Kayla stood there, drowning under Christmas decorations and emotions she didn’t recognize.
She’d felt that way at the frozen waterfall when Jackson had kissed her.
She’d known right away it was a moment she wouldn’t forget.
Shaken, she forced a smile. “Then that’s the feeling we need to try to create. For other people, obviously.” She met Jackson’s searching gaze and saw Elizabeth glance between them thoughtfully.
“So what are your plans for the rest of the week? Are you taking Kayla skiing, Jackson?”
“Just as soon as I’ve found the ‘flat slope’ she’s requested.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “My boys tend to prefer the other sort of slope, Kayla. Steep ravines, gullies—the steeper the better. They loved the outdoors and they loved the adventure. They were wild.”
There it was again, Kayla thought. Pride. She sensed Elizabeth was a woman who would never feel anything but pride for her children.
“Not wild.” Jackson stooped and switched on the Christmas tree lights. “I knew what I wanted and I went after it.” He turned his head to look at Kayla, his gaze loaded with meaning.
Oblivious, Elizabeth stacked the plates and cups on the tray. “You were all wild. And once Tyler started racing—I couldn’t ever watch. I watched the recording, once I knew he was safe.”
Kayla tried to respond, but her mouth was dry, her brain empty and her gaze captured by Jackson. And then he smiled and that smile caught her somewhere behind her ribs.
She’d thought she’d experienced chemistry before, but nothing in her life had ever felt like this.
“Come over for breakfast tomorrow,” Elizabeth said. “You can sample our maple syrup with my homemade pancakes.”
Jackson’s gaze dropped to her lips and lingered there.
“Pancakes.” Somehow she managed to form the word, and she saw Jackson’s smile widen. Then he dragged his phone out of his pocket.
“I need to take this.”
She hadn’t even heard it ring.
This was not good.
“Afterward, we’ll make a batch of cinnamon stars together,” Elizabeth was saying. “Then you’ll be able to make them when you get back home.”
Kayla didn’t say that she was more likely to choose to poke herself in the eye with a pen than bake at home. She wasn’t capable of saying anything.
Jackson strolled back into the room. “I have to go over to the lodge. Chef trouble. Darren is threatening to walk out.”
“As long as it’s not Élise. She’s a fabulous cook,” Elizabeth murmured to Kayla, “but hot-tempered. French. Cooks like an angel and swears like she’s in the military. Darren drives her crazy because he likes to do things the way they’ve always been done. I expect she told him his food is boring, only not as politely as that. Go and soothe her, Jackson. Don’t let her leave. I just love her duck confit. You should try it, Kayla.”
Kayla decided she’d better sign up to Weight Watchers before she left Snow Crystal. “Maybe I will.” Without looking at the tree or Jackson, she picked up her bag. “Thanks for the tea and the chat, Elizabeth. You’ve given me some ideas to work with.”
Jackson slid his phone into his pocket. “I’ll drive you.”
Which meant being trapped in an enclosed space with him. She didn’t trust herself not to spontaneously combust. “I’ll walk. You go and sort out your chefs before they chop each other into tiny pieces.”
“In that case I’ll pick you up at seven for dinner.”
He was asking her on a date? In front of his mother? “Dinner?” She looked at him stupidly, and he gave her that slow, sexy smile that told her he knew exactly why she wasn’t getting in the car with him.
“Dinner, Kayla.”
She licked her lips. “I—er—”
“I’m keen to spend more time discussing your initial ideas for Snow Crystal. I presume you have no objection to dinner meetings?”
A dinner meeting.
No candles.
No seduction.
Work.
Aware of how close she’d come to making a total fool of herself, Kayla gave a relieved smile. “Dinner meetings work for me. Great use of time.” She breathed again. “I’ll see you at seven.”
She left the house and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the freezing air cool her heated skin.
Snow Crystal might be in a whole heap of trouble, but it was nothing compared to the heap of trouble she was in.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JESS SAT CURLED up on the window seat in her bedroom, her arms around Luna as she stared at the snow falling in the darkness. Ash lay on the floor next to them, his head on his paws, watching her with those pale, beautiful eyes. The two Siberian huskies were her best friends, and Snow Crystal was her favorite place in the world.