Page 230

‘It’s nothing.’

‘Stop saying that.’

She let out a sharp breath and glanced away. ‘I don’t think we need to talk about this further.’

‘Talk about wh—’

Abruptly, she got to her feet, turned, and walked out.

Kai stared at her retreating figure in surprise. What on earth had he said? Was it about the home? Was it that he didn’t remember his time there? It had been a long time ago, for God’s sake. They’d been children.

He should probably give her space, but he couldn’t get the spark of anger in her eyes out of his head. Had he hurt her? He’d certainly upset her, and he didn’t like the thought of that at all.

Without thinking too deeply about why that mattered to him so much, he put down his half-done snowflake and went after her to the mudroom. She was in the process of grabbing that wretched coat she’d brought with her.

‘What did I say?’ he demanded without preamble.

She started shrugging the coat on without a word, which further irritated him. It was useless in the heavy snow and, what’s more, still damp, so he tugged it out of her hands. ‘You’re not wearing that damn coat,’ he said gruffly. ‘It’s damp and you’ll freeze to death.’ He put it back on its hook, then pulled one of the other down jackets off the hook next to it. ‘If you’re going outside, wear this at least.’

She sent him an annoyed look but put it on and zipped it up. It was far too big for her, but she looked adorable, even with that anger glittering in her eyes.

He glanced down at her feet and the sneakers that were also probably still damp on them. ‘You need proper boots. I shall have some sent in.’

Liberty scowled. ‘You can’t. There are storms for the next few days, isn’t that what you said?’

Shit. He’d forgotten that he’d lied about the storms.

‘Five minutes outside then,’ he said repressively. ‘If you’re out any longer, I’ll have to pick you up and carry you back inside.’

She sniffed, but didn’t protest, glaring at his jacket instead. ‘You’re not coming with me, are you?’

‘Of course I’m coming with you. You’ll probably fall into a snow drift and hurt your ankle again.’

The golden glint in her eyes ignited. ‘I’m not an idiot, Kai.’

Her annoyance was better than her upset, so he ignored that. ‘Come on,’ he said and headed for the door.

It was beautiful outside, the snow crisp and dry, a pale winter sun casting everything in gold. Liberty’s expression eased as they crunched through the snow to one side of the lodge, her breath puffing out in front of her. ‘Oh, this is beautiful,’ she breathed, whatever had angered her clearly forgotten. ‘What a glorious day.’

Kai stared at her, unable to stop looking at her face, and how it shone with the most radiantly beautiful smile he’d ever seen. And he realised, with some shock, that she was the most radiantly beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

What about Neve?

Neve’s beauty had been cold and distant and remote. Yet…Liberty’s was warm and present, and touchable. Close, so close. He reached out before he could think straight, pulling her to him and turning her face up between his hands. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of gold, and she was smiling at him. Smiling with delight, as if he delighted her.

He bent, covering her delicious mouth with his, tasting the warmth and sunshine of her, letting it seep into him, the cold layer inside him melting even more. She immediately opened her mouth, tasting him as deeply as he was tasting her, the pleasure of the kiss intensifying.

Then abruptly, she broke away, her face pink. ‘We should build a snowman.’

Kai blinked. ‘A snowman?’

‘Yes. Haven’t you ever built one before?’

The question felt like a small jolt, though he wasn’t sure why. In the same way making Christmas decorations felt like a small jolt. He’d never done either of those things, never seen the need to, so why he felt strange about it was anyone’s guess. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I haven’t.’

‘Not even as a kid?’

There was something about her surprise that bothered him. ‘No. I didn’t think about it.’ He never had. He hadn’t had any friends to build snowmen with, and Neve hadn’t been one for playing in the snow. Neve had never been one for playing, full stop.