Her lips pursed and irritation simmered around her. He’d learned she was kind of a sore loser. When he won at Monopoly, she accused him of using the green real estate to drive them out of business. When he beat her at Bananagrams, a game similar to Scrabble, she claimed he’d used abbreviations and slang. When he found poop in the actual dictionary and reigned champion, she got all snarky and muttered under her breath the rest of the night. It was kind of cute.
“What bet?”
He pondered her question. “You go down the hill once without screaming and I’ll take you both out to dinner. Your choice.”
Luke whistled. “That’s a good bet, Mom. You’ve been craving Italian for a while now but said that place was too expensive.”
Connor raised a brow. “Care to take the bet?”
She glared at both of them, then stomped her feet. “This is the stupidest thing ever. I’m going to get wet and be miserable, but the lasagna will be worth it. Also the literal egg on your face.”
Connor smiled slowly. “Nice cliché.”
Her mouth fell open in shock.
“Save our place. I’ll grab you a tube,” he told her. Laughing the whole way, he got another one and when he rejoined them, they were almost to the top. The attendants were brisk and efficient, setting them up on the lift and showing them how to hold the tube as they were pulled along. When they reached the summit, they were each set up in their own row, with Luke all the way to the left and Ella on the right. Connor was in the middle.
They waited their turn and then the attendant gave them the thumbs-up signal.
Everyone pushed off at once.
Connor slid down the hill with decent speed, especially since his arms and legs were dangling over the tube, slowing him down. He spun in a full circle, the wind whipping at his face, stealing his breath, and laughter poured out of him as he reconnected with childhood memories of him and his brother spending a snowy day together.
Luke got up first. “That was awesome! I’m getting back in line right away.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Luke rushed back to the line and Connor looked for Ella. Where was she? His heart started to pound furiously, and finally he spotted a tag of black to the far right of the hill. How had she gotten over there?
He bounded down the slight hill and found her spread out on the snowy ground, eyes closed, deadly still.
“Ella!”
He bent over her, cupping her cheeks, looking for any injuries. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, causing him to jerk back.
“Gotcha! I didn’t scream once, Dunkle. You owe me a lasagna.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “I thought you were hurt!”
She rose up and smiled slow. “I know. Now who let out an undignified scream? What’d you think, I got hurt from a little snow tube? I’m tougher than that. Where’s Luke?”
He shook his head and stood up, reaching out his hand. “He’s back in line. You know, people have gotten head injuries from this sport. Next time, have a little consideration.”
She looked a bit chagrined. “Sorry. Geez, I didn’t know you’d get so worried.” She reached out and took his hand. In one perfect motion, Connor pretended to pull her up, then dropped her back so she tumbled into the snow.
His grin was evil. “Oops. My bad.”
She glared at him, shaking snow out of her hair. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
“Bring it.”
They stared each other down and then moved. In a flash, she went for him, but he pinned her down and they wrestled in the snow bank, rolling over and over until her giggles reached his ears and he finally stopped.
“Okay, okay, get off me. You win.”
Her knot had loosened and thick inky black waves covered her face. Slowly, he pushed them back from her cheeks and stared down at her, smiling. “You’re a real pain in the ass, Blake.”
She stuck out her tongue.
When he’d first met her, she struck him as the intense type. A real dry academic. Not much fun. He preferred the impulsive, easy, flirty type of women who didn’t take themselves so seriously. But over the weeks, he’d discovered Ella’s sense of fun was childish and pure at heart, like Luke’s. Simple things gave her joy. Their gazes locked, and suddenly, everything changed.
The air charged. Simmered.
Sexual energy blasted to life. Crackled.
Raw arousal struck him hard. Squeezed.
She sucked in a breath. Hypnotized, he took in the lush pink mouth that had been rubbed free of lipstick. The gold-rimmed irises within eyes so dark and deep, a man could sink forever and never want to be pulled out. He leaned over. Her breath struck him with soft, breathy wisps.
“Ella?” he whispered.