A Timeless Romance Anthology: European Collection Read Online Free PDF Page B

As they walked in the darkness, his cheeks seemed to burn even with the sub-zero temperature. With any luck, by the time they reached the mess hall, she’d assume his pink cheeks were simply from the cold rather than from seeing her again, being so close to the woman he loved.

Chapter Four
     
    The walk to the mess tent felt longer than Anna expected it to be; now that she knew what the scent drifting through the air was, her stomach rumbled with hunger.
    Plus, the fact that she was walking beside Pete made the trip seem to last even longer. A charged silence hung between them like a dark cloud. Neither had said a word yet about their breakup or what happened between them before, or even what a dolt Dill was for not knowing better.
    She wanted to grab her suitcase and head back on the first train. To go home and burrow under her comforter— and cry. To think she’d run away from her memories of Pete only to travel across the globe and end up in the same place as him anyway.
    Like some horrid joke at my expense.
    In spite of her twisting stomach and aching heart, Anna couldn’t help but make a surreptitious glance at Pete’s evening stubble, which had always made him look ruggedly handsome. The old attraction flamed in her chest, but she tamped it down, taking a deep breath of the cold air as if that could put out the fire still burning for Pete.
    After a few minutes, the pathway narrowed to single file. Pete had the flashlight, so he went ahead to light the way. She couldn’t help but notice his confident gait and broad shoulders. She knew all too well that beneath his coat were well-toned muscles.
    Have mercy.
    The only sounds were their boots on the snow and their steady breathing. After a moment, Anna girded up her courage to speak. She could— would— be professional through this. “You’ve been here longer than I have. Do you have any suggestions about things we should be sure to cover?”
    Pete glanced over his shoulder at her, making her middle flip like a pancake. So much for professionalism keeping her from thinking about him as her Pete, of the two of them not as a journalistic team, but as the romantic couple they used to be.
    The couple we still should be, if things had worked out as I’d expected them to.
    But there was no sense in toying with romantic thoughts; they were sheer nonsense. He’d made that abundantly clear last month. The two of them were here with a job to do. An important job. And that was that.
    “I’ve been here only two days longer than you have,” Pete said. “I haven’t had time to give stories much thought, but so far, I can tell you what my biggest challenge will be.”
    Sensing concern in his voice, Anna paused in her step. “What’s that?”
    Pete stopped, turned around, and sighed. “My equipment freezes solid within seconds of being out in the cold. All of it. Shutter won’t even move.”
    “Then how on earth will you take any photographs?” Instinctively, Anna put her hand on his arm. He looked at it, and she realized she’d crossed a boundary. She almost pulled away but couldn’t keep herself from looking into his eyes, hoping to find something in them.
    Pete shrugged, acting as if her touch meant nothing. She quietly removed her hand as he kept talking. “Any photographs will take planning and a lot of effort. I’ll have to keep everything inside my coat until the last second. If I can whip out the tripod and camera and take a picture within, say sixty seconds, the equipment should stay warm enough from my body heat to work for one quick shot.” He turned about and kept walking.
    “Goodness.” Anna walked on behind Pete, mind now firmly in journalist mode. She had much to write about; too bad she didn’t have her notebook open or the light to scribble it all down right now. Yet even as the thought appeared, it was a whisper in her head compared to the thoughts and feelings about Pete crashing like cymbals inside her.
    The path widened again, and Pete