Unexpected Gifts (5 page)

"No trouble, sweetie. You have a merry Christmas and I'll give you a call as soon as we get home."

"Thanks, mom. I love you and hugs to Val too."

As soon as she hung up, Andi got up and stood facing her large, empty bed. There really was nothing left to lose.

Chapter Six

Walking down the path, Andi tried to figure out where he was taking her. If she was being honest with herself, she did enjoy the mystery of the day, even if was centered around Christmas.

"I hope I'm dressed okay," she said. Not knowing what he had planned for her, Andi had dressed simply in jeans, a long sleeve shirt and grabbed a thick wool sweater to layer with. Her hair was tucked under a cap and she wore matching gloves.

His looked at her as they walked and his eyes travelled over her. "You look fantastic," he said. 

She smiled at the complement. "But, am I dressed appropriately for what we're doing?" She tried again to get him to tell her. 

"Nice try," he said. "I told you, you're just going to have to wait and see what we're doing."

She sighed, trying to pretend that not knowing bothered her, but secretly she liked it. Andi couldn't remember a man ever taking charge and planning a whole day for her. She would have even thought it romantic in any other situation. 

"I missed the snow," Colin said, changing the subject. "It's funny, snow isn't something you think you're going to miss, but I did. It's beautiful." 

"It is," she said and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "But I bet being surrounded by sand and sun was a pretty good consolation prize."

He laughed. "It was at first." He kicked at a snow drift.

"How long were you there?" 

"Four years," he said. "Everywhere from the British Virgin Islands to St. Lucia. I got around." 

"And no girlfriend in any of those places?" 

"Nope," he said. "None. I told you, relationships aren't my thing." He kept his voice casual, but she noticed the frown. 

"How come I don't believe you?" 

He stopped then and looked at her. "You really want to know?" She instinctively pulled back at the shift of tone in his voice. His warm smile had vanished. 

Something in his voice scared her a bit. She swallowed hard and answered, "Yes. I do."

For a moment she didn't think he would tell her and then he said, "I was engaged to be married once. I loved her. Until she got pregnant with my best friend's baby."

She reached for him but he pulled back. "That's an awful story."

"Well, like I said before, relationships are more trouble than they're worth." 

He closed down on her, and for a selfish moment, Andi saw her fun day of distraction slipping away. After a moment she said, "Well it's a good thing we aren't in a relationship then."

She put her hands on her hips and stared at him. It took a minute but then a smile played at the edges of his lips and he laughed. "I guess you're right." 

"Now, don't you have something you're supposed to show me?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice light and flirtatious. 

Playing along, Colin said, "Oh, I can think of a few things I'd like to-"

Andi cut him off by giving him a playful shove. 

She must have pushed him harder than she thought because Colin stumbled off the path, put his foot down deep in the drift and tripped up to his knees in snow.

He looked up at her, his face a mask of seriousness. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly and reached to give him a hand. "I didn't mean to-"

He took hold of her hand and yanked her off the path and into the snow drift with him. 

"Opps," he said. "I didn't mean to do that." 

Andi landed on her stomach, and just barely missed having a face full of snow. She could hear Colin laughing behind her, so once she got over the shock of being flung into the cold, she quickly pulled her hands toward her, scooping up as much snow as possible in the process. Before he had a chance to react, she rolled to her back and flung the snow up into his face. 

His laughter stopped. She watched from her position while he wiped his face. "So," he said slowly. "That's the way you want to play." 

Like a little boy, his face split into a grin and Andi knew if she didn't move quickly, there would be trouble. She pushed herself to her feet as best she could in the deep snow and started running and stumbling through the trees. "Give me a head start," she called behind her.

"You think so?" Colin laughed, and the deep sound filled the forest around her making her laugh too. 

The snow was deep, past her knees, which made running difficult. Her heart raced from the excitement of the chase. She was just about to turn and check on Colin's proximity when a solid thud hit her from behind. 

Andi closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact to follow. But instead of shoving her face first into the snow, Colin's arms wrapped around her waist, cradling her. Together they fell to the ground laying side by side. 

"Got you," he said. 

She opened her eyes to find his face only inches away from hers. "Yes, you did." 

"No fair," she said when she had some control. "Your legs are way longer than mine." 

"That's not my fault," he said. "It was a valiant attempt at escape though." 

His breath smelled like cinnamon and coffee. Andi's stomach flipped when he moved closer to her in the snow and put his hand on her hip. Even through the layers of wool, his touch burned her, lighting something inside her. 

"Colin," she started to say, "I-"

"You're going to be soaked soon," he said abruptly. In the next instant his hand was gone and he was jumping up, pulling her out of the snow. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should have thought about it. Are you cold?"

Andi busied herself with brushing snow from her body because it was easier than looking him in the eye. Had he been about to kiss her? 

"I'm fine," she said. "Honestly." Andi looked up. "Besides," she said. "Next time, you're going down." 

He laughed and took Andi's hand, leading her out of the snow drift and back to the pack. "We'll see. But for now, let's get started on the festive fun."

They walked without speaking for a while. It was a comfortable silence and he held on to her hand. Andi tried not to think about the almost kiss that wasn't. The last thing she needed in her life was a man, or the complications they brought with them. Eva would tell her she was being crazy, and she absolutely needed a man at least for a night or two. But Eva was like that, Andi wasn't. Her relationships were long term. Before Blaine there had only been one other serious boyfriend and a series of dates that didn't lead anywhere. She liked commitment, and she wasn't ready for that. Besides, Colin had made it quite clear that he had no room for relationships either.

Saving her from her thoughts, Colin broke the silence. "Remember that I told you I was going to do my best to change your mind about Christmas?"

Andi nodded and gave him a side long glance. "Yes, but be warned. I'm not going to be an easy convert."

"I like a challenge." He ran a hand through his hair but his eyes never left hers. They blazed with intensity and a challenge of their own, and Andi had to look away. 

"So are you going to tell me where we're going, or what?" 

"I'll show you," he said. "We're here." Distracted by her thoughts, Andi hadn't noticed that they'd made their way out of the woods into the main courtyard of the Lodge. In the middle of the clearing was a large frozen pond where ice skaters swirled and glided around the surface. Benches were placed at one end of the ice and there was a hut set up where staff members were handing out skates to guests. Christmas songs piped from hidden speakers, filled the air. 

To Andi's horror, Colin took her hand and led her in the direction of the hut. "First on the celebrate Christmas plan is ice skating," he announced. 

Andi came to an abrupt halt, her boots jamming into the snow. Colin, still with a grip on her hand, continued to walk forward, jarring her. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking back.

***

"I don't skate," Andi said. 

He started to tease her, and was going to tell her she was being ridiculous, but then he saw the look in her eyes. She was scared. It didn't take a genius to see the way she watched the ice as if it was about to crack open and swallow her. He'd never thought that she might not know how to skate. 

"It's okay," Colin said, keeping his voice gentle. "I promise nothing bad will happen."

"The last time I put on skates I was six years old and these older kids convinced me to play this stupid game."

"Let me guess," Colin said, trying not to smile, "crack the whip?"

"That's it," Andi said and started waving her arms in the air. "I went flying across the ice and flew right off the edge." 

He couldn't help it, he couldn't stifle his laugh any longer. Andi glared at him, but he caught her smile when she turned away. 

"Fine," she said after a moment. "Let's do it."

Colin swallowed his laughter. "Really?"

"Of course," she said and headed towards the ice. "I might not like it, but I'm not afraid to try something new."

I certainly hope not, Colin thought. He followed after her, staying just a few steps behind so he could enjoy the view. 

Laying in the bed the night before, he'd come up with the idea of converting Andi into a Christmas lover. It served two purposes for him. One, he'd have company for his much anticipated Christmas back in Canada, and two, he'd be able to spend more time with a gorgeous woman. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but having an excuse to be with Andi was the most important reason. Every moment with her was comfortable and more enjoyable than the last. It was turning out to be a much better holiday than he could have imagined. 

They retrieved some skates from the hut and found an empty bench to get ready.

"What?" she said, catching him staring at her. "Don't make fun of me because I don't know how to tie these up." She held up a skate before looking at it hopelessly. 

Colin slid off the bench and knelt in the snow in front of her. "You've really never skated except for that one time?" He took the skate out of her hand. "Didn't you say you were Canadian?" 

He took her boot off and held her foot lightly in one hand, while he tucked it under the bench. 

"That's stereotypical," she said. "Just because I'm Canadian, I'm expected to know how to skate?"

"Of course," Colin said while he gently pushed the skate onto her foot. "We're also supposed to know all the hockey teams, eat poutine and be able to build an igloo." He was rewarded with her laughter. She hadn't said anything, but Colin had the impression that Andi didn't laugh much. She was funny and warm, but there was something sad inside as well. He was enjoying bringing the happiness out in her.

"Just to warn you," she said. "I'm horribly unbalanced. I'll probably fall a thousand times and I may need to lean on you." 

Colin pulled the laces of her skate tight and looked up at her. His voice was serious when he said, "You can lean on me all you like." 

He in fact, was hoping she would lean on him, and let him wrap his arms around her and maybe even get that kiss he should have gone for when they were laying in the snow. And then, maybe, well, who knew where a kiss could lead? Since he'd seen her wearing nothing but a thin shirt earlier, he couldn't get the image of her in bed out of his head. He'd like to see that again, only next time without the t-shirt. 

Before he could let his thoughts get carried away, Colin grabbed the other skate and put it on for her, tying it with expert hands. "Just give me a second while I get mine on," he said when he was done. 

As quickly as he could, he moved to where he'd left his skates and started tugging them on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andi push up from the bench and wobble on the blades. 

"Just wait, Andi," he said. "I'll be right there. You don't want to fall if you're not comfortable."

"No," she said. "I got this. I'm sure it can't be -"

He watched in horror as both Andi's feet flew out from under her. She tried desperately, arms waving in the air, to right herself. With a small shriek, she landed hard, flat on her back. 

Colin jumped up and skate slid over the ice to where Andi sat. She was staring straight ahead, but wasn't crying. That was a good sign.

"Andi," he said dropping down next to her. "Are you okay? Can you wiggle your legs?" 

She turned slowly and looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. 

"Where does it hurt?" 

She tipped her head, blinked once and a cross between a laugh and a snort burst from her throat.

It took Colin a second to realize she was laughing not crying, but when he did he shook his head. "Come on," he said and reached out. "Get up." 

She grabbed his hand and he hoisted her to her feet. Afraid she would fall again, he held her around the waist. "Are you okay?"

She wiped at her face where tears had started to leak out her eyes. "I'll be fine," she said as her laughter died down. "There's going to be a bruise, and of course I feel like an idiot. But hey, if you can't laugh about it..." 

"It did look pretty funny," Colin said. "Something out of a cartoon. But you're lucky you didn't break your tail bone." 

"Nope, not broken." She rubbed her bottom then looked up at him with a smile. "So, are you going to teach me how to do this right?"

"I promise," he said and took her hands. "You'll be skating like a pro in no time." Colin spun her slowly in a circle with him. "Or at least you won't fall down anyway."

As soon as he was ready, Colin led her back to the pond. She was nervous at first, understandably so after her crash, but Colin took her slowly along the ice. He dodged all the children who were flying across the surface as if they'd been born on skates. Occasionally, one would crash, and Colin had to do a quick duck around them, leading Andi safely away.