Chapter Six #3
“It really did.”
She laughed, then pressed her forehead briefly against my chest.
When she looked up again, her eyes were bright but steady.
“I’m going home, Lucky. I’m not leaving you.”
The words hit harder than anything either of us had said since she told me she had to go.
I bent and kissed her.
There was nothing tentative left between us now. Caprice wrapped her arms around my neck, and I lifted her until her boots left the snow. Her laugh disappeared against my mouth before the kiss deepened.
I knew the feel of her body now. I knew how she fit against me when she stayed close and let everything else wait. I knew the sound she made when I kissed below her ear and how quickly she would tell me when she wanted more.
Wanting more now would have been easy.
Letting the kiss be enough mattered more.
I lowered her slowly until her boots touched the ground.
Caprice stayed against me with her hands linked behind my neck.
“You’re very good at the part where you pick me up, although twice is not statistically meaningful.”
“I’ve had some practice. I’m willing to collect more data.”
“Eventually.”
That single word sent enough heat through me that I laughed.
“I’ll make myself available.”
“Excellent.”
Bear shoved his nose against the side of her coat.
Caprice released me and crouched.
This time she didn’t joke immediately.
She put both arms around his neck while Bear leaned into her so hard she had to brace one boot behind herself.
“I’m going to miss you,” she told him. “Please try not to destroy any other woman’s underwear before I get back. I’d like to remain your most memorable offense.”
Bear licked her cheek.
Caprice closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
I laughed and handed her a glove she’d dropped in the snow.
She wiped her cheek, gave Bear one last rub under the chin, and stood.
Then there was nothing left to carry, clear, or check.
Caprice took the resort key packet from her coat pocket and held it up.
“I’ll return this and the gear at the lodge. After that, I’m officially no longer your guest.”
“Guest Services will take both. And after that, you won’t be.”
Her gaze held mine.
“Good, because I have something I need to clarify before the contract expires.”
The producer was back in her voice, but only enough to make me smile.
Caprice stepped close and touched one finger to the center of my chest.
“The deal was that I called you when I had a legitimate problem with the rental cabin, and you handled it personally. I’m about to return the key.
The fireplace works, the door works, the road is open, and Bear has not destroyed any additional lingerie.
As far as I can tell, you have completed every obligation. ”
“I’m glad the resort met your standards.”
“It exceeded them in one significant area. The Property Manager.”
That one got me.
Caprice rose onto her toes and kissed me again, softer this time.
When she settled back on her heels, she kept one hand against my jacket.
“So when I call you from Missoula tonight, I don’t want you answering as the Property Manager, and when you call me tomorrow, I don’t need anything to be broken first.”
“I wasn’t planning to wait for that.”
The words stayed between us for a second.
Then I understood exactly what she was giving me.
She wasn’t giving me a schedule, a promise that work would never interfere, or an impossible guarantee about two lives we had only just started figuring out.
She was taking away the excuse.
“I can manage that,” I said.
“I thought you could.”
Caprice finally stepped back and opened the driver’s door.
I closed it for her after she climbed inside, then waited while she adjusted the heat and checked the mirrors. Bear stood beside me, close enough that his shoulder touched my leg.
She lowered the window.
“I’ll call you when I get home.”
“I know, and I’m trying not to make you stay another hour just to prove how happy I am about it.”
Caprice smiled. “That would be extremely inconvenient.”
“I figured.”
Her smile stayed with me as she put the Audi in gear.
Then she paused.
“Lucky?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m coming back.”
There was no uncertainty in her voice and no question in the words.
I leaned closer to the open window.
“I know that too.”
Caprice kissed me once more, quick and warm, before raising the glass.
The Audi moved down the drive, tires gripping cleanly on the packed surface. She lifted one hand as she reached the curve, and then the navy SUV disappeared between the snow-covered pines.
Bear leaned against my leg.
I rested one hand on his head and stood there until the sound of the Audi faded down the mountain.
By tonight, Caprice would be back in Missoula with a production waiting for her. I would be here with rounds to finish, a dog to feed, and a resort returning to normal after the storm.
My phone would ring.
There would be no fireplace, no sticking door, no weather problem, and no agreement giving either of us a reason to answer.
For the first time since Caprice arrived on Fire Mountain, I couldn’t wait for her to call when absolutely nothing was wrong.