Winter Interlude (33 page)

“All right,” she finally said, backing down
.
“I’m sorry.”

Knowing he’d won the skirmish and that it
ha
d cost her, he held out his hand
.
“
Still friends
?”

She shook her head
.
“No
.
I think we do better as enemies.” She then turned.

He watched her storm back to the house and shouted when she was almost at the door, “So, does this means our truce is off
?”

“Drop dead,
b
ucko
.
”
Without looking back
,
she sent
him an unladylike hand signal.

He burst out laughing, then shook his head and followed
.

Damn, she’s feisty
.
No wonder his brother had a hard time with her
.
She was definitely a challenge as he’d discovered this weekend
.
Kate
Winters rode roughshod over anyone who’d let her
.

He had no doubt that he’d handled her in exactly the right way
.
He was perfectly willing to be friends, but he had no intention of feeling her footprints on his back
.
Even if she hated him for not allowing her to tread all over him.

K
ate
tensed when the mudroom door opened at the same time the sound of the garage door closing filled the air
.
Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Paul amble across the room
.
She didn’t look up
.
Instead, she flipped the pages of one of Jame
s’
Architectural Digests
,
presenti
ng
an
appearance of total absorption
.

Thankfully, Paul ignored her and kept walking toward the bedroom hallway
.

As she mindlessly thumbed through the magazine, the
gas
flames blazed away
.
Sunlight filtered through the wall of windows, providing extra heat
.
While still on the cool side, the room had warmed up considerably
.
But what about later, when the sun went down and the temperature dropped
?

Unsure of how to act around him after making a complete ass of
herself
, she exhaled a relieved sigh the second he disappeared from view, then set the
magazine
on her lap
.
Pictures of modern architecture interested her about as much as watching golf on TV
.
She glanced at the doorway, pushing out the thought that she much preferred
the
grace and beauty of older homes and buildings
over
the square and glass monstrosities that had replaced them
.

She had bigger problems to focus on
.
Namely, how in the hell she’d maintain composure once they had to move to the master bedroom for warmth
.
The sofa might be a better alternative
.
T
he minute the notion was out, she discarded it, knowing that Paul wouldn’t allow anyone but him to take the couch
.
S
omehow the idea of him being gallant on her account didn’t sit well
.
Aside from
his actions this morning, he’d been a perfect gentleman and that made her feel
like pond scum
.

She sighed again
.
In all reality, that kiss would never have happened if she hadn’t provoked him into it
.
Her face burned with embarrassment just recalling the incident
.
Deep down, she wasn’t sure if she hadn’t wanted it
.
If she were completely honest, she’d have to admit that the snowball fight was more of the same goading
.
Look at me
!
Like me
!
Choose me over Judith!

How twisted could a person be
?

Paul chose that moment to emerge from the hallway, pulling a hood
ie
over his head
.
The navy blue only highlighted his blond good looks
.
Her gaze traveled down those broad shoulders, which narrowed to a lean waist, finally landing on jean-clad legs
.
The guy was
way
too attractive for his own good
.
Especially since
his male beauty was more than skin
-
deep and went all the way to his heart and soul
.
That
was
infinitely
more potent because it only added to his appeal.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, regretting her earlier behavior even more
.
His
response
had only garnered her respect
.
He was definitely worth having as a friend, which meant being completely civil
.
T
he only way to do that was to control that obnoxious, pushy facet of her personality
.
If he could handle the attraction without being a total jackass, then so could she
.

Nevertheless,
the realization chafed
.
Big
-
time
.
She didn’t want to respect him or like him
.
Viewing him as an enemy had always been so much easier
.

“So
,
what are we having for dinner
?”
Paul
stood,
warming his hands in front of the gas fireplace,
and
glanced over his shoulder
to eye
her as if the past few hours hadn’t happened
.

Men
!
Her stomach churned as she struggled to keep her jaw from dropping
.
Though
he stood
several feet away, he
was still
much too close for her comfort
.
How could he
be
so calm after all that had taken place
?
“
How about
the hot
dogs y
ou bought
?”
She glanced at him, hiding her
anxiety
behind a
tight
smile
.
Did he really not feel the
tension
?

“You’re joking
,
right?”

“No
.”
She went back to the magazine she wasn’t reading and flipped the page
.
“Why do you think I’m joking
?”
She
fought
to mirror his nonchalance, but it took some effort when his smile could make old ladies swoon
.
It certainly had her heart pitter-patt
er
ing at an accelerated pace.

He remained silent
.

Sensing that he was waiting for her to look up, she finally did
.

His gaze snared hers and held on tight, as that thousand
-
watt smile doubled in intensity
.
“After the feast
you made us
last night, I wouldn’t take you as someone who’d settle for
hot dogs
.”

She cleared her throat, praying he couldn’t hear her heart race
.
Pitter-patt
er
ing seemed too mild a description for something that was now thumping wildly
.
She broke the connection, trying to remember the gist of the conversation. Oh, yeah
.
Something about hot dogs
.
Nodding, she said, “You have a point
.
Most chefs cringe at the thought of all those nitrates and saturated fat
.
B
ut not me
.
I love them
.”
She turn
ed another page, going for bored
.
“Besides, I don’t feel like cooking.”

“Hmm
.
Something else we have in common
.”

She felt his gaze but ignored him this time, preferring not to dwell on their commonalities
.

“How ’bout I cook dinner
?
Hot dogs
are my specialty
.”
When she only nodded, he sighed and started for the bedroom hallway
.
“I have
work
to do, so let me know when you’re hungry.”

Surreptitiously, she watched him round the corner
.
The moment he was out of sight, she dropped the magazine on the coffee table and hugged herself
.
If only she could leave
.
Her gaze then moved to the windows
.
The scene couldn’t be more idyllic
.
Brilliant white against the sky and a forest of evergreens
.
She could barely make out the lake from her vantage point, but it appeared tranquil and
turquoise
blue
.