Rick nearly swallowed his tongue when he lifted his head and saw his date.
Conceding to the temperatures by wearing a cowl neck, long-sleeved sweater dress and thigh-high leather boots, Lana must have failed to consider what that absolutely devastating inch of bared skin between the tops of her boots and the hem of that curve-hugging dress would do to him. The jacket over her shoulders did nothing but accentuate what was beneath, and Rick couldn’t breathe, let alone move toward her or say hello.
A heavy hand smacked him on the back hard enough to force the air out of his lungs.
“Now, since Lana has no one else to watch out for her—” Graham started to say, but Lana breezed right past him. She linked her arm in Rick’s.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing so myself. Now please, scurry off.”
“I really think you two should talk about what a big step this is. Has either one of you signed an abstinence pledge?”
Rick was going to kill him. Slowly but surely, he would strangle every last breath from his friend.
Ignoring their third wheel, Lana turned to Rick, her liquid dark eyes raising to his. It felt like getting punched in the stomach but in the best of ways. He didn’t know what she’d done with her eye makeup, but he couldn’t stop staring at her.
“Are you ready to leave? I’m famished.”
Hungry. She was hungry. Rick could fix hungry.
“You might want to say something to her at some point tonight, buddy,” Graham supplied helpfully. “Zoey and I have the night free. We can double-date this thing if you need some wingpersons.”
Lana leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “If we get in the car, Graham stops being a part of our evening. But it’s your choice, Rick. I’m flexible.”
Did she have to use that word? What was left of his brain officially gave up, lying down in the gutter and rolling around like a happy dog scratching its back.
Rick swallowed again, trying to make his mouth work properly. “Let’s save the torture for another night.”
Lana beamed at him. “Perfect. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”
Walking was something he was still capable of. Rick led her to his car, where a valet had stolen notecard number fourteen: “Open the door for her.” The valet probably had no idea why their politeness earned a frustrated look from him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slender woman in glasses peering through the expansive windows of the resort lobby. Zoey gave him two thumbs-up in encouragement.
“Is it me or are these two extra invasive tonight?” Rick grumbled. “They’re worse than parents on prom night.”
Lana shot him an amused look before noticing the damage to his car.
“Oh, what happened?” She stopped before getting in. “This wasn’t here earlier. Did you get in an accident?”
“Just an angry Dude,” Rick said. “Moose kicks in car doors are a fact of life around here. I’ll pop it out when I get home.”
“You know how to do that?”
“If it’s only the metal and nothing structural underneath…yeah. It’s a few screws and a plunger.” Not really a big deal, but she seemed impressed. And Rick really wanted to impress her.
He probably should have worn that tie.
“If kicking cars is a moose thing, do you think a sleigh would lure it?”
“The Santa Moose? I sure hope not. It’s going to be an awfully scary Christmas Eve parade if that’s true. Let’s not give it any ideas.”
Lana shuddered. “Oh dear. Yes, let’s not.”
When Rick had gotten ready for tonight, he’d figured he’d wing it with the restaurant. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to plan for a nice night on the town. But the only really nice places to go were in the resort. Considering she lived in the resort, taking her to dinner there seemed far too akin to taking her to her own kitchen on a date. There weren’t many restaurants in Moose Springs, but Rick was willing to take her to her favorite.
“Does anything sound good?” he asked her as they pulled away from the curb.
“I’m guessing the Tourist Trap is off the menu now since Graham is here and not there.”
Rick nodded, trying not to notice how her dress slipped up a few inches as she crossed her legs. “If you’re cold, I can turn up the heater.”
He started fumbling with the dials, somehow having forgotten how to operate his own vehicle.
A slender hand touched his. “You look very nice tonight, Rick. I’m perfectly comfortable. And pick whatever restaurant you’d like. I’m just happy to be spending the evening with you.”
He’d never been at such a loss for words. She was just so damn beautiful.
“You’re gorgeous, Lana,” Rick said, finally going for honest and pathetic instead of suave and capable. “I’m still trying to figure out what to say.”
And wouldn’t you know it? Lana slipped her fingers through his, the prettiest blush on her face.
Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this after all.
* * *
Every place seemed worse than the last.
Rick kept driving, his left hand gripping the steering wheel harder with each mile that passed. His right had stayed loosely holding Lana’s slender fingers in his own. Nothing seemed good enough for her, each choice of sandwich shop or dive bar subpar and unappealing.
He almost turned into a biker bar just outside town out of sheer lack of anything left, but as much as he liked the people who frequented the bar, he wasn’t taking Lana in there. At least not in that dress.
The dress that cost him a little more of his sanity every time she shifted, knowing he needed to keep his eyes on the road instead of on her.
When they finally reached the one-stop market outside town, Rick knew he’d passed the point of no return.
“Oh, are we going somewhere new?” Lana perked up, her fingers squeezing his in excitement.
“Umm…yeah.”
Apparently, they were going someplace new to both of them.
A light flurry of snow started to fall as they left Moose Springs and all its dining options behind. Dining options that seemed glorious and completely date appropriate now that Rick had lost the possibility of turning around and driving back to any of them.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were taking me into the middle of nowhere.”
“It sure feels like it, huh?” He inwardly cringed.
Think, Rick. Think of some place. Any place. Why hadn’t he turned the other way? It would have been a long drive, but Anchorage was eventually that direction. This way, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.