Blew out a breath, as if trying to gather himself.
When he came back to her, he’d transformed into the man she’d seen at the dance. “Besides, you promised me another dance. And I’m not leaving until you pay up.” Then, he winked.
She just blinked at him. Who—
Except, maybe she got it. Because it was so much easier to be Kia, the girl who just wanted to have fun, than to let Aria—fragile, serious, all-work Aria—have a voice.
No one liked Aria.
“I did not promise you a dance, Cowboy.”
He let go of her hand on the boots. “But you were thinking about it.”
“You really have an ego on you, don’t you?”
He was opening up her sleeping bag. “No. It’s just who I am, honey. A good time, a great dance, and worth the wait. Now, get back in your sleeping bag.”
“Wow. That line work a lot?”
“I don’t know. It might need refining.” He raised an eyebrow.
She reluctantly got back in.
He zipped it up.
“What’s going on with Sasha?”
He sat beside her. “Orion thinks she’s developing HACE—high-altitude cerebral edema. She’s really drowsy and is starting to moan in her sleep. He’s trying to get fluids in her, but Ham thinks we need to send a team down the mountain.”
“You’re going to get help.”
He considered her, and for a second, she thought he might say something quippy, like, It’s what I do, bay-bee. Instead, “Orion knows this peak, and Ham doesn’t have the medical experience I have, so . . . it looks like you’re not getting rid of me yet. They’re packing up to go.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, and crazy tears heated her eyes. He wasn’t leaving her. She looked away.
“Hey—wow. I thought we’d hit it off here. Sheesh, just when I was going to order out for pizza and put on the Hallmark Channel.”
She laughed, then groaned. “Don’t.”
“What?”
“Make me laugh. I hurt everywhere.”
Oh. She hadn’t meant to say that.
His smile vanished. “Really?”
No, she couldn’t go there. So, “Now you want to look up my shirt again, don’t you?”
His eyes narrowed. He let a beat pass. “On a scale of one to five, what are my chances?”
“Zero.”
He made a noncommittal sound.
“I’m just sore.”
“I’ll bet. You sure you didn’t break anything?”
“I’m a doctor.”
“Of the heart.”
“Please. It’s a specialty. I did a general residency before I went into pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.”
He wore a strange expression.
“What?”
“You just . . . you’re pretty amazing.”
She let out a sound. “You’re still at zero.”
“Aw.” But he grinned. “It was worth a try. Besides, it’s true. You are amazing. A doc of tiny hearts and a mountain climber?”
“Trust me. I’m not amazing—my sister—she was amazing. She was the real brave one in the family. I climb because of her.”
She wasn’t sure why she’d admitted that, but maybe she was tired of pretending. “Kia was spontaneous and adventurous and fun and . . . well, she always dreamed of climbing Denali, so here we are.”
“So, this is about your sister? Why isn’t . . . oh, wait . . . Is this a bucket-list thing?” He made a face. “Please don’t tell me—”
“She passed away when she was seventeen. Motorcycle accident.”
“Aw, I’m sorry, Doc.” He made a face. “That’s rough.”
“She was my twin.” Sheesh, maybe she did have altitude sickness, too. Next thing she knew she would be lifting her shirt to show him her scars. Please.
“So was being a doctor a dream of hers too?”
“No. That was all me. I was always . . . well, I was the one who studied. I graduated high school at sixteen, undergrad at eighteen, and by twenty-two, I had my medical degree. Five years of general surgery residency, and three years in the cardiothoracic program, with an emphasis on pediatric surgery. I’ve been board certified for three years.”
“And, in between saving little lives, you climb mountains.”
“It’s my way of keeping Kia alive. I celebrate her birthday at the top of a mountain.”
“Okay, now I’m compelled to get you off this mountain, because you might be the best person I’ve ever met.”
His words found her bones, heated her through. Oh no. “Yeah, but I wasn’t a SEAL, saving the world.”
His expression fell. “I didn’t save the world.”
No, just me. But she didn’t want to say that, not with the way he swallowed, looked away. Took a breath.
Something . . .
“Okay, I gotta get you into the other tent. We’re taking this one down for Ham and Orion to take with them.”
He leaned over her. Then, before she could stop him, he lifted her, sleeping bag and all, into his arms. “Put your arms around my neck and hang on.”
She wanted to protest—probably Kia would have—despite her appreciation of a man with muscles, the hard curve of his body as he pulled her against himself.
But Aria, well, she was tired of being brave and witty and capable. So she obeyed, looping her arms around his neck. He smelled of the wild, his whiskers rubbing against her forehead. And she couldn’t remember the last time she felt . . .
Safe.
Oh no.
“That’s a good doctor,” Jake said as he maneuvered them out of the tent, crawling on his knees. Once outside, he rose with her, as if she weighed nothing, and carried her across the snow.
But before he tucked her into the other tent, he stopped. “Look at that view, Aria.”
The sun had glazed the far mountain glaciers in flames, turning the jagged granite peaks to a deep platinum. The wind lifted the snow in gusts, huffing and puffing a white breath into the panorama.
Jake’s arms tightened around her.
“Not a bad place to spend your birthday.”
She looked at him, frowned.
“If she was your twin, it’s your birthday too, isn’t it?”
She caught her breath. Oh . . .
He smiled. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Happy birthday, Houlihan.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Then he carried her into the other tent.
CHAPTER NINE
JENNY WAS BREAKING every promise to herself by leaving Sasha on the mountain.
She might even be physically ill as she knelt beside her.
Sasha’s eyes were closed, her red hair splayed out on the wadding of her jacket. Her skin seemed nearly white, deathly, as Jenny ran her hand over her forehead.
“Sash. We’re going to get you help. Stay with us.”
A flicker of her eyes, and Jenny caught her breath as Sasha looked at her. “Jens. Tell Lucas—tell him, I’m sorry about the baby.”
Jenny froze, swallowed. Baby? But now wasn’t the time. “Okay. Yes. But you’ll see him real soon, I promise.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against her forehead.