arms snaked up around his neck, Dex responded as she’d hoped. His lips brushed hers, innocently at first, teasing. He tasted of chocolate and mint and hope.
This kiss was unlike the ones in the parking lot at the rest stop. This kiss held more than simple attraction. Lena projected her love for him into the embrace and hoped Dex could sense that she wanted, no, needed more.
He eased back on the kiss, but kept her contained within the circle of his arms. “Do you think we can give this a real try? I’m game if you are.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AS THEY ENTERED the church, Dex waited for the dread that he’d been sure would come when he walked through that vestibule, but it never came. The last time he’d been in this sanctuary, he’d been left at the altar. The grin that spread across his face was from the realization that being here didn’t hurt.
A Nurse, a Surgeon, a Christmas Engagement Page 13