Melting His Alaskan Heart (10 page)

CHAPTER 11

Carly ran down the stairs to the lodge’s front entrance where she’d left her coat and boots. She could hear Ethan’s family talking from the kitchen, but she quickly ran past the open doorway in hopes of escape. But she didn’t make it to the lobby before she heard a voice. “Carly, is that you?”

It was Mrs. Forrester’s voice. Damn, she’d been caught. “Yes.” She abruptly stopped. “I was headed out for some fresh air. Maybe go for a quick walk, after sitting for so long on the plane. I thought I’d stretch my legs.”

“Dear, it’s awfully cold out there.” Mrs. Forrester practically tsked at her.

“I know, Mrs. Forrester, but I brought my winter gear.”

“We’ll eat dinner in about a half hour, so don’t go far. And please call me Molly.”

“Okay, I promise I won’t go far.” Carly exchanged her clogs for boots.

“You know I’m so happy you’ve come with Ethan. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have you here.” She wore a welcoming smile. A smile only a mother could wear.

“Thank you. I’m happy to be here, too.” Her escape plans foiled, now she was plagued with guilt as well. Mrs. Forrester—Molly, was too nice to deceive.

But Carly wanted something more from Ethan. Something he was too bull-headed to see. He claimed their liaison was only because she thought he was Dane. That couldn’t be further from the truth. She needed some headspace to think. “I promise I won’t be long.”

After getting her coat, hat, gloves, and scarf on, she headed out the door. Darkness engulfed her, but there were floodlights around the lodge. She ventured out toward the lights of the small town of Gold Creek. The snow crunched beneath her feet. The solitude was just what she needed to regain her focus. She looked up at the magnificent Northern Lights. The farther she got away from the lodge and the outdoor lighting, the more she could see the beautiful lights in the sky, but before she realized it, she was in complete darkness and couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of her face.

She needed to regain her focus. She was here to do a job—to get an interview with Dane Forrester. That was the only reason she was here. She wanted to be a successful journalist and achieve things. Her family were achievers and had always been.

But a little voice called to her in longing for something more. Something she felt when Ethan embraced her that night at the hotel. She’d been so alone since moving to Alaska. As a fiercely independent woman, she was fine with that, but standing here in the darkness, under the beautiful Northern Lights, she realized how lonely she was. She should be enjoying the view with someone else. Yes, she enjoyed being a journalist, but Ethan made her feel part of a whole. The idea of it astounded her.

She had plans to make a name for herself in sports journalism. She even aspired to be a sportscaster on television, although she didn’t openly admit that to anyone. If she was going to make it in a primarily male-dominated world, then she’d have to put in some serious hours.

She didn’t have time for a relationship.

The Northern Lights scattered across the sky in shards of greenish light, and a cold breeze blew through the layers of her down jacket.

She wanted the warmth of Ethan’s body next to hers again. He’d climbed out of bed that morning before she’d completely awakened.

She’d had too much to drink, but still…ultimately, she was glad he wasn’t Dane. She’d never slept with an interviewee before she’d met Ethan. He had stood before her completely naked, completely vulnerable, and completely hers, but he wasn’t the man she thought.

Her attraction had always been about Ethan, never his brother.

Absorbed in her thoughts, it took a moment to realize someone was calling her name.

“Carly!” Ethan’s voice called.

His voice did crazy things to her body, even from long distances in the frigid night air.

“There you are.” He trudged through the snow. “Why are you out here so far?”

“I told you I needed some air.” She gazed upward. “And I wanted to see the Northern Lights. I can see them better away from the lodge and in the dark.”

“We can turn off the lodge lights. You just have to ask.”

He made it sound so simple—she just had to ask. “Your family assumes we’re dating. What are we going to do about it?”

“I’m not sure if my entire family believes we’re dating, but my mom sure does. Since you—”

“Yeah, I know, since I let her believe that we are. What should we do? Are you going to play along or not?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“If we’re dating, then you’ll actually have to talk to me.”

“I’m talking to you right now,” he said, sounding a little grumpy.

“True, but you might even have to touch me.”

He didn’t say anything and she couldn’t see the expression on his face, but she felt his presence like the cool air on her skin. “You might even have to pretend you like me.”

“I don’t have to pretend, because I do like you,” he said in short, clipped words.

“Well, that’s a start.” Hearing him say he liked her made her feel fuzzy inside. “I know you don’t want to be dishonest with your family, but the way I figure it, it’s a pretty harmless white lie. They seemed so happy that you brought a woman to the lodge…well, there’s no harm in them believing we’re a couple, is there?”

“Not sure if there’s harm in it or not.”

“Think of it this way, we can be a couple for the weekend or for however long I stay, then we can part ways and you never have to see me again. In a few weeks, you can tell your mom that we split up.”

He didn’t respond.

“Does this sound like a plan?” She didn’t like the plan, or the idea that she only had a day to convince him that maybe he should consider dating her.

“I’m not sure. You were supposed to go back to Anchorage after you interview Dane.”

She had to buy some time. He seemed about as immoveable as an ox. “If you have me leave first thing in the morning…I think that would look bad. We can’t break up already.”

The silence stretched and she couldn’t guess what he might be thinking. Maybe she had pushed too hard.

“No, probably not.”

Relief swept through her. The weekend was hers. And maybe, just maybe, they’d decide to try dating in earnest.

“We should head back. My mom will be expecting us for dinner,” he said.

“Great,” she said, “I’m hungry. So, we’re agreed? We’re a couple?”

“For the weekend, sure.” He turned and faced the lodge.

“Okay, then.” She decided to be bold and looped her arm with his.

He stopped and gazed down at her.

“What?” She shrugged and pulled him along. “No one is going to believe we’re a couple if we don’t touch a little bit.”

T
OUCH A LITTLE BIT
. Yeah, sure thing.

Ethan had never been one for dishonesty, but he’d managed to be about the worst kind of dishonest to Carly and now to his family too.

His brothers had to be suspicious, but if they were, they weren’t saying. Zak got a call from a woman asking for Ethan’s number, then Ethan showed up with her at the lodge. Didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that things didn’t add up. Especially since he’d never brought a woman to the lodge before.

Once inside, Ethan helped Carly with her coat.

“So I’m guessing someone’s going to ask how we met,” Carly said.

“Yeah, probably.” This woman was always thinking. He could practically see the wheels churning.

“We may as well say we met at the fundraiser when you were masquerading as Dane, right?” she said, under her breath, as if they were on a top secret mission.

“But that was only last week.”

She shrugged. “Is that a problem?”

“No, I guess not,” he replied.

“Listen,” she said, and put her hand on his forearm. Her face was so close to his, within easy kissing distance. “If you want, I can tell your mom the truth. If this isn’t sitting right with you, I understand. I shouldn’t have let her assume—”

“It’s okay.” Maybe this
touch a little bit
worked for him, after all. “We’ll say we met at the fundraiser, just like we did, only…”

“I think that’s a great idea. You know, I’m a writer. I have no problem with words and stories. It’s my life. It’s what I do. We’ll be fine.”

“Carly and Ethan,” his mom appeared from the kitchen. “Good. You’re back. Dinner is ready.”

“We’ll be right there, Mom.” His mom always had a way of sneaking up on him. He felt like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, which made no sense at all.

“Ethan,” Carly said quietly. “I think how we met and how I was trying to get a story from you, thinking you were Dane is fine to tell them. I am a journalist. I’ll own it.” She squeezed his arm. “I got this.”

“Okay.” Ethan felt nervous entering the dining room, and he didn’t know exactly why. Dane had been in town when their plane landed. Maybe once Carly met him, she’d discover that she’d hooked up with the wrong Forrester brother and regret their night together.

They sat on one side of the long rectangular oak dining table. Sabrina, Zak, and Travis sat across from them, his Mom and Dane sat on the ends. “Carly, I’d like to introduce you to my brother, Dane.”

Carly extended her hand and Dane clasped it. “Nice to meet you, Carly.”

“Great to meet you as well, Dane,” Carly said. “I thought I met you last week at the Literacy Council fundraiser.”

She wasn’t wasting any time, Ethan thought.

Dane’s eyes narrowed. “You did?” He looked at Ethan.

“But I met Ethan instead,” Carly said.

Dane gave a questioning glance to Ethan.

Travis spoke up. “Is somebody going to fill us in on what you guys are talking about?”

Carly leaned against him, doing that touching thing again. “Sure. Ethan, do you want to tell them, or shall I?”

He shouldn’t let her do all the talking. They were his family, after all. He could step up to the plate. “Long story short, I went to a costume party dressed as Dane because he was sick and that’s where Carly and I met.”

“Wait,” Travis said, holding his fork in the air. “You went to the costume party and everyone thought you were Dane?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Ethan replied. “I wore a half-shield knight’s mask.”

“He made a fabulous knight and I had no idea he was anyone other than Dane,” Carly commented. “And it was a little more than a costume party. It was a $500 per plate ball. All proceeds went to the Literacy Council.”

“Ah, yeah,” Dane said reluctantly. “That’s why I couldn’t bail. It was a fundraising event I had to attend.”

“Well, I think that’s wonderful,” his mom chimed in. “It’s about time you got out and socialized. And look what you got out of the deal. You got Carly.”

Oh, yes, he did. And she hadn’t left his thoughts since. He had hoped she’d call and at the same time he wished she hadn’t.

“So, let me make sure I understand.” Dane added salt and pepper to his food and looked down the table. “You talked to him at the party, thinking he was me, but obviously in the end, you found out he wasn’t me.”

“Yes.” Carly nodded to Ethan. “That’s right.”

“But you guys didn’t rat me out, did you?” Dane questioned Ethan. “The GM didn’t figure out you weren’t me, did he?”

“No,” Ethan said. “I managed to be you and not get
you
caught.”

“Oh, good, you had me worried,” Dane replied. “But somehow I’m imagining there’s more to the story.”

“Yeah, there’s got to be.” Travis passed a bowl of mashed potatoes to his right.

“Yes, actually there is,” Carly said, in her calm cool reporter voice. “I spoke to him because I was hoping to get an interview.”

Everyone stopped passing plates of food around, and the room went quiet.

“I’m employed with
Alaska Today
magazine and I write freelance as well.” Carly stared at each member of his family. “Is my job a problem?”

“No, of course not,” Ethan said, taking the dish of green beans from his mom.

“Dane doesn’t like to give interviews,” Travis said, “which never made sense to me because he loves being in the spotlight, don’t you, little brother? Will you pass the salt and pepper?”

Travis always managed to lighten the mood with humor. Ethan appreciated that quality in him now more than ever.

“So are you still hoping for an interview?” Dane asked pointedly.

Ethan took this as his chance. “Yes, she is, and I told her you’d give her one because you owe me.”

Silence.

Then all of a sudden, everyone laughed. Travis and Zak guffawed the loudest. Ethan couldn’t keep a grin from his face.

“Damn,” Dane said, “you reporters are getting more and more resourceful, aren’t you?”

Travis chimed in, “Maybe next time, you’ll go to the party instead of getting Ethan to do it for you. That’ll teach you.” He picked up his knife and fork and cut into his moose roast. “Now you have to give Carly an interview.”

Ingenious of Travis to intervene. Ethan liked it. He liked it a lot.

Dane glared at Travis.

“What?” Travis waved his knife in the air. “Ethan said you owed him. So you do. I wouldn’t have dressed up as a knight and acted like Dane at that party. No way in hell.”

“Well, I think it’s lovely that Ethan and Carly got to meet, however unorthodox the circumstances.” Then his mother asked, “Don’t you agree, Dane?”

“Yeah, sure,” Dane said and bit into his steak.

“So I’m sure you wouldn’t mind returning the favor by granting Carly an interview,” his mom said.

Sometimes Ethan loved his family even more than usual. This was one of those moments.

CHAPTER 12

After dinner, Ethan wasn’t surprised to hear Sabrina ask, “Who’s up for a game of Scrabble?”

Carly immediately said, “I like Scrabble.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Ethan said. “Do you like to win or do you like to lose?”

“That’s a silly question. I like to win just as much as the next person,” Carly replied.

“You won’t win against Sabrina,” Ethan said evenly.

“We won’t know unless we try,” Carly said.

“We? How is there a
we
?” Ethan finished loading his plate in the dishwasher. “I thought you wanted to see the Northern Lights.”