Winter Interlude (37 page)

After that
,
neither spoke.

The temperature dropped as
they ate
;
a definite chill
began
seeping
in
to
the room
.

Shivering,
Kate
took her last sip of wine, then
set her glass on the table
and rubbed her arms
.
Despite the heavy sweater she wore, her hands and feet were already freezing
.

She hated being cold, which meant moving to
the warmer room
sooner rather than later
.

Paul stood
, grabb
ing
both
empty
plates
.
On his way to the
kitchen,
he said,
“I
t’s getting pretty cold out here.
Why don’t you go
and
get comfortable in the other room
, while I do dishes
?”
He
add
ed, almost as an afterthought
,
“I’
ll take my time
.”

“Okay
.”
S
he smiled
and nodded
.
What a sweetheart
.
He’s
giving
me
space
.

“But first
,
I’ll get the fire going again in there
.”
After putting the plates in the sink, he quickly headed for the bedroom
.

Kate
followed
and
stood
at the door
to observe
h
is capable movements
,
briskly
rubbing her arms
as
he
re
moved the grate and kneeled i
n front of the fireplace
.

H
e
added more wood to the embers
,
then
stoked the logs
.
Kate
’s
breath hitched in the back of her throat
.
In seconds
,
heat from the
blazing fire
enveloped
her like a
warm
blanket and
finally
she was able to take in air
.

S
he glanced at her hands and
stepp
ed toward the bed, unwilling to dwell on how attractive he looked, kneeling with poker in hand
,
and a lock of blond hair falling over his face
.
He
possessed
a boyish quality that made her want to go over and wrap her arms around him
.
What would
his reaction be
if she threw
her scruples aside
and just did it
?
Hugging herself, she grinned.

He chose that moment to
turn and
look up
at her
.

She laughed
.
Heavens
!
This is becoming
a
habit.

“What’s so funny
?
”
he asked,
now
eying her intently.

“You really don’t want to know.”

“Ah, another secret
!”
A small smile crept across his face
.
“
H
ow I wish things were different and I could pry your secrets out of you
.”
He
mov
ed to
poke the fire one more time before
reluctantly rising
.
He
placed the tool with the others
.
“I’ll be in later
.”
T
hen
he was gone, having shu
t
the door
on his way out.

Standing
as
still as stone
,
Kate
eyed
the cl
osed door for a
long
moment
before sighing
.

She rushed to wash
her face
and
brush her teeth
.
After exchanging jeans for sweats, she
quickly got under the covers
.
S
everal rel
axing breaths
later
, she
let her body go limp. She intended
to be fast
asleep before he finished in the other room.

P
aul worked slowly, using the
mindless
chore
of washing and rinsing dishes to
keep his thoughts off
the woman in the other room
.

T
he countertops and stove
wiped down
,
he then
topped off his wine,
picked up his
glass
,
and started for the living room sofa, blowing out candles along his way
.
He decided to give
Kate
more time, mainly because he needed
it too
.
So he plopped himself down on the sofa and rested his feet on the coffee table.

H
e gazed into the flames
, taking the occasional sip of wine,
and a sense of peace settled over him
.
Despite the mess his love life was in, he couldn’t help believing things would improve
.
He swallowed the last of the
c
abernet, yet made no effort to move
.
He was too relaxed.

A
noise disturbed the quiet,
and
Paul glanced up
.
His eyes narrowed in confusion
at
the vision of
Kate
standing before him
.
It took a moment to find his bearings
.
He was still at the house in Tahoe, so he must
ha
ve awakened from a deep sleep
.

Kate
leaned closer, then smiled and whispered his name
.
The yearning in her eyes matched the
longing
in his heart
.
He patted the spot next to him on the sofa
.
She quickly obeyed his silent request and sat beside him
.
Then she did the unexpected, turning his way and sliding her fingers around his neck, and with beckoning eyes, pulled him closer.

He didn’t waste precious time trying to figure it out
.
He simply
acquiesced to her invitation and lowered his mouth to hers
.
The
moment
their lips connected,
if was if
he
was
tast
ing manna from
heaven
, which ease
d
some of the hunger in his heart
.

Her contented sigh floated somewhere above him at the same time her hands began moving down his back
.

She was so warm…so tempting…so responsive
.

The longing to possess her increased
exponentially
in those few seconds, but he didn’t dare overstep his boundaries
.
S
uddenly, his worst fears came to fruition when he realized he no longer held her
.
Her laughter filled his head while disappointment and heartache filled his soul.

“Paul?”

His name drifted from afar
.

“Wake up, Paul
.
The power’s on.”

He slowly emerged from a sleep-induced fog into reality
.
Opening his eyes, he saw
Kate
leaning over him so near he felt the warmth of her breath, only this time it wasn’t a dream.

Their stares locked
.
Something
indefinable
passed between
them
,
t
hen
grew
.
He planted his feet on the ground and sat up straighter to break the connection. Several questions played in his mind
—
his biggest
?
What would she do if he kissed her as he was dying to do?