dropped her bag on the floor, latched the buckle and attempted to relax against the seat. The windows were fogged up and before Spence would drive an inch, he switched the heater to defrost and pulled a folded towel from beneath the seat to wipe the glass.
The way Spence leered at her out of the corner of his eye made her feel like a slacker.
“If I reach under my seat, will I find a nifty towel, too?” She asked, wanting to help out.
“No.”
That made her wonder what he kept under the passenger seat. Something sensible, she figured, because this was Spence McKaslin—the man who she’d seen crack a smile once, but it had been short-lived and she had been way across the room from him. Definitely something practical, she decided. Probably an emergency tool kit or a first aid kit. It was unlike the mess of books she had beneath hers, which had slipped beneath the seat one by one after she’d left each of them on the floor.
“Here. If you don’t mind.” He folded the towel over to a dry side and handed it to her.
Talk about scintillating conversation. For once couldn’t a handsome man—even a scowling, bad-tempered handsome man—look at her and say, “You look lovely, Lucy, even with a frozen nose and your eyelashes iced together”?
She took the towel from him. “Sure, I’d be happy to.”
He grunted, nodded once and put the truck in gear. The vehicle rolled forward, and he expertly managed a huge slick of solid ice and turned onto the main road.
He remained silent as she wiped at the foggy glass. He didn’t say, “This is great. We’ve never really had the chance to get to know one another, so let’s do that now. How about a romantic dinner? Maybe some hot tea afterward in front of a roaring fireplace, and we can talk for hours.”
No, he didn’t say anything like that. He stared straight ahead as if he were pretending she wasn’t seated right beside him. He didn’t even sneak a look at her. She knew, because she was watching him. It was as if she didn’t exist to him at all.
Bummer. She wished she could explain what it was about Spence that made her want to like him. It was just her romantic heart, she thought as she folded the towel a final time. The window was clear so she set the towel next to her bag instead of on the leather upholstery. She was a writer for a reason, mostly because this was her life—dull, staid and quiet. If she didn’t have an imagination to spice it up, she’d be lethally bored.
But not even her imagination was strong enough to figure out how to turn Spence’s silence into polite conversation.
So she contented herself with watching the windshield wipers swipe from side to side and the huge snowflakes evading them.
Chapter Two
Spence squinted through the snow on the window and couldn’t believe his eyes. “This can’t be right. You don’t live in a hotel, do you?”
“No, but I live way out on Blackhawk Hill, and that’s too far to ask you to drive.”
“You should have asked me,” he said. The shields were up around his heart, so he was certain he was immune to her incredible loveliness. Even with her hair wet from the snow and straggling against the sides of her face, she was breathtaking. Not that he wanted her to know that’s what he thought. “I’m not leaving you here. I said I’d take you home, and I meant it.”
“Did you hear the road report? Half the county roads are closed down. I should have left sooner, but I promised Danielle I would get those signed before your Thanksgiving week sale, and it’s been one of those days. It’s my fault, so you shouldn’t be punished for offering to take me home.”
That was a woman’s logic for you. Spence scowled harder. He respected women and he liked them, but as the older brother of six sisters, he’d learned girls were a puzzle—and not logical in the slightest. “I’m taking you home where I know you’re safe.”
“Really? And here I thought you would be in a hurry to get rid of me.” She said it with a smile, with understanding, as if she thought she knew why he always kept his distance.
She knew nothing. Nothing at all. All it took was one glance into her unguarded green eyes and his Adam’s apple stuck in his throat and wouldn’t budge. Emeralds would be considered dull and worthless when compared to that deep, stunning green. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t swallow. He was lucky to breathe, which meant he was staring at her like a fool as she gave a little shoulder shrug.
“Spence, I’m not going to let you drive on unplowed roads the state patrol is about ready to close down anyway. I’ll be fine here. Look, there’s a vacancy sign. It’s a nice place.”
He tore his gaze from hers and stared at the stately hotel sign. Any second now the effects of Lucy would wear off and he would be able to speak again like a normal man. “What if the power goes off?”
“They probably have a generator.”
“What about dinner? Have you had dinner?”
“Uh, no. There’s a restaurant next door, oh, that’s closed. No surprise there. Don’t worry. I’m sure there’s room service in a place like this.” Kindly, she laid her gloved fingertips on his forearm. “Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine. You can leave with a clear conscience. Really.”
“Maybe I don’t want a clear conscience.” Even through the layers of down of his sleeve, he could feel the weight of her fingertips, the impact of her touch. It was like a mortar blast against the shields of his heart.
Wasn’t that just his luck? She was the only woman who had ever made a dent in his defenses. A smart man would trust a grown woman to take care of herself, drop her off and drive away. But he’d never been a smart man. Doing the right thing wasn’t always smart. He didn’t like the idea of Lucy being alone in a hotel room when a blizzard hit the city. Sometimes electricity and services were running by the next day. Sometimes it took much longer. She didn’t even have a change of clothes with her.
“Wait.” He reached to turn on the radio and scanned for a road report. He found one of the local stations and listened. They were in the middle of listing all the county road closures. He thought of his brother-in-law, Jack, who would probably be called out on patrol tonight. The storm had come in fast, to everyone’s surprise.
He could feel Lucy’s gaze on him. His palms broke out in a sweat. There was that panic again, settling in because she was too close. Only the console separated them, but it wasn’t only physical distance. He’d stopped barking at her and started caring, and he wasn’t even sure when he’d allowed that to happen.
Maybe it was inevitable. He’d been watching Lucy from afar for a long, long time.
“I have three options,” he told her, down to business and determined to stay there. That way he didn’t have to notice how honest her eyes were. “One, we call my brother-in-law with the state patrol.”
“Katherine’s husband, Jack?”
“Yep. If he’s not out on an emergency, he can probably take you home.”
“I’d hate to trouble him. Someone might need him more than I do.”
Sincerity.
