“Well, you should try cartoons,” Nathan said, taking a step toward her.
She clearly wanted to talk, but about nothing in particular. That was fine with him if it was what she needed.
“I do like cartoons!” She lit up in a way he hadn’t seen yet, her eyes brightening and making her look like a little girl. “I like...Yogi Bear?”
“Yogi Bear?” Nathan said. He laughed so hard he had to cover his mouth and she ducked her head, blushing. “I’m sorry. No, I like Yogi Bear just fine. I just didn’t expect that.”
“I just remember being a little kid and when I did get to watch TV, Yogi Bear was on a lot. I kept thinking he was a bear shifter too,” she said, shrugging. “Except he could talk. That was confusing. And he never took human form…. I don’t know why I thought that. I was a dumb kid, I guess.”
“No way,” Nathan said firmly. “Bet you were a smart kid. You’re imaginative, right? You sound like it.”
“Yeah, I mostly imagined a better life,” she muttered. “I wish… I’d had what you had.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ve had it pretty damn good. I took it for granted. But I won’t. Not ever again.”
She nodded and shifted from foot to foot, somehow getting a little closer. She nodded at his hands. “You’re all greasy. Did you fix the van?”
“Not yet,” he said, and coming across a tender spot where he’d nicked his finger on the undercarriage, he winced. “Ow.”
“What’s the matter?” She walked right up to him and he breathed in her scent, attempting to be subtle about it. She only came up to his chin and when she looked up at him, his gaze dropped to her pink mouth that looked a little swollen.
“Just hurt my finger,” he murmured.
“Let me see.”
He let her take his hand. She stood close enough that he could feel her breathing, the shortness of it. Her skin was soft where she held his hand in hers and it was probably unnecessary the way she stroked her thumb along his palm and turned his hand over until finally finding the small nick that had cut a little notch in the skin of his ring finger, though it was not bleeding. “Ouch…”
“Doesn’t hurt,” he said. He ducked his head a little, just enough that his lips brushed her hair.
“I...I can’t,” she breathed. He was so close. He tipped his head forward and let his eyes shut, content to let his lips brush along the crown of her head.
“Can’t do what?” He whispered and squeezed her hands in his. Just that seemed to unravel her a little. She leaned into him and he lowered his head, brushing his lips along her cheek.
“Whatever this is,” she whispered. “I…”
“There is no glass,” he said and moved his hand to stroke her cheek. She closed her eyes and seemed to melt into his palm. “There’s only us.”
“Nathan…”
They were magnets pulled toward each other and their lips were about to meet when something large and loud clattered to the floor in the corner. One of the porters was there, unloading boxes from a truck. Alanna jumped away from him.
Dammit.
“Alanna,” Nathan said. “Please…”
She didn’t say anything this time. She only shook her head and fled.
5
Nathan
It was the next day before Nathan saw Alanna again.
He was coming back from Connor’s office, following a long phone conversation with the gondola people when he saw her in the dining hall looking as sad as ever and poking at her arugula salad. She had John along with her this time. He was hunched over his plate, slurping up soup while he stared at his phone.
I could definitely take him, Nathan thought.
Nathan stood watching them, hovering near the entrance to the dining hall and nodding hellos to passing guests. He wanted to get a sense of the mysterious couple without them noticing. He had the distinct feeling that if the guy saw him staring in Alanna’s direction, he wouldn’t be happy.
Don’t get involved, Cody had said. But he’d also said, go with your gut.
Alanna didn’t look exactly submissive as she sat across from the heavy. But he couldn’t help feeling like she had to go along with whatever he said and that bothered him. It was subtle but it was in the body language and the way she raised her eyes and sneered at him when he wasn’t looking, only to look down again.
“Damn,” Nathan muttered.
He finally headed through the middle of the dining hall to the kitchen to get his lunch. But he couldn’t help glancing in Alanna’s direction again as he passed. Time seemed to slow when Alanna looked in his direction and their eyes met. Nathan breathed in a little, feeling transported. Every detail seemed important. He saw how the corner of her mouth turned up when she saw him. He also saw how she was trying not to make it noticeable; the guy wouldn’t like it. But her dark eyes widened slightly. She reached up and tossed her hair over her shoulder and it glinted in the sun. She gave him the slightest nod of acknowledgment and then bowed her head.
The Strauss brothers were busy bears. They were seldom to be found all in the same room together unless they’d planned to be so beforehand. But every once in a while, it happened by some fluke and Nathan found his three brothers all back in the kitchen, talking and laughing as they ate lunch, although Connor as usual, was glued to his phone.
Cody handed Nathan a chicken and parmesan sandwich slathered in pesto as soon as he walked in the door. Nathan sat down next to Eric at the kitchen island and clapped him on the back.
“How’s it goin’?” He dug into his sandwich and grabbed a handful of homemade potato chips from the bowl in the middle of the counter.
“Phone’s been ringing off the hook,” Connor said. He was growing a beard, as black and thick as his hair.
Nathan nudged him, pointing to his own chin. “You’ve got pesto-”
“Oh.” Connor wiped his chin. He was the biggest of them and that was saying something. Nathan was no slouch and neither were his brothers. But Connor was a hulk in his tidy shirts and suspenders hunched over his laptop full of lodge bookings or stressing out over their spreadsheets. He never seemed to be what Nathan might call “cheerful,” but they all knew how much Connor liked the work. “Yeah, anyway. We’re booked solid for another month. I think we got written up somewhere but I don’t know where…”
“Did room 27 book way ahead or no?” Nathan said, before taking another giant chomp of his sandwich. He caught Cody glaring at him, pointing with his spatula and he shrugged.
“Room 27?” Connor said. He tapped away on his phone and said, “I think they were short notice. But they got lucky because somebody canceled.”
“Hmm.” Nathan nodded and Cody gave him the stink eye, shaking his head.
Of course, Connor didn’t miss that. “What’s happening? Why are you doing that? Cut it out. What’s going on?”
Like a damn terrier, Nathan thought.
Cody cleared his throat and said, “Nathan’s all worried about room 27. Because she’s got legs.”
“That’s not why,” Nathan countered.