Andi grabbed the paper and stared at it in horror. "Colin, you can't be serious. This is the map?"
He laughed and pointed to the paper. "Don't worry so much," he said. Colin slowed the truck and waited until she met his eyes. "Everything will work out." She blinked hard and looked away.
"I promise," he said and revved up the engine again. The truck went over a particularly large bump, bouncing Andi towards him on the bench seat. In a quick move, he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I think this is a good spot, don't you?"
He put the truck in park and when she snuggled deeper into his down coat, Colin seriously considered driving again, just so she would stay close. It was probably the party distracting her all afternoon, but whatever it was that had been pulling her away, for the moment at least, it was gone.
Andi didn't say anything, but neither did she make a move to get out of the truck. "Everything alright, Andi?" he asked and kissed the top of her head.
She pulled away slightly and said, "Of course. I was just thinking about how much I was enjoying this right now."
"Me too." He smiled and reached across the distance to put a soft kiss on her lips. "But we better get that tree so we can get to that second date."
"Right," she said. "Let's do this." Andi smiled and licked her lips. It was a subconscious action, but Colin almost grabbed her and had that second date with her right in the cab of the truck.
Instead he grabbed his gloves, pushed open the door and jumped out of the cab. The snow was deeper than it looked and as soon as they stepped off the packed down track of the road, they sank. Andi, her legs substantially shorter than Colin's, almost to her knees. Fortunately, they didn't have to go far to find the perfect tree. The forest was thick and they were surrounded by perfect pines, any of which would make beautiful a tree for the party.
"Have you ever done this before?" She asked Colin.
He walked next to her, trudging through the snow, with an ax swung over his shoulder. He glanced at Andi, who looked very sexy in her oversized wool sweater and scarf.
"I remember years ago going with my Dad into the woods," he said. "The plan was to chop down the perfect tree to surprise my mom. She always liked the big fir trees that you could buy in the parking lot of the grocery store."
"My parents always got one of those," Andi said. "They were always like a hundred dollars."
"Exactly," Colin said. "So one year, my dad got it in his head to prove to my mom that he could get an equally beautiful tree out of the forest. You have to understand, my mom loved her Christmas trees. It was the most important part of the holiday for her. So it had to be perfect."
"Okay." Andi smiled, encouraging him to go on. "So how did it go?"
"I must have been about eight or nine," he said. "And I remember driving and driving. After what seemed like hours, we got out of the truck and started walking, kind of like we're doing now. My feet were totally numb when Dad finally decided we'd found the perfect spot."
"And you got a great tree?"
"Well, no." Colin laughed. "That's the thing. The place we went had really spindly trees, but instead of admitting defeat, Dad chopped down three trees."
"Three?"
"Yup, then he lashed them all together and tried to pass it off as one, very full pine."
Andi laughed and almost stumbled in the deep snow. Colin caught her easily and steadied her. A jolt went through him at the touch. "What did your mom say?" Andi's voice came out in a breath. He thought it might be from the hard walking, but he hoped it wasn't.
Colin stopped walking, but didn't let go of her arm. "I think she knew, but she never said anything. Not even when we took it down after Boxing day. She just looked away and said something about it being the most beautiful tree we'd ever had."
"That's so sweet."
"It was," he said. "I didn't realize it at the time because I was too young, but they were so in love that Dad wanted it to be perfect for her, and she wouldn't wreck that for him. It's one of my favorite memories." He looked into the forest at the trees. He'd never told anyone that story before. Colin looked back at Andi. Why now?
"And now you get to do it again," Andi said softly.
"I do." He leaned down and met her lips with his. Her skin was cold, but her mouth was a warm haven and the kiss warmed his entire body. He slid a gloved hand down her cheek and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
He could have stood in the forest all day kissing her. But when a cloud moved over the sun, darkening the sky, he reluctantly pulled away. "We should probably hurry."
He spoke the words but didn't make any move to let her go until she stepped back and said, "We probably should. Besides, there will be lots of time for that later."
His body reacted at her words. But before he could reach for her again, Andi spun around and pointed at a tree. "How about that one? It's perfect."
It was. About eight feet tall, the tree was perfectly filled out. If the sun had still been shining, Colin would have expected it to glow with Christmas spirit.
"Good choice," he said.
She stepped back and pulled her scarf closer around her face. Without the sun, things were cooling off quickly. The clouds were starting to build and the air held the crisp promise of snow. He'd have to get her back to the warm truck soon.
It only took a few swings of the ax, and the tree came down with a sharp crack that reverberated in the forest.
"I thought you said you didn't have an ax in that bag of yours?" Andi teased as they trudged back through the snow.
"I only bring it out for special occasions," he said. Together they laughed, making the tough work easier. With both of them, they managed to hoist the tree into the back of the truck and secure it.
Before long, they were back on the road and headed towards the Lodge. At least, he hoped they were headed back to the Lodge.
The snow had started to fall as the sky darkened, creating a winter wonderland effect over the forest. It was beautiful, but it worried him a bit too. He wasn't familiar with the area, and he had to admit, his map was a little sketchy.
"Are you sure you know the way back?" she asked as if reading his thoughts. "I swear, I'm not trying to question your manly sense of direction or anything. It's just..."
"What sense of direction?" he laughed and then seeing that she was genuinely concerned, he added, "Don't worry, I promise I know the way back."
It wouldn't do any good to tell her the truth. She had enough on her mind. Besides, Colin thought, the road was starting to look a little bit familiar.
He drove in silence for a few minutes, lost in his thoughts of holidays past. His favorite times were when it snowed heavily the night before Christmas. There was something magical about the snow. He'd set out to experience the perfect traditional festive season, and he'd had it. Colin glanced over at Andi, who was staring out the window at the building storm. He knew it wasn't by chance that the last two days had been so perfect. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the happiness he felt at that moment had a lot to do with the woman sitting next to him. A whole lot.
"When I was a little boy, I used to love it when it snowed on Christmas Eve," he said breaking the silence. "There was nothing better than being inside, looking out at the snow, waiting for Santa. It was magical. Like being inside a snow globe." He smiled and looked at Andi.
Kind of like now, he thought, but didn't say, when she slid across the seat and once again snuggled into him.
Chapter Twelve
Andi wasn't ready for the drive to be over when Colin pulled up in front of the villa to drop her off. With the building snow storm, she'd secretly been hoping that they'd get lost or stuck, at least for a little while. Being stranded with Colin would have been romantic, but she knew Eva would kill them if they took too much longer, after all, the party was set to start in an hour. But even spending a little bit of time with Colin was just what she'd needed. And watching him swing that ax certainly hadn't hurt either.
"I'll see you soon," Colin said and squeezed her shoulder one more time. They'd driven most of the way home with his arm around her, and Andi couldn't remember the last time she'd been so comfortable and so acutely aware of another person all at the same time.
She slipped away from him and put her hand on the door handle. Before opening it, she turned and said, "Thanks for all your hard work today. Don't let Eva steamroll you with anything else."
Colin smiled. Damn, Andi thought, he looked way too sexy when he did that.
"I think I can handle myself," he said.
"You don't know Eva." Andi pushed the truck door open and slid out.
"Andi?" She turned back to see Colin leaning across the bench. "I'll see you later tonight."
His voice held the promise of what exactly later meant and Andi felt her face grow hot with a blush.
"You better get that tree over to the lodge," she said and closed the door.
Maybe Eva was right, she thought as she walked into the empty villa. Colin definitely hadn't been acting like a guy who wasn't looking for a relationship. Did she dare to think that her escape to the mountains may have turned into something more?
Andi pushed away the thoughts of Colin and what may or may not be happening between them. There was too much to do before the night was over. She'd committed to throwing the best Holly Berry Ball that Castle Mountain Lodge had ever seen, and that was going to require all of her attention. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted by Colin, at least not until the ball was over.
Only moments after she stepped through the doors, her cell phone started chirping. Andi dug it out of her purse to see the screen was flashing, alerting her to missed calls. They must be from Eva, she thought and tossed the phone on the counter. The cell coverage had been spotty in the mountains, and she likely hadn't had any while they were out on their Christmas tree adventure. Eva would have to wait, she was running out of time to get ready.
Andi grabbed the dress Carmen had sent over and moved into the bedroom. There wasn't time to have a shower, she'd have to make do with a quick refresh and a touch of make-up. After slipping into the dress, a fitted red sheath, she turned to check her profile in the mirror. She had to hand it to Carmen, it was a perfect fit. She hoped Colin would like it, or more specifically, the lacy red bra and panties she wore under it. Andi couldn't remember ever being worried about details like that before, but whatever was going to happen with Colin later, she wanted to be prepared. She didn't have time to think about it though, because a glance at the clock told her she only had thirty minutes until the first guests would start arriving. She needed to get over to the party, fast.
It wasn't until she was ready to walk out the door that Andi thought to grab her phone and check to see what Eva wanted. It wasn't like her to bother Andi with small details. Maybe it was important after all, she thought as she punched in the code for her voicemail.
But it wasn't Eva's melodic voice that came over the line. Instead, it was a voice that made Andi's breath catch in her throat.
***
After dropping Andi off, Colin drove around to the service door by the banquet room and found a few employees, on a smoke break, who agreed to carry the tree in for him. He was hoping to get back to the villa to get cleaned up himself, but Eva must have had radar, because she poked her head outside and spotted him before he could make his escape.
"Colin," she called. He froze, only half in the truck but it was too late to get away. He turned slowly, just in case she was angry that he was late.
"So," she said. "It took you long enough. Did you and Andi have fun?" The glint in her eye told Colin that she was definitely not angry, and likely thought there was a very different reason for their tardiness.
"I'm sorry," he said. "The roads were bad. The guys took the tree in." Colin pointed in the direction of where the tree had disappeared.
Eva waved her hand. "It'll be great. But where do you think you're going?"
"I thought I'd go freshen up for the big night."
She laughed and walked through the falling snow towards him. "Oh no, darling. I need you now." Eva grabbed his sleeve and with remarkable strength, pulled him out of the truck and towards the door.
"But the truck."
"I'll have one of the staff return it. We don't have time. The kids will start arriving soon."
"Kids?"
"Don't you remember? I told you earlier." She flashed him a wicked smile. "And, Andi did say you were great with kids."
Colin's memory flashed back to their meeting earlier. Eva had mentioned something about Santa. He hadn't thought she was serious though. There was no way she wanted him to play Santa? Colin had envisioned spending some time dancing with Andi, enjoying the ball together and getting a jump on their date.
"Oh," he said. "I don't-"
Eva pushed him through the door and into the banquet room. He let out a low whistle at what he saw. The room had been completely transformed. Things had looked good when he left. But now red, white and green table clothes were draped over the tables. Jars of candy were on every available surface and large gold and silver stars hung from the ceiling.
"This is..." Colin turned to Eva who wore a big grin on her face. "It's amazing, Eva. Perfect."
"It is pretty awesome, isn't it? I must admit, when Andi told me about the ball, I had my doubts that we could pull it off. But it turned out perfectly. It's going to be a great night."
"It is," Colin agreed, thinking of his own plans for later that night.
Before he could really get into his daydream, Eva yanked him back to reality. "Come on, I have to get you into the suit."
"So you were serious?"